Pre-School Tank Build

[Smokey Stover]

I still don/t like that design integrity, Still no vertical support under top frame.Screws can shear but in softwood pine 2x4 they will sag/loosen their grip. Laterally test it by bracing/securing the base on the floor and I bet you can shift the top side to side, The long way. A sheet of plywood on one side would give a lot of stability against racking.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

With the lateral support I added it became more sturdy. I'm not changing it any more. It's done now.

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[Lance A. Lot]

Door panels

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[Lance A. Lot]

Light on done for the night

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[Lance A. Lot]

In the classroom now. Staining sealing and plumbing this week.

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[Pife]

Looks great time and I'm sure it's plenty strong.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Water in the tank

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[petebsbll]

Really cool. I'm sure the children will love having that in the classroom!

 

[shaginwagon13]

That's awesome.

Those kids are going to love it. They find it so fascinating to watch saltwater ecosystems.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

First day of class was yesterday. Unfortunately all they had to look at was rocks and sand still.

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[tjm9331]

LOVE THIS!!

The kids are going to love it!

AND there is a multitude of learning experiences here...

The children will learn about the nitrogen cycle

They will learn about the oceans ecosystem

They will learn all about the tanks inhabitants

They will learn husbandry skills

and best of all, they will learn patience

Can't wait to see this tank develop, good for you to take the time to put this together for the teacher and her students

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Filled it all the way up yesterday and got the return pump running. I also dumped the whole bottle of Fritz turbo start in since it expired on Wednesday and there was no reason to save half a bottle of it. I had to tighten down a few bulk heads and unions at first but after 2 minutes of running it was not leaking anywhere I could see. Pump has started off a bit louder than I remember it being. I am sure a couple weeks worth of slime build up will quiet it down a lot.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Had some setbacks:
I put the wrong U-tube in the overflow. I used one from a different model instead. In my defense I haven't used either of them in a few years. This is also how I found out that Mrs. Douglas has been turning the return pump off during the day and on again at night. The overflow was not restarting all the way as quickly as it is supposed to and the upper tank slowly spilled about a gallon of water over the sides. Fortunately the tank is over tile.
Fixed the u tube problem easily now I have to address why she turned the return pump on and off. She thinks it is to loud during the day and distracts the kids. I listened to it and it is louder than when I use to use it. So now I am searching for a quieter used model.

 

[Mrs. Music]

omg! she turned it off? Does she now understand she can't do that?

 

[Lance A. Lot]

omg! she turned it off? Does she now understand she can't do that?

She does now. :lmao:

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Put a new pump in last Friday after class.
9/10 would recommend this pump. It is very quiet. now I am afraid she will complain about the skimmer noise when I turn that on.
Aqueon quietflow 2300 is what we went with.

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[Lance A. Lot]

I will do some water tests this week and see if we can put a fish in next weekend.
I added that Fritz turbo start a while ago now and I was feeding the tank a little every time I could. I don't know what turning off the return pump for 8 hours a day does to the cycle process.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Turning off the older return pump did slow the cycle down a bit. It was not ready for fish yet. I added some good live rock from my tank, some fritz 9 bottled bacteria, and dosed alk solution. Then I put a small frag of hammer coral to see what happens. That fritz 9 bottle says you can add livestock immediately but I don't believe everything I read on bottles.

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[DeepBlueSea]

Is there room between the rock and glass to be able to clean glass? Looks awful tight but could just be the photo.


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[Lance A. Lot]

Yep the mag float fits all the way around the 3 sides I can get to.

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