VERY new her e in Paco Co.

L

ladyfsu

Active member
Hi,

I'm going to be teaching marine biology but am VERY new to aquariums. I have 2 55-gallon tanks and about 10 other tanks of various smaller sizes. None of these have hoods, filters, powerheads etc. For one of the 55's I spent my own money and bought an Emperor 400 bio-wheel, live sand and rock, thermometer, and a powerhead (I still don't have a light ) . The purpose of this tank is to display our local critters from the Gulf. I have a collector's permit to keep some things, but its been to chilly to go out...that's all getting ready to change.

So far I have many hermits from the beach, 5 quarter size starfish, 2 pipefish, an emerald crab, a small perch and some little minnow. Hopefully the sea grasses will fill up with cool things soon. Some of the other tanks I'll be setting up though will be a little fancier though. I want a reef tank, a nice salt tank, my local organism tank, a brackish water tank.

OK while we're getting our fundraising going...

PLEASE REMEMBER I'M DOING TANKS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES and aren't trying to make them pretty necessarily. These are some of my questions.

1. Does an HVO light need to have a florescent light with it?
2. Does live rock need an HVO light?
3. What are the BARE neccessities for a reef tank?
4. What eats sea cucumbers?


I've had millions of questions I'm asking the guy I bought my tank cleaners from but have forgotten some now. He's been great but I ask him too much. I'll be posting up alot as they come to me. I really appreciate any advice I can get.

P.S. - If you know any way for me to find cheap or used powerheads and all that other gear I need, please pm/email me! Nets, testers etc. I can use all the help I can get.

Thanks!
 
I have not heard of HVO, do you mean VHO? If so:

1. VHO light is a type of florescent light. VHO stands for Very High Output

2. Live rock does not need VHO lighting

3. I have seen some bare tanks lit only by natural sunlight. Window, etc. You could have only a tank and something to move the water around. (You will find many answers to this question. )

4. Don't know.

Good luck,
Chris
 
Great idea. Were are you going to teach at? If you want to stop by OKEEF'S REEF. I can set you up with a lot of stuff for FREE a pump fluidized filter ,sump and anything else I can find. old vho lights a skimmer . My wife Lisa is a music teacher in Pasco 20 years if you need any advice.Check out the ANCHOR WEB site a local club.
 
4. As far as I know, nothing. Most cukes are toxic.

One comment, be carefull with the pipefish. Have you gotten them to eat prepared foods? Their care is similiar to sea horses and from what I've read they are just as delicate. You will need to play close attention to flow and tank mates. They're usually not recommended for beginning aquarists. You should be able to find some good info on RC and through google.
 
WOW HOLY MOLY THANKS!!! I teach at River Ridge in New Port Richey! Please email me your location. My email is laine@tampabay.rr.com. I see you are in Hudson and I go there every weekend for my son's baseball games, but my husband & I live 15 minutes from Hudson and could come at any time! Thank you SOO much! You have NO idea.


...........and thank you Chris too. Someone told me I had to get lights but I have HUGE florescent lights all in my classroom that stay on from 7am - 5pm or longer so I'm glad to know I'm not going to kill anything off too soon due to lighting.

Luminary...thanks! Um, well...I don't know if they are eating or not. I just caught them on Sunday. I only kept 2 even though there were probably 500 in my seine nets. I hope they'll be OK.
 
Last edited:
OK here goes next questions.

Someone is willing to buy a hood and lights for a 55-gallon I have. It has been up for 3 weeks (everything is living but I doubt it is done cycling). I want to be able to have anemones, corals, inverts, hardy plants and a few fish in there but they won't be the super sensitive types. I'm going for relatively hardy.

1. If you go to http://www.drsfostersmith.com/ or somewhere else, what hood and lights should I get? Please keep $$ in mind.

2. If I'm willing to spend a little extra, where can I get good, fun liverock with "critters" on it, and is my tank to new to have this kind of liverock?

Thanks!
 
THANK YOU JOKEEF for all the GOODIES!! We're going over to school to try to set up a couple of these goodies today. I'm so excited!!!

In case anyone is interested, this is what I'm starting off with.

backcounter.jpg


front.jpg


The 55-gallon tank in the front of the class to the left is the one I'm starting on and spent my own money on buying a filter, rock, sand. This just has local critters in it that I found at Howard Park. The one next to it and then a smaller one I'm working on next.

This is what I'm hoping to do. I want 1 tank to have:

1. Local critters from beach scallop, hermits, starfish, snails, pipefish (if I can keep them alive :eek1: ) crabs, small fish, and some odd purply spongy wacky 5-inch long thing that has now attached itself to a rock.......anything else?

2. Symbiotic/mutualistic coral tank (pink-spotted goby/pistol shrimp, clown/anemone, coral/algae) most of those are hardy and not too expensive. What else anyone?......oh yeah cleaner fish and something.

3. Gulf tank with gulf sponges/corals (I know very little about this but I DO have a license for this stuff, and know they need no major lights which is good on my budget).....maybe I could mix this with the the #1 tank?

4. Brackish tank w/e I can catch...hopefully TINY sheepshead, snook, pinfish, mangrove snapper. I am hoping all of these fish will be 4 inches or less but that will be tough.

5. Fish only tank ???

6. not sure yet

I'd like to keep a little grouper somewhere. I LOVE them but know what they can do to a tank. I have caught grouper in brackish water before at pilings...maybe I can acclimate one and put it in the brackish tank....a grouper eating a snook? That would be a good dinner!!

What's everyone's ideas for tanks, and what should go in them to run them decently?

OK I now have a couple pumps from JO, and hopefully one tank is getting VHO lights he gave me today.. I still have no hoods, powerheads (except in my established tanks) or anything else but plan on getting some of this stuff this week.

He also gave me a grow tank and some macro's I'm going to try to hook up and run today (wish me luck, lol). It's cool!

BTW, JO HAS THE MOST AMAZING TANK I've ever seen!!! I didn't even know it was possible to have THAT many healthy happy beautiful fish in 1 tank!!.......GOOD JOB JIM!!



Thanks!
 
my son goes to the middle school, maybe he'll be in your class in a few years. We just down the street fromt he school.
 
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