Project Peacock

[Sitarangi]

I'm currently a senior in high school. For my senior project, me and my friend, we are raising a peacock in a 20 gallon DIY aquarium with a budget of $150. Neither of us have any experience with saltwater aquariums. This is proving to be quite a challenge. Here are some pictures of what we have so far.

The aquarium built and sealed. For some ridiculous reason, we thought iit would be a great idea to drain water from a 1 1/2" pipe jutting from the bottom. This was a bad idea. After several attempts, we sealed it and it'll work fine now.

Our 'sump' complete with a Rio 2500, which is waaaaay to powerful for 20 gallons. To compensate for this, we covered the intakes with duct tape .

Our filter, which is made from a bucket, spaghetti strainer, bio balls, a couple holes, and some filter floss. If this works, we'll be the Macgyver of the aquarium world.......

Our tank retaining water (minus a tiny leak)

Our solution to a tiny leak....


Our reapplication of sealant is drying so no water until Monday, but then we get some LR and test this bad boy out. Maybe we'll have our Mantis by friday. More pics to come......

 

[Bebo77]

[welcome]

all that for 1 mantis?

 

[Sitarangi]

Well..... yea.

We wanted it to be comfortable, ntm the one were getting from a LFS is about 8-10" already. There will be some LR so we wanted some room for anything else that might pop up.

 

[Bebo77]

IMO... you dont need the bioballs.. or a sump even.. but you made it so nevermind that...

you want to make sure your tank is stable and your live rock is fully curred before you add anything to your tank...

 

[DanInSD]

Uh, either you're not getting a peacock, or you're measuring some units either than inches. They max out at 18cm -- seven inches.

Covering the intakes to the pump will stress the pump, shortening its life. Not desirable. I would either use a smaller pump, or, more desirable, just diffuse the output back to the tank to generate strong turbulent flow.

 

[TMPoften]

an 8 to 10 inch peacock ???

 

[BALISTIK]

when i went to go pick up my peacock (3 inches or so) i saw a massive green bodied peacock. that thing must have been at least 8 inches. it was a beast.

 

[ck1]

Wow-
I don't even know where to start with this. You realize how long it will be until you can have a mantis in there....right? Your tank will have to be fully cycled before you can add anything.
You made the tank I am assuming- what thickness is the acrylic?? And in one spot you have to "reapply the sealant"....what did you use? Weld-on fuses the pieces together- does not seal them together.
I don't understand why your project has to have a dollar limit- the mantis is a living marine creature. Does you school also offer how to feed, clothe and care for a child for $40 a month??? Basically the same concept here. If you buy an animal and there are more expenses involved- you let it die?? you buy more stuff and fail the course?? Why can't your project just be to build the tank and assemble a desirable living situation- why the dollar limit for its care??
Good luck- and I hope you did your "homework" and continue to ask questions and completely understand the cycling process and how to maintain a SW tank.

 

[Guygettnby]

i think it is pretty cool that you are attempting to build your own tank out of scratch. if i had more time i would attempt to do something like this but i would spend alot more time and money on it.

if you plan on putting a mantis in there i would make sure that the tank does not leak and it is cleaned very well before you start to put the rock and substrate in it. also keep coming on here and ask us for help as this forum is full of knowledge, as alot of us have tried it all and failed alot in the process. maybe you should start out with a different mantis for this roject though. something a bit more hardy and easier to take care of. like maybe a N.Wennerae....they are cheap and will be alot more forgiving then a peacock will be. i commend you on trying this all and i hope this goes well for you. keep us updated on your new project and we all love to see pictures so keep taking them!!

 

[Sitarangi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11337788#post11337788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ck1
Wow-
I don't even know where to start with this. You realize how long it will be until you can have a mantis in there....right? Your tank will have to be fully cycled before you can add anything.
You made the tank I am assuming- what thickness is the acrylic?? And in one spot you have to "reapply the sealant"....what did you use? Weld-on fuses the pieces together- does not seal them together.
I don't understand why your project has to have a dollar limit- the mantis is a living marine creature. Does you school also offer how to feed, clothe and care for a child for $40 a month??? Basically the same concept here. If you buy an animal and there are more expenses involved- you let it die?? you buy more stuff and fail the course?? Why can't your project just be to build the tank and assemble a desirable living situation- why the dollar limit for its care??
Good luck- and I hope you did your "homework" and continue to ask questions and completely understand the cycling process and how to maintain a SW tank.

Thank you so much for the imput. Our school is a charter school (high tech high Media Arts) and is rather large. it's main focus is project based learning. For our senior projects, we are given a $75 a person budget (75 x 2 = $150 budget). Marine Biology is my passion in life and this aquarium means alot to me. Both me and my partner have put vast amounts of our own money into this project as well. I want to keep the shrimp afterwards and hopefully add on and keep some more critters.

We used weld on for to attach the sides and that is what broke. We re applied the weld on and resealed that entire side and a couple tiny places that were leaking. The tape is on top of that. Sorry for not making that clear.

Lastly, let me refresh the timetable.

Monday, we check for cracks, be sure everything is sealed. Friday. If everything is ok, we dump salt water. Let it cycle for a week. Christmas break is the next week and will last 2 weeks. I may be able to stick a piece of LR or two in there, to help oxygenate and the whatnot. The LFS has a tiny green unidentified smasher we could get for $10, though hes pretty boring. Heck, for all we know we could get a hitchiker :strooper:. I would still love to do a peacock, but if its not forgiving to novices I woudn't want to risk it. Also, check out our project website....

http://students.hthma.hightechhigh.org/~mimler/Peacock Mantis shrimp/Dreamweaver template/index.html

 

[Guygettnby]

peacocks are by far the most entertaining mantis i think out there. but i love my N. Wennerae... they are also very fun to watch and are extremely hardy. that is probably what the LFS has for $10.... they very from mantis too mantis as far as how they act but usualy they are pretty active. if you have your heart set on a peacock then buy the live sand and some aquacultured rock with some macroalgea on it. that will help cycle it abit faster.

also when you add the live rock to the tank grab a few damsels, hermits and see if they have some hitch hiker crabs they will sell to you for cheap. they make great food and will help cycle your tank faster. this is what i have done with all my mantis tanks and it has worked thus far. be sure to let the tank sit for at least 2-3 days after you fill it up with water and the live sand so everything settles before you attempt to add anything living. hopefully this all works for you and it should help cycle the tank abit faster for ya....just remember that cycling a tank takes time.

 

[Pea-brain]

Errr.....looking through your site I see a few...."errors"....For one peacocks only get about 7" long at most, unless include the mutant peacocks from hawaii which grow to unnatural proportions because of pollution. Your site says they get a foot long! Also, what evidence do you have that the peacock is being overfished. It says that the mantis is overfished on your site, but I see no supporting articles and have never heard anything myself. Wanna watch out for that. Unsupported statements are frowned apun in school work

Dan

 

[Sitarangi]

Well im going to kick my partner in the gut. Hes obsessed over that species of 'striped' mantises from Hawaii. Hes gotten them confused. The problem with mantises and all unsustainable seafood (which a mantis is) is that they are unsustainable. While exact numbers are tough, we are basically taking more for the ocean than it is providing. Project Peacock is basically raising awarness on a more specific scale by talking about that species.

 

[Pea-brain]

While some mantises are overfished for food, the peacock generally isn't. It is used for food in some places, but not overfished. You may be confusing it with the L. maculata, which is overfished. The species O. scyllarus isn't in any immediate danger to my knowledge, and long term it won't be overfishing that kills it, but global warming or pollution. The current population can handle our fishing. They are promiscuous breeders and release many larvae, and I believe they do it more than once a year. Also your info about overfishing may have come from a similar error from your friend. BTW I am in support of kicking, particularly in the teeth Here is a quote from doctor Roy, a stomatopod researcher for Berkeley in California.

"Lysiosquillina maculata is perhaps the most commonly eaten stoamtopod. Almost everywhere it occurs in the Indo-Pacific it is eaten. It has been almost completely fished out of Tahiti and Moorea where a large animal in the fishmarket will bring well over $50. A few years ago, there was a French Polynesian stamp depicting a pair of L. maculata on a banana leaf. On the other side of the stamp was a recipe for Varo (the local name for stomatopods) cooked in butter, parsley and garlic."

He goes on to say

"Personally, I prefer Squilla mantis to Lysiosquillina. The only way I really like gonodactylids is boiled in beer and the tails stuffed with blue cheese and madeira."

Of course I could very well be wrong, and if you have evidence to support your info please share it.

Dan

 

[Tu Ku]

WOW, WITF?

 

[KafudaFish]

Ok so what do you need help with for the aquarium? I think that many want to help you succeed (mainly for the mantis) as much as your project.
Is your art related to the moving 360 degree aquarium or something else?
One thing you are going to have to understand is that some people will bash you about certain things that you have, have not done so take them with a grain of salt.
One suggestion on your website: learn scientific nomenclature. It is a small thing but you should use it correctly.

 

[DivaMan]

Put the LR in DOR your cycle, along with LS, its not the water that cycles, its the surfaces in the aquarium that get colonized. Also, when you change pumps go with another brand, such as a mag drive, Rios are notorious for sudden failure.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11338921#post11338921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sitarangi
Thank you so much for the imput. Our school is a charter school (high tech high Media Arts) and is rather large. it's main focus is project based learning. For our senior projects, we are given a $75 a person budget (75 x 2 = $150 budget). Marine Biology is my passion in life and this aquarium means alot to me. Both me and my partner have put vast amounts of our own money into this project as well. I want to keep the shrimp afterwards and hopefully add on and keep some more critters.

We used weld on for to attach the sides and that is what broke. We re applied the weld on and resealed that entire side and a couple tiny places that were leaking. The tape is on top of that. Sorry for not making that clear.

Lastly, let me refresh the timetable.

Monday, we check for cracks, be sure everything is sealed. Friday. If everything is ok, we dump salt water. Let it cycle for a week. Christmas break is the next week and will last 2 weeks. I may be able to stick a piece of LR or two in there, to help oxygenate and the whatnot. The LFS has a tiny green unidentified smasher we could get for $10, though hes pretty boring. Heck, for all we know we could get a hitchiker :strooper:. I would still love to do a peacock, but if its not forgiving to novices I woudn't want to risk it. Also, check out our project website....

http://students.hthma.hightechhigh.org/~mimler/Peacock Mantis shrimp/Dreamweaver template/index.html

 

[Sitarangi]

UPDATE: She holds water.....

Our sump, cycling water. Some FLR in there, already cured and ready to go in...

We got some more pictures that'll probably go on later today....

 

[ck1]

Hard to tell from the pic- is the tank completely supported on the bottom? looks like it might not be.....

 

[Guygettnby]

keep up on the pics......we loves pics...lol. i am assuming you fixed the small leak you had. have you decided on anothe kind of mantis or are you still hoping for the peacock?