"How would you give a quick explanation of your tank to a stranger?" ......

[Frank]

I have a 30 gallon tank at work and everyone comes in and looks at it. But I want to teach them about what they are looking at. I want to put something in front of the tank not so much a book, just something they can read to understand what they are looking at and how important the reef is. I want to put it in a frame on the tank. Can someone help me out where to look for this or if someone wrote something along this line. I would appreciate hearing about any info regarding this! Help!

[Doug1]

How about something to the effect of" This is a recreation of a reef environment, a blending of biodiversity and modern technology, and for $100 a gal I can build you one too

[ 04-29-2001: Message edited by: Doug1 ]

[Alice]

Good question Frank I'm pondering on it.

[Frank]

Here is what I have so far let me know what you think.
What you see before you is one of the most amazing living creatures nature has ever created. It is a world very few of us know. If you look under the water in our oceans you would see a world that is alive and always growing.
The one we know the best is The Great Barrier Reef, which can be seen clearly from space. This makes it one of the largest animal structures in the world.
In my reef tank, everything you see is living, from the sand to the rocks, (yes, the rocks are living), to the corals, they are all living creatures. They eat and grow just like us. Some of them even have skeletons like human beings.
The corals eat things that you feed the tank called phytoplankton, which is micro animal. They feed off the light in the tank. The live rock is alive due to becoming a home to various invertebrates and algae. The crabs, shrimp, starfish and other small creatures are invertebrates. An invertebrate is an animal that has no backbone. Out of the 2 million species sharing our world, 97% are invertebrates. There are all different kinds of corals, some are soft, and some are called hard corals. As you see in my tank, I have a variety of each. Such as,

[MontanaRocknReefer]

What you see before you is a very small sample of a vast living underwater world full of living inhabitants which are both mysterious and beautiful. Everything is this tank relies on each other for growth, survival and even death. Let this small paradise take you away from all that is around you!
Well that was as short as I could make it. Johnny

[MontanaRocknReefer]

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE; THE FINAL FRONTIER!! Johnny

[jegel]

COME SEE THE REEF

$2.00

[JJGeisler]

Doug,

Hummmmm....$100 per gallon...probably about right, probably a deal! I'm getting close to 3k in my 38g but that doesn't count any time...just the material! But my first Reef so I'm probably not being very efficient.

Unless someone has been there most don't appriciate what they see before them....nice fish tank! (duhhhh)

[Drew]

Wow this is a good question. It's so hard to explain things to people. If I ever try to explain the biology to people they get bored and tend to never come back...
I cant remember how many times I have come down to my basement to see my friends pounding on the glass, and I mean really POUNDING saying, "Look, I can make that feather worm go down! Hahahaha!" Oh well, at least they are past that, "When are you going to get more fish?" stage. Some day they will all have reef tanks. I'll have to think about this topic for a while to come up with something good.

Wookaka - LMAO!

[tdwyatt]

Interesting concept, think of it in these terms: If the reefs die, global warming would go through the roof. CO2 is fixed not primarily by green plants, not by escaping into space, not by being consumed through the oceans phytoplankton (although all the processes do move it throught the carbon cycle), but by being fixed as Ca Carbonate in the world's reef structures. Sorokin, et. al., estimates that most of the CO2 from the atmosphere has been "sinked" in the world's coral reefs both in the tropics and in deep temperate reefs as well. Chew on that for a minute when we talk about a vicious circle and global warming ...

[ 04-29-2001: Message edited by: tdwyatt ]

[dark horge]

How would you give a quick explanation of your tank to a stranger?


"It really goes with the carpet and upholstery"

[Brooke]

Frank, I think what fascinates most people is that everything is alive and that corals are animals and not plants. It's fun explaining that the rocks aren't purple...that they are encrusted with living algae, etc. I'd keep it short and sweet and to the point. I think it sounds like a great idea!

Brooke