Writing a grant for a reef tank

[Mickali]

Hello!

I am currently trying to complete the writing of a grant to get a reef tank in my classroom. I teach high school biology and environmental science, and have a small freshwater tank in my room currently. The kids always have questions about it, I have worked it into several of my lessons, and a few kids have actually purchased and began their own tanks because they liked mine in the room. I want to get a larger, saltwater tank because they are so much more appealing, and it would allow me to use it for several topics I can't do with my regular tank, mainly conservation with the corals. I have the majority of the grant ready to go, but the main area I have run into trouble with falls on the type of protein skimmer to get in the sump and the size of the return pump I will need for my 75g tank. Any advise (or recommendations) for these items and any other advise anyone has is greatly appreciated!

 

[sfin52]

I like reef octopus. That’s what im saving up for.

Welcome to reef2reef. What are you going to do with the tank in the summer?

 

[Mickali]

I like reef octopus. That’s what im saving up for.

Welcome to reef2reef. What are you going to do with the tank in the summer?

I currently live within walking distance to my school, so I can easily stop in daily to keep things running smoothly. I'll look into the reef octopus ones, I know those have popped up in a few places and seem to be the top priced ones commonly found. Some of the guides I have been reading say to get a skimmer that is set for 2x the size of my tank; is this something I should devote the extra money to?

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

I have a reef octopus skimmer and it works great. There are other good brands as well.

I in general like over sizing the skimmer, but you don’t necessarily have to.
Are you planning on doing frequent water changes? Other filtration equipment? Low bio load? You could get a smaller skimmer.

If you were not planning on doing water changes often, or have are planning on having a big bio load, I would definitely aim for bigger.

 

[Mickali]

I have a reef octopus skimmer and it works great. There are other good brands as well.

I in general like over sizing the skimmer, but you don’t necessarily have to.
Are you planning on doing frequent water changes? Other filtration equipment? Low bio load? You could get a smaller skimmer.

If you were not planning on doing water changes often, or have are planning on having a big bio load, I would definitely aim for bigger.

I currently change the water in my freshwater tank every other week, and was planning on doing the saltwater tank water changes on the current "down-weeks" of water changes. For the other filtration stuff, I was planning on just doing a filter sock & having some extra live rock in the sump for added filtration. I also plan on having the kids do regular water quality checks as part of the environmental science class, and can adjust the changes as needed. For other filtration, do you recommend an actual filter, or just the hanging filter socks and bio bags?

 

[sfin52]

I’m sure it’s on your list but if not a rodi filter. It’s worth it’s weight in gold. Agree on over sized skimmer.

I always have granular activated carbon in my tank. I do 5 percent water change a week. The sump is your filter. You can also run a refugium in the sump as well. Loads of options with a sump set up.

 

[Dogtown]

One piece of advice if you are just starting, get a tank that is the exact diminson that you want. Make sure it is designed with a quiet bean animal overflow to be ultra quiet, and make sure you place it where you can keep a large sump. That becomes the frame of your painting and all decisions for years to come will revolve around the frame. Go bigger if you have the space.

You can gradually get everything else over time. You don’t even need a skimmer to get started. A refugium and all the biodiversity that it will hold would make your tank even more educational. Many run refugium instead of skimmers, or both. Lots of choices and options.

 

[Victoria M]

It is fantastic that you are doing this for a classroom. I feel you have so much reading to do. A thread asking questions abou equipment is a great start but please read the stickies on the top of this sub forum. There is much to learn!

 

[James Hammett]

Hello!

I am currently trying to complete the writing of a grant to get a reef tank in my classroom. I teach high school biology and environmental science, and have a small freshwater tank in my room currently. The kids always have questions about it, I have worked it into several of my lessons, and a few kids have actually purchased and began their own tanks because they liked mine in the room. I want to get a larger, saltwater tank because they are so much more appealing, and it would allow me to use it for several topics I can't do with my regular tank, mainly conservation with the corals. I have the majority of the grant ready to go, but the main area I have run into trouble with falls on the type of protein skimmer to get in the sump and the size of the return pump I will need for my 75g tank. Any advise (or recommendations) for these items and any other advise anyone has is greatly appreciated!

I just got my school to order a saltwater tank for my SPED Biology class. I ordered the Biocube 32 Complete Reef kit. Granted I amnew to this but this kit has everything you need in one package, even a stand. I didn't write a grant but plan to to start a reef club at our school maybe we can pu tour heads together and help each other out?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074TSFVJ...8731-df88678ac05f&ie=UTF8&qid=1516653630&sr=2

 

[skiergd011013]

Hello!

I am currently trying to complete the writing of a grant to get a reef tank in my classroom. I teach high school biology and environmental science, and have a small freshwater tank in my room currently. The kids always have questions about it, I have worked it into several of my lessons, and a few kids have actually purchased and began their own tanks because they liked mine in the room. I want to get a larger, saltwater tank because they are so much more appealing, and it would allow me to use it for several topics I can't do with my regular tank, mainly conservation with the corals. I have the majority of the grant ready to go, but the main area I have run into trouble with falls on the type of protein skimmer to get in the sump and the size of the return pump I will need for my 75g tank. Any advise (or recommendations) for these items and any other advise anyone has is greatly appreciated!

Just curious, did you ask the school if they would fund it? Did they say no?

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

I currently change the water in my freshwater tank every other week, and was planning on doing the saltwater tank water changes on the current "down-weeks" of water changes. For the other filtration stuff, I was planning on just doing a filter sock & having some extra live rock in the sump for added filtration. I also plan on having the kids do regular water quality checks as part of the environmental science class, and can adjust the changes as needed. For other filtration, do you recommend an actual filter, or just the hanging filter socks and bio bags?

A biweekly schedule is pretty common, and should do a moderate amount of nutrient removal, but definitely not enough to rely on, depending on how much macro biology you plan on putting in the tank.

Other common forms of filtration are refugiums (would be an amazing addition to educational topics as well as greater diversity and cheap,easy, effective filtration),
Carbon or GFO reactors, additional media to produce surface area for bacteria.

I think the decision of your skimmer is dependent on you plans for how many fish you want in the tank.

Sicce makes some relatively cheap ac return pumps. They’re also fairly reliable.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

If you still want pump suggestions, both the 'AquaEuro Apex 656' and the 'Sicce 3.0' are appropriately sized and affordable. They also have some of the best track records for their price point.

 

[Mickali]

I just got my school to order a saltwater tank for my SPED Biology class. I ordered the Biocube 32 Complete Reef kit. Granted I amnew to this but this kit has everything you need in one package, even a stand. I didn't write a grant but plan to to start a reef club at our school maybe we can pu tour heads together and help each other out?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074TSFVJ...8731-df88678ac05f&ie=UTF8&qid=1516653630&sr=2

I'll check out that kit to make sure I'm not overlooking anything. We can definitely put our heads together to get our tanks going, the more the merrier. Its great that your school is purchasing that for you, and hopefully the club will allow you to expand from there!

 

[Mickali]

Just curious, did you ask the school if they would fund it? Did they say no?

I did not ask them to fund the initial creation of my tank because we have limiting funding, and most of it is already invested in continuing projects other teachers have started. I will be able to use school fund to do the upkeep, however, once (if) I can get the project going. I'm almost done writing the grant now, however, and the deadline for the one I am applying for is in March.

 

[Jesterrace]

Hello!

I am currently trying to complete the writing of a grant to get a reef tank in my classroom. I teach high school biology and environmental science, and have a small freshwater tank in my room currently. The kids always have questions about it, I have worked it into several of my lessons, and a few kids have actually purchased and began their own tanks because they liked mine in the room. I want to get a larger, saltwater tank because they are so much more appealing, and it would allow me to use it for several topics I can't do with my regular tank, mainly conservation with the corals. I have the majority of the grant ready to go, but the main area I have run into trouble with falls on the type of protein skimmer to get in the sump and the size of the return pump I will need for my 75g tank. Any advise (or recommendations) for these items and any other advise anyone has is greatly appreciated!

The Jebao DC pumps (the 6000, 8000 or 9000 models would all work great for your tank) are hard to beat for the money. I have the DCT8000 in my 29 gallon sump for a 90 gallon main tank and run it at about 40% and it provides plenty of flow. I assume your 75 gallon tank is factory drilled with an overflow (ie designed for a sump)? If not then there is a whole new dimension of complexity added to the process. Drilling glass is not something I recommend unless you are very experienced with it, nor are those overflow boxes that don't provide the same flow as a drilled tank and are prone to leaking. As for the Protein Skimmer the Reef Octopus will work as will a few others. One thing I wish mine had that it doesn't was a feed setting as it makes it a little bit easier. The return pumps mentioned above do and you simply push the button once and it will automatically kick back on after a few minutes. My skimmer was 100% manual and I had to unplug and replug everytime I fed until I got a plug in adapter with a kill switch.

 

[Mickali]

A biweekly schedule is pretty common, and should do a moderate amount of nutrient removal, but definitely not enough to rely on, depending on how much macro biology you plan on putting in the tank.

Other common forms of filtration are refugiums (would be an amazing addition to educational topics as well as greater diversity and cheap,easy, effective filtration),
Carbon or GFO reactors, additional media to produce surface area for bacteria.

I think the decision of your skimmer is dependent on you plans for how many fish you want in the tank.

Sicce makes some relatively cheap ac return pumps. They’re also fairly reliable.

I am planning on having a refugium set up, but am still debating on how. Part of me wants to make this separate from the sump under my tank so that it is visible, but I am still wondering how I can add a smaller tank onto the side for this without making it look awkward next to the larger tank. I'll be looking at different layouts (and trying to design a stand to build) to try and make this possible. I agree the refugium would be a great talking point when we hit the ecology unit.

 

[James Hammett]

Actually going two directions I also have a 400 Gal Mini Fish Farm where the kids will raise catfish and grow most likely lettuce on an aquaponics raft in the tank. Where or in what state do you teach? I am in Maize Kansas.

 

[SuperHaze57]

I take it you've planned on an RO/DI system and a ATO as well?

 

[Victoria M]

Actually going two directions I also have a 400 Gal Mini Fish Farm where the kids will raise catfish and grow most likely lettuce on an aquaponics raft in the tank. Where or in what state do you teach? I am in Maize Kansas.

That is a pretty neat teaching tool too. Please post pictures.

 

[sfin52]

Ya you need to start a build thread when you get started.