Hey guys,
I used to be a huge Aquaria Central addict back in the day. My nano reef was like fishie crack-cocaine to me: Just as exciting and just as expensive.
Anywho, the delightful housing office decided to enact a "No fish" rule for my junior year, so I said goodbye to my clowns, my cleaner shrimp, my hateful hermit crabs, xenia weed, frogspawn, shrooms, chaeto, sea star, etc etc. (Now I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: a Thighmaster is neither a thigh nor a master. Discuss!)
Now I'm a senior, and the horrid rule is still in place. I got a mother-in-law's tongue, but it isn't the same.
On a whim, I mentioned to the biology department chair that it's a shame we don't have a nice display tank to show off the bio department. She agreed, and told me that we have an empty 70 gal tank just sitting around in storage! A few conversations later, and I got the greenlight to set up a freshwater tank (as long as I perform the maintenance until graduation).
I haven't seen the tank yet, and I don't know what kind of equipment we have. Nor do I know what ballpark budget I'll be working with. However, if I have a definite plan for the tank, I think it will be much easier to get more money and more support for the project (to get it placed in high-traffic area, not in the back of some small classroom).
Seeing as how we're a biology department, I'd like to go with something close to nature, i.e. no ornamental breeds, no neon gravel, real plants, no bubbling clam shells. Also, I think it'd be ideal if we could capture the essence of a geographical region by using species and design elements from the same place, so no African cichlids with South American cichlids, for instance. Additionally, I'd like the whole thing to be as low maintenance as possible (without looking sparse) since I don't know who will take over maintenance responsibilities after I leave.
Whew.
That being said... any suggestions?
I used to be a huge Aquaria Central addict back in the day. My nano reef was like fishie crack-cocaine to me: Just as exciting and just as expensive.
Anywho, the delightful housing office decided to enact a "No fish" rule for my junior year, so I said goodbye to my clowns, my cleaner shrimp, my hateful hermit crabs, xenia weed, frogspawn, shrooms, chaeto, sea star, etc etc. (Now I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: a Thighmaster is neither a thigh nor a master. Discuss!)
Now I'm a senior, and the horrid rule is still in place. I got a mother-in-law's tongue, but it isn't the same.
On a whim, I mentioned to the biology department chair that it's a shame we don't have a nice display tank to show off the bio department. She agreed, and told me that we have an empty 70 gal tank just sitting around in storage! A few conversations later, and I got the greenlight to set up a freshwater tank (as long as I perform the maintenance until graduation).
I haven't seen the tank yet, and I don't know what kind of equipment we have. Nor do I know what ballpark budget I'll be working with. However, if I have a definite plan for the tank, I think it will be much easier to get more money and more support for the project (to get it placed in high-traffic area, not in the back of some small classroom).
Seeing as how we're a biology department, I'd like to go with something close to nature, i.e. no ornamental breeds, no neon gravel, real plants, no bubbling clam shells. Also, I think it'd be ideal if we could capture the essence of a geographical region by using species and design elements from the same place, so no African cichlids with South American cichlids, for instance. Additionally, I'd like the whole thing to be as low maintenance as possible (without looking sparse) since I don't know who will take over maintenance responsibilities after I leave.
Whew.
That being said... any suggestions?
). You'll get tons of knowlegeable people there. Good luck!