Coral Tank

## About

Our coral tank is a beautiful mixture of various creatures. In there, we have a few fish, several different kinds of shrimp, starfish, crabs, and of course, coral. The coral tank probably requires the most care of all the tanks in the lab, because it has so many creatures inside of it. It, however, is all very simple care! Here, you will learn how to care for the wonderful coral tank.

***Please check the coral tank water level daily! It should be up to the plastic ridge on the right side.***

## Feeding

The coral tank (along with the touch tank) is a bit different than everything else when it comes to feeding; it takes a bit more than just pulling out food and putting it in.

1. Locate a small beaker that can hold at least 30 mL, and some sort of tray (a large lid, petri dish, etc) to put your fish on.
2. Take your beaker to the fridge. Pull out the phytoplankton and the zoplankton from the fridge.
3. Pour half of each (15 mL) in to your beaker. The measurements don't have to be exact; more is better than less!
4. Put this aside and prepare the **Touch Tank** plankton beaker.
5. Open the freezer and take out the fish and the shrimp cubes. The shrimp cubes are in a purple tray-like container.
6. Cut up the fish in to 3-4 pieces. Save the head for the **Touch Tank**. Put the fish on your "tray".
7. Cut off a small piece of the shrimp cube. Set both on your tray; the rest of the cube will be for the **Touch Tank**.
8. Your food is ready! Bring it out to the tanks.
9. Take your 30 mL beaker and a pipette from near the coral tank. Put some water from the tank in to the beaker. Then, squirt the mixture gently at the corals. If you feel like you got them all. just pour the remainder in.
10. Take some large forceps and give a piece of fish to the large shrimp. He will take it from you slowly; be patient and don't scare him.
11. Put the rest of the fish at the bottom of the tank, UNLESS you see the starfish. If you do, give it directly to them instead.

*\*\*I know it sounds hard, but it's really not! Please feed them once a week.\*\**

## Cleaning

Cleaning the coral tank is a bit more of a constant task than cleaning everything else. It's best to do it as often as you can; not daily, but at least a few times a week. That being said, if you don't have time, it's not a big deal; just be ready to play catch-up the next week.

* The most important part of cleaning is scraping the inside of the aquarium walls with the red and black scraper. Algae really builds up on them, and it must be scraped off. Also, always try to work a little bit at the white/pinkish build-up. It does come off, but might take a few tries.
* You can also use the scraper blade with the green sponge material on it. It works really well for stubborn algae build-up (but not the other, harder build-up).
* Take out both filter sponges and clean them in the sink at least once a week. More is better, however. Rinse them in regular water until clean, then rinse in DI water thouroughly. Do NOT use soap, ever.
* Pluck out some of the algae with forceps. It can really overwhelm the tank if it is not cleaned in this manner. Pull out as much as you possibly can. Putting the pulled out algae on to a paper towel makes it easier to dispose of when you are done.
* Clean out the fan on the left side of the tank every once and awhile. It can get covered in algae on occassion.

## Tank Minerals

Adding in Tank Minerals is very simple once you get the hang of it. Please ask someone to show you how to do it the first time around, even after reading the instruction here, because it is very important to get correct.

Another thing worth putting here is: Algecide should be added to the tank twice a week. It helps cut down on the amount of algae in the tank, and is thus important. You should be putting in 4-4 1/2 mL each time.

Open up the cabinet under the touch tank. Under there, you will find a graduated cylinder with a yellow base. This is what you will use to measure everything. In the same cabinet, you will find all your minerals. Here is the order they should be done in.

1. Tech CB (Part A) - 10 mL
2. Coral-vite - 10 mL
3. Stronium - 5 mL
4. Essential Elements- 5 mL
5. Iodide - 5 mL
6. Tech CB (part B) - 5 mL

There is also a list on the bulletin board inside the prep lab; taking this with you will make it easier to get correct.

Note that this is just a general order; they can be put in any order. However, the Tech CB part A and B must be put in first and last (in that order) so they do not interact. Put those two in on opposite ends of the tank as well.

After putting in the minerals, write down the date on the notecard on the bulletin board. Minerals should be put in roughly once a month.

## Links & Resources

Here is some extra information about coral tank care.

* Coral Care & Info
* Info about different corals
* Extensive aquarium care guide
* Goby Information
* Neon Goby Care