Tank Arrived today

James Hammett · Mar 26, 2018

Just grabbed a coral banded shrimp

Mikedawg · Mar 26, 2018

James Hammett said:
Thanks, I added the Clowns to keep bacteria alive. Think I am going to put some Hermits and Snails in this weekend from the LFS ( we have 3 close two are bright and clean the 3rd is always dark and tanks are full of aptasia and dirty) I am not sure how to determine which is safest or best I lean toward bright and clean tanks. Not sure how many fish we should put in the tank. Kids are researching and making lists of ones they like now. We are on spring break so won’t see kids for a week. I assume by the time the kids come back we will be ready for fish.

Yep, bright and clean is a good start and might want to review this guide to identify and understand common symptoms/indicators of disease: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/

James Hammett · Mar 26, 2018

Bathing in the drip getting ready for his new home....

GSPClown94 · Mar 26, 2018

Looks pretty good so far, don't worry too much about this ugly phase it will pass. Do you have an auto top off and have you thought about setting up a refugium?

James Hammett · Mar 26, 2018

Andrew Florjancic said:
Looks pretty good so far, don't worry too much about this ugly phase it will pass. Do you have an auto top off and have you thought about setting up a refugium?

I do not have an ATO. Not in the school budget. I have looked at Refugium set ups but am not sure how to accomplish that in this biocube.

James Hammett · Mar 28, 2018

Is this red stuff Cyano? LFS wanted to sell me a chemical treatment but I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to just throw stuff in the tank

Reef Box · Mar 28, 2018

Looks like the beginning of cyano-bacteria. I personally would let it ride for a bit. Sometimes it comes and goes sometimes it needs to be treated. Work on getting that sand moved around. If that doesn’t work, chemi-clean is AMAZING!!

hecterma · Mar 28, 2018

Yeah, that looks like cyano. +1 on the chemi-clean, works great. What is the output on your powerhead? It may not be enough circulation. Some people say you need 30x the number of gallons you have. I used to get cyano outbreaks until I added a bigger power head, I use about 40x the gallons I have.

James Hammett · Mar 28, 2018

Powerhead is a Eflux 1050 I have it at 20%

hecterma · Mar 28, 2018

James Hammett said:
Powerhead is a Eflux 1050 I have it at 20%

I would definitely turn it up to at least 60% for now and maybe turn it up more when you get corals. Dead spots causes cyano bacteria to form and detritus to settle, this is why you need circulation.

James Hammett · Mar 28, 2018

hecterma said:
I would definitely turn it up to at least 60% for now and maybe turn it up more when you get corals. Dead spots causes cyano bacteria to form and detritus to settle, this is why you need circulation.

Should I add a second power head for cross flow?

James Hammett · Mar 28, 2018

I also just grabbed a gravel vacuum and chemiclean

Sarah24! · Mar 28, 2018

Dear Sir,

It’s amazing that your doing this for your students. My science teacher was the one who pushed me to study biology, microbiology and organic chemistry. The saltwater tank she had in her classroom was my home from home. I now have a 240 gallon in my home, as I am finally finishing my final year of medical school up in May. But, because of schools and programs like yours, my school, and companies donated equipment and everything to me. These are expensive, and at my still current young age it’s hard to afford these. But the ecosystem and life in them is so precious, and delicate that you can just sit and learn.

If you ever need corals, or help extra equipment I’d love to help. It would be an honor to pay it forward to other students who may travel the path I have.

Sarah

Reef Box · Mar 28, 2018

James Hammett said:
Should I add a second power head for cross flow?

When I had my bio cube, I put a small powerhead in the center just to keep the flow up. Also just moving the sand (not necessarily vacuuming it) should work. Like I said, it’s known to come and go. Even in the best of tanks.

hecterma · Mar 28, 2018

James Hammett said:
Should I add a second power head for cross flow?

You should be fine by just turning up the flow.

James Hammett · Mar 28, 2018

Turned it up to 60% will pull some cyano out in the morning to put under a microscope with my kids. Great timing studying cellular respiration right now...

On another note my new shrimp decided to kill and eat a hermit crab... what should we do?