TPF's 50g Reef Edutope

[thepanfish]

Well I've been collecting stuff for this for a while now and its finally coming to life! This is a 50 gallon (36"x13"x24") Tenecor Acrylic AIO. The display area is quite narrow, only about 10" wide but it'll do.
This tank is setup to educate kids both about corals and reef ecosystems, but also about reef conservation (hopefully I can do some fragging). This tank will be tied directly with the curriculum and will be invaluable in teaching kids about reefs.

Stocking for this tank was chosen based on coloration, space occupied in the water column, temperament, hardiness, activity level, and mostly interesting behaviors.
Stocking will be as follows:

1 Sleeper Banded Goby
1 Longnose Hawkfish (I know its a risk)
1 (small, sorry guys) Yellow Tang

REPLACED WITH LONGNOSE BUTTERFLYFISH

*perhaps* a pair of clowns if I can get them hosting


Assorted Euphyllids
GSP
Assorted "tree" softies (sinularia, kenya tree etc)
Assorted Leathers
Some other donated stuffs

Inverts are pending, I'm thinking a cleaner shrimp and your basic run-of-the-mill CUC


I'll try to get pics up later, if you'd like to donate fish/coral just post below!

[thepanfish]

Cleaning:



All cleaned out:



Almost full:



Sandbed, 4": 3" Aragonite and 1" reef sand



Preliminary rockscape:



Filled!



Filtration area:
From left to right; overflow, chemical filtration tower, form orange to orange is the refugium, return


We need more live rock, so if you have any please PM me!
Thats all for now

[ReefTech]

tank looks great....looking forward to seeing it fully stocked

[thepanfish]

Originally Posted by ReefTech

tank looks great....looking forward to seeing it fully stocked

Don't worry, it ended up in good hands!
I can't wait to have the LED on it, but I figure I'll wait till the cycle finishes up...

[ReefTech]

trust me its gonna look amazing!!! i remember what the tank looked like when i put the led fixture above it before you picked it up and it was about five times brighter than the coralife pc thats on it now....just let me know when your ready got the fixture and the coral ready for ya

[thepanfish]

Originally Posted by ReefTech

trust me its gonna look amazing!!! i remember what the tank looked like when i put the led fixture above it before you picked it up and it was about five times brighter than the coralife pc thats on it now....just let me know when your ready got the fixture and the coral ready for ya

Yeah like I said, don't wanna put coral in a cycling tank.
The kids come back from break on the 27th so maybe around the 3rd?

[Sir Patrick]

In effort for reef conservation- I would not put the yellow tang in the tank, and instead talk about the want vs. ethics behind doing so, in an educational manner, in an effort for future education of the kids that will be enjoying this project. There is alot to be learned on this subject, that should be shared.

Sorry I was unable to come up w/ any sand/rock- but I have more than enough corals to donate to make the trip out worth it, when the tank is ready.

[larryandlaura]

I have dry rock I can donate but its in Houghton Lake.

[thepanfish]

Originally Posted by Sir Patrick

In effort for reef conservation- I would not put the yellow tang in the tank, and instead talk about the want vs. ethics behind doing so, in an educational manner, in an effort for future education of the kids that will be enjoying this project. There is alot to be learned on this subject, that should be shared.

Sorry I was unable to come up w/ any sand/rock- but I have more than enough corals to donate to make the trip out worth it, when the tank is ready.

Sir P, I completely understand your point, but I really wanted a larger colorful active fish. I can promise a good home for the tang after a while. I figured I would receive friction on this issue, so I thought a wrasse could be a nicer alternative. I also looked at a foxface. Ultimately I understand the ethicality argument, but I hope we can see past a 3" yellow tang in a 50 gallon for a few months...

Also, don't worry about the sand/rock
I am excited for the corals!

[Sir Patrick]

Try t find a tiny one. Sometimes you can find them as small as 1 1/2". My kole tang is less than 2" itself.