Advice for school tank

[Phong33]

Hi all,
I am currently a high school teacher at St. Augustine Catholic High School (eastside of Tucson) and am looking to start up a Marine Biology class. I was in the hobby for about 5 years before I moved to Tucson 3 years ago. I am originally from Michigan were I had a 150g and 29g mixed reef. As much as I loved the hobby, I had to sell my tank and move to Tucson where I am now trying to instill the love into the students.

After talking to my administration, they are fully supportive of incorporating the new class into our curriculum starting next school year. However, funding the course has been a concern because I told the administration that I need a reef tank in order to fully teach the students the course material. I believe that the tank will bring excitement to the class and fuel curiosity. I could go on and on about all the benefits a tank can bring to a classroom in terms of hands on learning (I also teach Biology so it can also be used in that class as well) but all of you already know this.

That being said, I need your help in helping me determining what you think a start up cost and maintenance cost for a tank will be. I'm not sure how much has changed in the hobby in the last 3 years such as equipment and cost. Ideally, I would like to have a 75g or 90g tank. I will be starting from scratch so I'll need everything including skimmers, pumps, sump, rocks, sand, lights, etc. I would like to have a mixed reef with mostly LPS and softies.

What will the maintenance cost be? What is the evaporation rate like in Tucson since its so dry here? How much does RO water cost here? How much do you think this tank will increase the electric bill? I hope to use T5 lighting. Is a chiller necessary (my room does not have heat or AC after school hours)? How much do chillers cost?

Any additional information or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[victornator333]

Welcome!

Its going to be costly, but as a science class, perhaps you can get more wiggle room because supplies for science classes tend to make the class more expensive. I think a smaller tank would be more appropriate and feasible in terms of costs, perhaps a 40 breeder.

I think another thing to consider is what you will do when school is not in session...a smaller tank might make it easier for you to remove the livestock.

To lower maintenance costs, start with trying to go LED for the lights to lower the electric bill for the school. The cost might be initially higher but it would eliminate the replacement bulbs and lower electricity requirement in a chiller and electricity consumption from the bulbs.

RO Costs about $.25 a gallon at most LFS, and in terms of evap, my 24 gallon uses maybe 4 gallons of RO a week right now.

I would look on craigslist for good deals on full setups that the school would be more willing to cover.

Perhaps a LFS would be willing to sponsor the class? I think it could be a win for both parties.

Shoot me a PM if you have any specific questions or if I can help out in any way. This is a really cool class idea and I would like to see how it turns out!

 

[Phong33]

Thanks for your input! I was thinking about a smaller tank (I've always loved the dimensions of a 50g breeder) but wanted a bigger tank for the sake of stability. In addition, I really love tangs, especially a hippo tang and wanted a 4ft tank for it. In terms of cost, is a 40g that much cheaper than a 75g (not including corals)?

You are absolutely right that it would be easier to move livestock during the summer so that may end up being the better option.

LED lights were just starting to make it big when I left the hobby. What is a reputable brand? What do you expect the cost for LED lights on a 40/50g tank to be?

I have thought about talking to a LFS about sponsoring a tank but don't know any of the LFS really well. Do you know of any LFS that might be interested in being a sponsor?

Thanks for your help so far.

 

[Tucson Reef]

Talk to the people at SEA, they might have some used equiptment to donate and if not at least they will get you started on the right foot. Yes this hobby has advanced rapidly over the years, best part is prices are coming down too as equiptment is getting better.

 

[victornator333]

A DIY fixture would be much cheaper for LED's. I personally like Boostled if you didnt want to DIY because they arent incredibly expensive, but there are other good brands as well.

 

[Phong33]

Thanks for the tip about SEA, I actually stopped into their store today. Being in there made me realize how much I miss the hobby. I didn't talk to them yet about what they can do because I want to wait until the development of the course gets going a little more.

 

[scubabum1983]

I heled out with the UA Marine bio program, they have a tank, nothing but rock and fish, they also have a great program for teaching younger kids about the oceans, Katrina Mangin is the contact, i agree with people here 40 long with a Diy pendant or fixture, but id do one with a locking hood, kids will be kids, remember someones going to have to get in to care for it for holiday breaks, and you will have to get it home for the summer, id go with soft coral, pretty bomb proof so far as neglect and lower light needs. if you cant get a lfs store sponsor look on CL for stuff cheap as for coral maybe you could see if any one has a frag here ore there on the fourm to get you going also id be willing to help with RO, i have a 150g per day rodi putting out 0tds and i have more than i can ever use.

 

[Phong33]

I heled out with the UA Marine bio program, they have a tank, nothing but rock and fish, they also have a great program for teaching younger kids about the oceans, Katrina Mangin is the contact, i agree with people here 40 long with a Diy pendant or fixture, but id do one with a locking hood, kids will be kids, remember someones going to have to get in to care for it for holiday breaks, and you will have to get it home for the summer, id go with soft coral, pretty bomb proof so far as neglect and lower light needs. if you cant get a lfs store sponsor look on CL for stuff cheap as for coral maybe you could see if any one has a frag here ore there on the fourm to get you going also id be willing to help with RO, i have a 150g per day rodi putting out 0tds and i have more than i can ever use.

Thank you so much for your advice and your offer of the RO water. I'm sure I'll be taking you up on it