where can i get a grant?

[Lizzie]

for my internship project, i am raising a saltwater aquarium, however, its really poking holes in my wallet and, for an internship project, it is quite pricy. does anyone have any suggestions as to where i can find grants to help me pay for this project?

[davelin315]

Hi Lizzie, please post some details of what you are trying to do. There are times when WAMAS can help, but we need details and also need to know where you are located and what the purpose is of what you are doing.

[jason the filter freak]

where are you interning?

[Lizzie]

im science interning @ wootton high school. what other information does wamas need to know?

 

oh also, i have a 35 gallon tank & its the tall kind (rather than the typical long ones). i was just wondering how much light i would need for it since apparently the one i have no was said, by a store employee, to be too weak.

[lanman]

im science interning @ wootton high school. what other information does wamas need to know?

 

oh also, i have a 35 gallon tank & its the tall kind (rather than the typical long ones). i was just wondering how much light i would need for it since apparently the one i have no was said, by a store employee, to be too weak.

How tall is tall? And what kind of light did they say won't make the grade?

 

bob

[davelin315]

We need to know what you are actually planning. If we know that, then members can try and help out. We don't have a grant program but can help out in as many ways as we can. Please provide all details for what you plan on doing, what you currently have, what you would like to do, what the research involved is, where Wooton is, etc.

 

There's a lot of information that you haven't listed here other than you have a tall tank. Not even sure what you are trying to raise in there or how long it's been set up.

 

Start off with:

 

Tank dimensions

Lighting

Filtration

-biological (live rock? substrate? refugium?)

-mechanical

-chemical

-water movement

Stocking Plans

Budget

Research Question

Plans for this tank afterwards

 

Once you have answered these, we can help guide you in the right direction.

[Lizzie]

what you plan on doing: raising a small coral reef environment

what you currently have: filter, heater, power head, air stones, protein skimmer, 3 coral, a polyp (hitch hiked with live rock)

what you would like to do: research interaction with certain organisms in a reef environment

what the research involved: various coral species, 2 clownfish, typical cleaning crew organisms, 2 serpant stars

where Wooton is: rockville, maryland

 

 

Tank dimensions:

-height: ~23"

-length: ~25"

-width: ~18"

 

Lighting: 15 watts (2 lights)

 

Filtration

-biological: 31lbs of live rock; ~55lbs of live sand+crushed coral

 

Stocking Plans:

Bubble Anemone

2 Ocellaris Clown Fish

Brittle Sea Star

3 Serpent Sea Star

2 Peppermint Shrimp

Banded Coral Shrimp

Electric Blue Hermit Crab

Orange Marked Hermit Crab

Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crab

Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab

Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab

Emerald Crab

2 Bumble Bee Snail

2 Astraea Turbo Snail

2 Nassarius Snail

2 Cerith Snail

(these are what we are definitely getting, we may add some later when we get everything scheduled or if we have enough money in our budget)

 

Budget: $<200 on live stock; ~$200 equipment (we're more flexible on equipment $)

 

Research Question: how do coral develope into colony to create a reef ecosystem? (something like that)

 

Plans for this tank afterwards: this project is also an excuse for us to start a saltwater aquarium, so after the project i will pick it up as a new hobby. also i am planning on taking a marine biology major in college so this is a good experience for the future

 

anything else?

[tonkadawg]

I might have missed it, but what sort of corals are you looking to research? This will determine what sort of lighting you will need.

[discretekarma]

I'm sure you are still going to need the help of WAMAS or members of WAMAS but I live about 5 minutes walking distance from Wootton High School so if you ever need someone to swing by and look at your setup or and issues in the system, I can easily come by and check it out for you. Is the setup at the High School?

 

Once you get your grant questions answered, you should start a new post so those interested can follow the progress.

 

I think it would be a cool post to follow.

Edited November 21, 2007 by discretekarma

[Grav]

My sister got a Grant in college. She was studing music and met him in some class they were both taking. He studied architecture but was a gutarist in a band. They both graduated, got real jobs and were married this past June. He is a good guy, but she is my baby sister.... you know...

 

He once helped me with photoshop, but doesn't know anything about reef aquaria.

[lanman]

My sister got a Grant in college. She was studing music and met him in some class they were both taking. He studied architecture but was a gutarist in a band. They both graduated, got real jobs and were married this past June. He is a good guy, but she is my baby sister.... you know...

 

He once helped me with photoshop, but doesn't know anything about reef aquaria.

 

I have a friend with about 200 acres in West Virginia and a backhoe; in case your sister has any problems with her Grant.

 

bob

[zotzer]

You may not get to observe much if you put the bumble bee snails in there.....from everything I've read, they are predators and don't belong in a reef tank.

 

Good luck with it, sounds like a fun project!!

Tracy

[lanman]

You may not get to observe much if you put the bumble bee snails in there.....from everything I've read, they are predators and don't belong in a reef tank.

 

Good luck with it, sounds like a fun project!!

Tracy

Huh?? Predators of what? They are only 1/2" long when grown, and have little tiny mouths. I have two in my nano; they have outlived all of the other snails.

 

bob

Edited November 24, 2007 by lanman

[zotzer]

They decimate your sandbed, supposedly.

 

This is my favorite "clean up crew" article: http://www.reefland.com/rho/0305/medprod3.php

[Lizzie]

i actually just bought 3 new coral on... monday i think...? i need to research more into them, buuut im dumb

& forgot to ask the species name of the coral -____- but he guaranteed that they were very hardy and good for reef aquarium sooo im hoping they are alright. hes helped me before so... yea =p i posted the 3 coral in my "Please ID" album, so id be really helpful if someone can help me ID them~

Edited November 24, 2007 by Lizzie

[lanman]

They decimate your sandbed, supposedly.

 

This is my favorite "clean up crew" article: http://www.reefland.com/rho/0305/medprod3.php

 

Bumble Bee Snails (Engina mendicaria)

[ArtC]

Odd - never heard that; and my bumble bee snails don't spend any time on the sandbed; they are always crawling on the live rock. I'll have to watch more closely, and see what they might be eating.

 

bob

 

Shimek, Marine Invertebrates, "Questionable addition to a reef tank. Will prey on beneficial animals in sand bed and on live rock."

[lanman]

Shimek, Marine Invertebrates, "Questionable addition to a reef tank. Will prey on beneficial animals in sand bed and on live rock."

Glad I only have two, then.

 

bob

[Rascal]

i actually just bought 3 new coral on... monday i think...? i need to research more into them, buuut im dumb

& forgot to ask the species name of the coral -____- but he guaranteed that they were very hardy and good for reef aquarium sooo im hoping they are alright. hes helped me before so... yea =p i posted the 3 coral in my "Please ID" album, so id be really helpful if someone can help me ID them~

 

I'll take a stab at your IDs:

 

The first pic is a colony of zoanthids. They can tolerate somewhat "dirty" water but would like a bit more light than they are currently getting.

 

The second is an aiptasia anemone ("glass" anemone). It is a pest which will multiply like a weed and sting nearby corals. Get yourself some "Joe's Juice" and kill it. Maybe add a couple of peppermint shrimp to your clean-up crew.

 

The third is hard to tell because of the pic - but it looks like a Dendronephthya (aka "carnation coral"). If that is indeed what it is and someone sold this to you as a "hardy" coral, don't believe another word that comes out of his/her mouth. They are commonly imported and sold to beginners but almost impossible to keep. Here's a good article on them: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/1/aafeature. Lesson learned: research before you buy, not after. But take heart -- it's not like your the first person in this club to make that mistake.

 

The fourth looks like a sarcophyton (leather coral). If so it is a fairly hardy coral but needs a lot of light.

 

The fifth is kenya tree coral -- capnella sp. Very hardy, tolerates low light.

 

Some more questions for you:

 

What type of protein skimmer are you using?

What is your water change schedule?

What are you using for make-up water?

 

Keep your eye on the boards for a used lighting fixture that will work for your tank. Power compact or T5 will probably fit your needs & budget best.

[lanman]

Yeah - the third one does kind of look like a Carnation coral. I have managed to keep one alive for almost a year; but it is slowly fading away. Problem is, nobody seems to know what they eat. Certainly not hardy, and certainly not a beginner coral.

 

bob

[Lizzie]

The third is hard to tell because of the pic - but it looks like a Dendronephthya (aka "carnation coral"). If that is indeed what it is and someone sold this to you as a "hardy" coral, don't believe another word that comes out of his/her mouth. They are commonly imported and sold to beginners but almost impossible to keep. Here's a good article on them: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/1/aafeature. Lesson learned: research before you buy, not after. But take heart -- it's not like your the first person in this club to make that mistake.

 

OH MY GAHH!! im at my internship right now & i havent seen my tank since last wednesday (before the break)... the third coral that you all said the store employee lied about its hardiness... youre right -____- its laying on the live rock right now... limp >< whaaat a waste of ~$20 T_T definitely learned my lesson. & thankyou for IDing them =) im researching now. what kind of light would you all suggest for the coral i have right now?

Edited November 26, 2007 by Lizzie

[Rascal]

what kind of light would you all suggest for the coral i have right now?

 

IMO you would need a minimum of a 2 x 65W Power compact fixture (ex: http://www.amazon.com/Aqualight-Power-Comp.../dp/B0002DIFXO)

 

But T5 lighting would probably be better, something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...ct~CU01120.html

 

Choosing between T5 and PC (power compact) can be misleading. It is not all about watts. For example, for supplemental lighting on my tank I used to have 4 x 65 W Power compact. When I replaced these with 2 x 54W T5 bulbs there was no comparison. Even at less than 1/2 the wattage, the T5s blew the PCs away.

[davelin315]

As far as the carnation coral, they are non-photosynthetic filter feeders. If you have a cave, hang it upside down in there and squirt some food at it (DTs or possibly green water/rotifers).

[Rascal]

I have managed to keep one alive for almost a year; but it is slowly fading away. Problem is, nobody seems to know what they eat.

 

A year is pretty good from what I've read. The general consensus seems to be that they are not getting enough to eat, but as you said there is a lot of debate about whether they eat phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, dissolved detritus, "marine snow", a combination, something else altogether.

 

Some have reported success from stirring their sandbed once a week. I wonder if blowing detritus off of the rocks would have the same effect?

 

It also seems that providing it with enough, but not too much, flow in alternating directions is very important.

 

On the bright side, since this is a coral that has proven so difficult to care for there is a lot of ongoing research into these questions. Plenty of room for more study. Might be a bit ambitious for your first Marine Science research project though, unless you have the right gizmo for measuring suspended particle size down to the nano-meter. In the meantime, you could give this a try: http://www.garf.org/lemn02/BAG0BUGS.html

[Lizzie]

As far as the carnation coral, they are non-photosynthetic filter feeders. If you have a cave, hang it upside down in there and squirt some food at it (DTs or possibly green water/rotifers).

 

right now i think it might either be dead/dying, but yea i have a lot of caves so ill try it. right now all i have is liquid plankton, & i wont be able to go out to buy anything until probably wednesday, so should i try squirting some of that in there?