# Brantford Elementary School Classroom Aquariums (SIX!!! That's Enough)...



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Now that all four tanks have been set up, I thought I'd start a combined tank journal to document this new adventure.

I had set up tanks in Felicia's class in the past, but this year several of her past teachers and Isabella's teacher agreed or asked to have a tank set up as a class pet. Over the past week, I set up two Fluval Floras (approx. 8g), an 18" cube, and now a 27" converted glass Ikea vase.

Here's the "tube tank" as I call it.

DONATED empty vase picked up Thursday afternoon from April.









Add a wood cabinet I picked up for $20 off CL in Surrey.









Added a branch & black gravel.









Set up in the classroom.

















Some of the plants are from Stan (hornwort, java moss, java fern & elodea) and greenmachine (Amazon sword).


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Here are the other three tanks.

18" cube with some plants from my own tanks and some donated by stan6595 (most of the plants in the "tube tank" are also from Stan). Livestock so far are 3 panda cories and 3 Gold barbs. Adding some juv. angels from Victor next week. NOTE: pic taken before new plants added.

















Fluval Flora community tank with endlers, 3 albino long fin cories & some juv. gold barbs.









Fluval Flora shrimp tank with cherries (bought from liquid_krystal), Sakura cherries (bought from CoquitlamBC) and nano Brigittae rasboras (bought from April).


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

very creative. you done good anthony


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## Gaia (Jun 20, 2016)

Love these!

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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks. The "tube tank" is one of my all time favourite tanks. Just happened to have a branchy piece of wood soaking in the koi pond, which fortunately defrosted a couple days ago just in time for me to pull it out and use in the vase. Fit perfectly and the twist looks so cool. Definitely meant to go together IMO. Crazy glued some java moss and java fern on it to give it a more natural look. Added a nice big Amazon sword and some long strands of hornwort & elodea which will hopefully grow even longer and reach the top. The teacher and teacher's aid both love that vase tank and the kids are crazy for it. Tuesday I'll be adding some nice fish to grow out over the next 6 months, such as 3 small angels (marble, platinum & gold), 3 albino congo tetras and maybe my 6 pygmy cories. As the angels outgrow that tank, I'll take them home and replace with new small angels and same with the congos.


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## aprilsaquarium (Aug 22, 2016)

Looking good! 


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I'd like to collect a couple more tanks of unusual shapes between 5 to 25 gallons for future school tanks so if you have a cube, tall tank or hex tank taking up space that you're not using or some other equipment or livestock you'd like to donate or sell, let me know please. 

OK, now to answer a few frequently asked questions several people have asked me:

Am I paid to do this? (usually the first question people have asked me about) - No, the teachers and school do not pay me for these tanks. The setups are donated to the classrooms for use during the school year. Some stuff has been donated by my friends and fellow BCA members, like a heater from Victor, the vase from April, and some plants & discounted cherry shrimp, but most of the equipment, supplies, plants & fish I take from home or go buy of BCA or Craigslist. 

What happens in the summer? - I'm hoping some of the teachers will be able to take the tanks home and keep them there in the summer and I'll bring them back and reset them up in the classrooms in September. If not, I'll take them home, clean them out, keep some in my tanks over the summer or trade/sell the larger fish to pay for small ones in September.

Why? - Because my kids enjoy having tanks in their classrooms and so do their classmates & teachers. Had an epiphany a while back that without our active recruitment of kids into this hobby/addiction, the number of young fishkeepers will continue to shrink each year since kids nowadays are far more interested in video games, surfing the net & social media. Unless they are exposed to living fish & wildlife in their classrooms and/or through their parents, they will grow up not caring too much about fish or fishkeeping. So, hopefully by setting up interesting, beautiful tanks in their classrooms, some of my daughters' classmates & schoolmates will become interested enough in fish to ask their parents for a tank and we will be able to recruit a new generation of fishkeepers.

What's my biggest expense? - Probably gas, cause I've burned through at least 2 full tanks of gas collecting all the equipment & livestock over the last few weeks driving to Cloverdale, Surrey, North Delta, Richmond, Vancouver, North Van, North Burnaby/Burnaby, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.

I think we have to be proactive about recruiting young people into enjoying our hobby. By setting up at least one tank with shrimp and nano-fish, I'm letting them know that even a small tank can still be pretty and fun to keep. 

The excitement the kids exhibit when I bring in a tank or a new bag of fish is the best reward I can get. The teachers use the tanks as teaching tools as they research the different types of fish and plants living in their class tanks and learn about protecting our ecosystems and water resources. It makes it all worthwhile.

Also, if anyone here wants to start a school tank, feel free to ask and I will make time to explain what is needed and how to do it at a reasonable cost in time and money.

Peace,

Anthony


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## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

RE: . . . "the number of young fishkeepers will continue to shrink each year since kids nowadays are far more interested in video games, surfing the net & social media . . ."
------------------------------

True and such a shame! GOOD for you, sir, for taking the time, expense and effort to promote this hobby to the youngsters.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Thank you Mick. My kids have grown up with home aquariums all their lives and love fish, corals, and animals/nature in general. I worry about all their classmates who do not have this type of exposure at home. If each generation becomes more disconnected from nature and more interested only in electronic addictions, then that is a bad thing, IMO. Now that I think about it, every kid/teen who I know kept their own aquariums at home also stayed out of trouble and away from gangs, drugs, etc. So this would be another major side-benefit if more young people take up our fish addiction.

My next school tank will hopefully be an African cichlid (Auratus or Demasoni) tank, cause I want to make it possible for the kids in this school to do a tank tour and check out all different types of systems so they can find something that really grabs their attention. By giving them different shapes of tanks, different mixes of fish/shrimp/plants, hopefully some of the kids will become interested in starting their own tanks at home. 

I'm even going to talk to the Principal about maybe setting up a show tank in their main entryway. 

My main worry at this point is trying to figure out what to do this summer if none of the teachers can or are willing to take the tanks home with them and bring them back in the fall. I don't know if I have space at home to store all the tanks & livestock.

If anyone knows how to load up videos from smartphones onto BCA please let me know. I have some cool short videos but can't seem to get them uploaded.

Also, if anyone knows a source or local breeder of inexpensive colourful African cichlids like Auratus & Demasoni, please let me know that as well. 

Thanks,

Anthony


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## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

Well said Anthony! Would love to help scape the show tank in the entry way if you need any assistance (when you get to that point)! The biggest challenge is the maintenance and 2 months downtime when the school is closed for summer...


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Dou, thanks for the offer. I will need to figure out what to do about the summer break, that's for sure. Unfortunately, in past years, the school completely shuts down at the end of June since they don't offer summer classes at Brantford. 


I may have to simply take it down each summer.

Or perhaps leave it running but take home the fish and plants. Maybe run it on a timer with lights on for just a few hours so heat, evaporation and algae are not major issues and only stock very hardy low light plants. Hmmm.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Some pics after Victor's angelfish were added to a couple of the school tanks.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Here's a pic of my little kindergartener (on the right) & her friend. Their class tank is in the background and you can see how interested the kids are in their class pets. I've actually had lots of parents commenting on the tanks and saying how much their kids enjoy having the fish in their classrooms, so maybe we'll have more fish-keepers from the school in the near future.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Seen these setups in person and commend Anthony for all the work he's put into them. They look great and all the students interact well with their fishy friends. A pleasure to see all young people taking interest in fish and aquariums. Ha ha loved the questions I got when we added a few new residents.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Had our first casualties today unfortunately. 2 of the 3 panda cories in Bella's & 1 of 2 pandas in Felicia's class tank were found floating this morning. 

I'll wait a few days to see if any others are affected before I look at replacing the cories. Darn.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

Sorry to hear of your loss. Hopefully the wee ones take it well. I lost a rasbora the night I brought them home but luckily my 3 year old has a hard time counting past 5 so 7 looked like eight to her.

Hope it's nothing serious bubbling up in your tanks. It has to hard maintaining something like that. best if luck!


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Sorry to hear about the losses. How did the little ones take the losses? Hope they weren't upset



SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Had our first casualties today unfortunately. 2 of the 3 panda cories in Bella's & 1 of 2 pandas in Felicia's class tank were found floating this morning.
> 
> I'll wait a few days to see if any others are affected before I look at replacing the cories. Darn.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

A little sad but nothing too extreme. Several came up to me to tell me. That was cute. Replacing them next week most likely. Everything else in both tanks look fine. This is a long weekend coming up so not a great idea to add fish say on Friday and then not feed or see them till Tuesday. I'll leave any new additions till Tuesday morning.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Forgot to mention, the teacher asked me to come in and give a half hour lesson Thursday afternoon (2:30-3:00) to Felicia's class to teach them about fishkeeping. Felicia took a bunch of videos of all our home aquariums tonight on her iPad. I'll bring some food samples, a HOB filter, a heater and maybe some test kits & digital thermometer to show the kids what goes into having an aquarium and keeping fish alive and healthy. Should be fun. Last summer, for Felicia's birthday, I had her whole class walk over to our place for a bbq lunch/birthday party, then I did a "walking tour" of our organic garden/backyard orchard and a tank tour inside our home. That involved feeding, entertaining and educating 20 kids, teachers and several parents who came along for the food (jk) for 3 hours, so tomorrow afternoon's 30 minutes should be fun.

Anthony


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## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

Correct me if I am wrong . . . but it is my understanding that PANDA cories tend to be a little less hardy than some of the other cories out there. Maybe replace with "julii cories" instead?


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Mick2016 said:


> Correct me if I am wrong . . . but it is my understanding that PANDA cories tend to be a little less hardy than some of the other cories out there. Maybe replace with "julii cories: instead?


Yes, that's also been my understanding. I bought ones that had been in seller's tanks for a few months already but am looking to replace with Julii's. If my sterbai babies were big enough I'd send them to school (hehe) but alas, too small to change tanks. There is one remaining panda in the tube tank, so I'll add one Panda in there, but replace the lost Pandas with Juliis in Bella's class cube tank.

Have also talked with Bella's teacher and she agreed to take home the tank for the summer for her daughter to enjoy and bring back in September. I'll just have to drain the tank and bag up the fish. I'll take home whichever fish she doesn't want to bring home, in order to lower the bioload for the summer, and that will make it easier for her to keep the tank clean. With 3 filters on that tank, it should be fine for the summer, especially if she adds an auto feeder to the system.

Felicia's teacher wants to keep her tank for next year as well, so we'll probably drain it, take home all the livestock and store the tank with just the air pump/sponge filter running all summer. Then I just have to do a water change, top up the tank and the system will be ready for restocking in September.

This is good news for me cause with 6 tanks at home already, I really don't have space to take home all these school tanks and reset them up here for the summer.

Anthony


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

So I'm kinda wondering what you do in your spare time !! Ha Ha


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

Lol!
I think he answered that already


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

The fish-keeping spiel went off really well. Fortunately, having given numerous presentations at UBC as a student & T.A. and worked as tour guide at EXPO86 (yes I'm old), public speaking is not really an issue for me. Brought a bunch of spare equipment with me as "props" so I could explain about heaters, filters, bubblers, etc. Talked about aquatic eco-systems and how we need to protect them, just as we need to keep our aquariums clean and well-filtered if we want our plants and fish to thrive. The kids were very well behaved (it helps that they all know me from chaperoning countless field trips over the years and from setting up their tank). Felicia had taken several videos and still pics of our home tanks, which proved very useful and a real bonus for the kids. They had some really good questions and comments. The half hour flew by and it was great to see how enthusiastic they were about their tank and the interest some expressed about keeping fish at home.

Next week, I'll be talking to Isabella's Kindergarten class about fish & fish-keeping, just less technical and more "fun facts" oriented. I'll try to do it on the same day I bring over some new fish so I can explain the acclimation process and why we have to float the bags of new fish before we add them into the tank.

Anthony


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

That is great. Without sounding too corny, I just wanna say, that's a stellar thing to do. You really seem to be going the extra mile on their tanks and education. That is a huge service not too many people are willing or able to offer. Can't get it into their heads hard enough to really appreciate what we do in this hobby and why. 
Driving down to my lfs yesterday my 3 year old pipes up "Can we go to the forest daddy, I like the forest" Well I have been dragging her out into the woods since she was a new born trying to get her to love nature like I do. Meant a lot to me to hear that


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Mark Brown said:


> That is great. Without sounding too corny, I just wanna say, that's a stellar thing to do. You really seem to be going the extra mile on their tanks and education. That is a huge service not too many people are willing or able to offer. Can't get it into their heads hard enough to really appreciate what we do in this hobby and why.
> Driving down to my lfs yesterday my 3 year old pipes up "Can we go to the forest daddy, I like the forest" Well I have been dragging her out into the woods since she was a new born trying to get her to love nature like I do. Meant a lot to me to hear that


Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you share the same philosophy, that all of us who love nature and fishkeeping must do our part to instill some of that passion into our children and the next generation.

Every chance I get, when the weather is nice, I take my girls out to see and experience nature. Petting zoos, walks in the parks, visits to friends' farms, wildlife rescue centers or even just a drive out to near the local landfill to see the mass of bald eagles congregating there this winter. Really, we can't expect the schools or government to teach these values to the next generation, at least not without doing our part. My girls are 5 and 8 now, but they've probably been exposed to more "nature" than a lot of adults in the city. These tanks & everything else that goes with it are my way to ensure their schoolmates have some hands-on exposure to the natural world. Looking at pictures, reading about it in books or even watching videos on nature is not quite the same as seeing it in real life in their own classrooms. I may not always have the "free" time to go to this extent, but I personally think its well worth it and will try to keep up with the demand. I've had requests for more tanks at this school, as well as from teacher friends & relatives in North Van & Surrey. Not sure if I'm up to expanding into other suburbs, lol.

On a related note, I've been discussing with Felicia's teacher (for over a year) and the new principal about setting up a school "urban farm/garden" in one corner of the school yard. I hope to build a large greenhouse and several large raised garden beds so all the kids can grow seedlings (vegetables, herbs & flowers), plant some easy to care for vegetables, and have their own seedlings to take home in June to grow in their own gardens or in large pots. The principal is looking at funding & other help from the school board and sponsors. Just too big and expensive a project for me to fund myself. I would love to be able to plant a couple of nice fruit trees on the school property as well for the kids to pick fresh fruit from each year.

Anthony


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)




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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

So premade some sw and brought four buckets of water, corals, live rock & clownfish to the school, along with the Biocube 14 & all the equipment. Had to clean and fix some stuff yesterday but its all good now. Arrived at school by 11 am. All finished now. Will add some hermits, snails, and a couple more fish over the next couple of weeks.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

Looking really good!
I am rather jealous of those kids though


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## charlie1 (Nov 27, 2015)

I applaud your efforts, we need more hobbyist like you.
Regards


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks. Just caught my hi-fin shrimp goby from my overflow box and now I'm going to drop off a few more frags to add to the tank.


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## VElderton (Jun 3, 2015)

Hey Anthony I can probably lend a hand for sure in NV. I have 2 tanks on the go in schools now ... which schools in NV are asking you?

I think Sr. Centres are a great venue too ... maybe get some centre and school mini-clubs started, a inter-generational opportunity. 

I really like the front entry display idea, really helps set the tone for the school especially when parents or other guests arrive. If they get set-up in prominent areas like the front entry or parent lounge area a small advert for VAHS would be great way to engage others ... make it a family thing. That's how I got addicted. 

FYI: Finally have my Tanganyikan tank up and running, cycling now, Aquascape next week!


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## aprilsaquarium (Aug 22, 2016)

If you are interested in a 50 gallon plexi tank with overflow let
Me know. Also I just 
Acquired a skimmer with pump.



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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks April. After I takedown, transport & set up the 75g from Ricky in South Surrey, I think I'll take a bit of a break from setting up school tanks. At least for a week or so. 

Getting too many requests for additional school tanks from students, their parents & some of their teachers, but I'm not sure how many more (than 6) I can handle when work gets busy later on.


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## aprilsaquarium (Aug 22, 2016)

Yeah . It will be a full time job . 


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Yup you got everyone wanting a tank now, it gets to be a lot of work. You are creating a monster! of future aquarium nuts :lol: which BTW is a good thing.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Woke up to my friend letting me know she's not going to take her Biocube29 with her when she moves now, so the school will get an immediate upgrade to the entryway reef tank, lol.

Now I'll have teachers fighting over who gets the Biocube 14 in their classroom. I guess I'll be doing school tank number 7 after all.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

LOL

...the road to hell is paved with good intentions


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

OMG, I just realized that by Monday afternoon, I'll have as many fish tanks set up at the school as I have at home!!! 

What have I gotten myself into???


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Took down Biocube 29, cleaned the tank & sand, then tore down Biocube14 & reset up the 29g this afternoon. I am soooooo tired. I'll post pics soon of the new reef tank.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

You know my friend, I think they have support groups that could help you 

....AA is aquarist anonymous right?

You hard work will be appreciated by so many little minds and will do much to keep the hobby alive!

Cheers


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Took down Biocube 29, cleaned the tank & sand, then tore down Biocube14 & reset up the 29g this afternoon. I am soooooo tired. I'll post pics soon of the new reef tank.


A reef tank for an Elementary School !!
GO anthony Go


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

So with the help of Mark Brown, I was able to take down, transport & unload into my carport last weekend a 78g acrylic tank with oak stand and canopy. I reset up this system into one of the classrooms on Tuesday morning with the help of my wife & later with Victor. I replaced the class's Fluval Flora 8g (which was reset up as an endler tank in a Grade 4 class) with this much larger donated tank. After a long discussion with the teacher and her students, we decided to do it as a planted community tank. Too many big water changes would have been necessary to maintain good water quality with larger fish in a class tank.

I started the stocking process with some giant danios on Wednesday, then on Thursday I added a huge male rainbowfish (not certain of species) and some of Victor's very hardy, locally bred angelfish. My plan is to add a couple of schools of different tetras (diamonds & candycanes are my first choices), as well as some bronze cories from Victor. The plants were donated by Jouster (Jody) and were planted into small clay pots with hydroton media & black gravel to weigh things down. I pulled the LED unit off my own 65g at home (replaced mine with a DIY unit temporarily) and added 2 HOB filters (Whisper 2 & AC70). May replace the Whisper 2 with another AC70 if I can find one.

Friday morning I'll be adding the XP4 filter that came with the tank & hopefully that will be it, except for adding more fish either next week or after Spring Break. The kids are super happy with their new big tank & were nice enough to each make me a hand-written/hand-drawn Thank You card. Here's some quick pics.








Just finished topping up.








Added first fish (giant danios)








Added showcase fish (unknown rainbowfish)








Added 6 of Victor's angels (3 marbles, 3 golds)


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Here's some of the Biocube 29 reef tank pics I promised earlier.








Full head on view.








Left side view.








Right side view.








Front view, close up, almost topdown.

The kids & adults at the school love this tank a lot. Always a crowd of them hanging around the reef tank. Inhabitants should now include: 2 clownfish (locally bred), 1 hifin shrimp goby, 2 firefish gobies, 1 red hermit, 1 snail (forgot the species), and one small tigertail cucumber to help keep the sand clean.

Looking to eventually add a couple of cleaner shrimp or peppermints (cheaper), and more clean up crew (hermits & snails), and perhaps a couple more fish (Bangaii cardinals, fairy wrasse or some other small reefsafe, shrimp-safe fish). Hopefully I'll be able to find some from someone local shutting down or downsizing their tank.


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## VElderton (Jun 3, 2015)

Hey Anthony ... the 78 is clearing up nicely. 

The extra filtration today will add more bio-media and help out as well. Corys will be ready to go next week as you know. 

I hope some will provide the identity of that rainbow ... dwarf colouration but certainly not a dwarf in size.


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## Cstar_BC (Sep 24, 2016)

Amazing idea! I wish I had fish tanks in my class - would have got into the hobby sooner !


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## rhennessey (Jul 25, 2014)

If you want to add some apistogramma fish, let me know i'd be willing to donate to the school.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

rhennessey said:


> If you want to add some apistogramma fish, let me know i'd be willing to donate to the school.


That would be great. I will pm you my contact info. Thanks for your generous offer.

Anthony


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Updated pics of 78g acrylic with more fish:

















Although its nice for the teacher & students to be able to see the fish from all four sides, the tank may be aesthetically more pleasing if I add a background to the back of the tank to hide the HOB filters and wires.


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## Haven (Dec 26, 2012)

I would try to tape the wires just under the canopy and run it along the edge.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

looking good!!


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Haven said:


> I would try to tape the wires just under the canopy and run it along the edge.


OK, I'll try to do that after Spring Break.


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## Olive (Jan 28, 2016)

Mick2016 said:


> RE: . . . "the number of young fishkeepers will continue to shrink each year since kids nowadays are far more interested in video games, surfing the net & social media . . ."
> ------------------------------
> 
> True and such a shame! GOOD for you, sir, for taking the time, expense and effort to promote this hobby to the youngsters.


Absolutely! here here!!
Even if kids do not enter the hobby later, they benefit in other psychological ways having nature close to them, observing little critter habits. I think its really great that you so passionately populated school classrooms. You may even find a caring family or two to look after the tanks during the summer. Lord knows teachers are burnt out at the end of the year!!!

My kids (10 and 13 yrs.) have enjoyed having a tankful of small creatures. A far cry from having a dog, but they appreciate the little guys on other levels, and benefit from a slice of nature in our apartment that is different from house plants. Visiting kids take a peek in our tank on arrival too to see what is going on in there that day. My daughter patiently explains that the "shrimp are freshwater, and no, its not a lobster, and no, we are not going to eat them."


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