Warning: I am not an expert aquarist. This blog is a record of my experiences, not a recommendation of how to set up your marine aquarium.
Given that, let me introduce you to the situation and the players. I am a first year middle school teacher in a rural school district in Northern California. I teach math, science and PE to 57 sixth, seventh and eighth graders (ages 11-14.) Recently, I have become enamoured of saltwater aquaria. When the school asked for applications for mini-grants for things that would enhance classroom learning, I immediately thought of a saltwater tank. I visited the local pet store and the friendly salesperson informed me that it was possible to set up a tank for a couple of hundred bucks and that it wasn't that much work. Any of you who are familiar with saltwater setups will know that a lot of hobbyists would beg to differ. In the fish guy's defense, he did give me a lot of decent advice as well.
I cruised around the pet store with a pencil and paper making notes of what I would need for the tank. He introduced me to the idea of live rock. And recommend that I fill my tank with tap water, let it breathe a couple of days to get rid of the chlorine, add a crushed coral substrate, a couple of pieces of live rock and half a dozen damsels or green chromis. Then, once the fish started to get sick "Which they will" then add a protein skimmer. I thought the skimmer was an additive, he did not make it clear that it was a piece of hardware. I asked about books and he showed me a couple but said that they tended to make things more complicated than necessary.
Here is the list:
1-2 heaters $12-$18 each
a mechanical filter $75
protein skimmer $29.95
crushed coral $27.95
2 bags salt $19.95 each
options addable later:
coral light $300
live rock $6/pound
stand $180
I wandered around looking at his two tanks which were impeccably clean. The live rock tank had a lovely white anemone in the corner, it was way more interesting than the couple of hunks of rock with very little sign of life. So, at home with visions of clown fish dancing in my head, I filled out my grant proposal.
After filling out and turning in my application I started to do some backup research, more to feed my excitement than because I questioned the pet store guy. I searched Amazon for applicable books because I am a book addict first and foremost. I found one that looked great: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner. There were two editions, an older cheaper paperback and a newer much more expensive hardback. The newer one had pages available for previewing. It looked like my kind of book. It had a lot of science and why fors, and pictures! I went in search of info on whether the newer edition was worth the bucks. I found way more than I bargained on.
My first find was http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ Bob Fenner's site and the location of The Conscientious Aquarist online magazine. I had hit the mother load. Here was a plethora of well informed information from a variety of hobbyists and professionals, none of whom were trying to sell me anything. It was Christmas vacation so I surfed to my heart's content. And I learned. And I learned. And I am still learning. One thing I learned is that live rock is more than decoration and that the 1-1.75 lbs of live rock per gallon rule of thumb removes the need for a mechanical filter (if done right of course.) I learned that a $30 skimmer is probably a piece of uber-junk. I was re-exposed to the fact that pet store owners are business people. Maybe they want to sell stuff more than they want to make sure you are fully informed.
I also found out about nitrogen cycling. I added several things to my need list:
testing kit for water chemistry
RO/DI water
glass cleaner
thermometer
It took awhile to figure out what RO/DI stood for so I'll spell it out for y'all in case you are similarly challenged by acronyms. Reverse osmosis/deionized water is water that is purified through reverse osmosis and then deionized. This is much more important with a saltwater tank than with freshwater because the fish are used to a much more stable environment.
I also found out that the lovely white anemone in the display at the store was probably a deader. The one thing I haven't found out yet is which version of The Conscientious Marine Aquarist I should get.
Currently I am actively posting on the aforementioned wetwebmedia and Reef Central. The people at both places have been incredibly welcoming and supportive.
Now if I could just find a corporate sponsor ...
Next post I'll try to include photos of the oh so lovely (insert sarcasm here) tank I inherited from the previous science teacher. And maybe some pictures of the rapscallions that'll be running the tank.
