Accept or Decline

[rob33]

I work as a volunteer at a small science museum. We operate on a budget under $100,000, the only paid person is the director (paid a very little). We are in a 2 story building with a basement for offices and rest rooms. Upstairs is all exhibit space, about 7,000 sq. ft on each floor. We are open Thursday & Friday from 10-4. We are open Saturday from 11-5. We get at least 1-2 elementary school groups per week to visit. We opened our doors in 2002. 2005 is the first time we were open on a regular basis however.
So we got a donation offered to us. It's a 48x18x24" aquarium. It has black trim. It has a black pine stand and black plastic cover with lights. I think it is 90 gallons.
No pump, heater, plants, fish, gravel, etc. Just the basic tank. We certainly have room for it. We have no clue as to what to do with it. We could probably budget $200 to get it started and another $100 for food and supplies the first year. Not much more than that.
What would you do with it? Is this large enough for more than 5-6 fish? Someone suggested some of the fish that can be found in nearby lakes, Yellow Perch, Bullhead, Sunfish, Bass, Crappie and Killifish. What kind of mayhem would happen if we put 1-2 of each of these in the tank? My guess is smaller tropical fish would be easier to manage. I used to have goldfish, most lived 1-2 years. It was a small 10 gallon tank. I stopped when the last one passed away about 10 years ago. They were pretty enjoyable.
Maybe we should just decline. The donation may prove more than we can handle. Seems the owner sold his home and has a closing after the holidays to move into a condo and will no longer have the room. Thanks.

[ron v]

I think you should take it. You already have the most expensive items ( tank, stand and hood ). $200 for everything else should work. I'll bet you could get some more of the equipment donated ( maybe from members of this forum ). I don't know about some of the native fish you mentioned ( perch, bass, crappy ) but there are a lot of smaller native fishes that would work. Where are you located? I promise it will be a draw for school kids.

[rob33]

Thanks. We are in central NY. We get traveling exhibits from time to time. We've gotten people who do the "Mad Science" to perform a show from time to time for little or low cost. The local cable TV station donated and created an exhibit about weather. The old weatherman used to come and talk once in a while. The new one has only been here 2-3 months and moved from out of the area.
A local astronomy buff put together a very modest exhibit. We were only able to provide him with about $150 in funding at the time. He provided another $50 or so on his own, but it's small. To be honest, we are pretty empty. We can darken a room and play TV programs or videos on our donated 32" TV. We rely too much on that sort of thing...

[IloveCichlids]

I would say to accept it, I think you could manage to set up for under $200. I would be willing to donate a few items. I have a few airstones and an air pump that I could provide. PM me for your adress if you decide to undertake this. Sorry I do not have a filter I could donate.

I am sure you could find rocks locally without having to pay for them.

Hope that helps a little

[starrfish71]

I say take it. If someone doesn't donate a sufficient filter, I have found several recently on E-bay that I've gotten for a really good price. ( I recommend you try to get a canister filter)

The only trouble I see with keeping the native fish from your area, you would probably need a chiller! Which is significantly more expensive than a heater.

You could easily do a "Bio-type" tank- all you need to do is pick a place, anywhere, that the natural temp of the water is from 70*F to 82*, this could be anything from North America, Central America, Asia, India, Africa, ETC,ETC,ETC.

I have a pile of aquarium stuff I need to sort out. I might have things to donate. PM me with your address if you want.

[Inspector___Dav]

Yes Ebay is great to find things. I've been in this hobby for only a couple of months and I have found tons of great stuff on Ebay I've bought a couple of aquarium related things on there also.

[Fishfirst]

Its a 75 gallon I think, and that would be perfect for several types of fish. However I wouldn't do local fish because many get fairly large for that size tank and a lot of the game species that you mentioned can be territorial.

[Lexus]

I would do a specific area as mentioned above Africa, south america ect... What you could do is put together its own area and make posters about each fish such as profiles, poster for setting up the tank, poster for maintaining a tank... ect... it would be a great learning experience for the kids and maybe parents a like. I think with $200-$300 you could set up a very nice tank. Fish that have babies readily would be of interest to the kids too. I am tempted to say a proper Cichlid tank because it almost resembles a SW tank. I would love to do this somewhere, wish I was close enough to help!!

[TheOldSalt]

Hey, any time someone offers you a free 300 dollar tank setup, take it!

Most of the fish you listed won't do very well for very long in a 75 gallon tank, even without the mayhem.

There are numerous smaller species in your area which would do nicely, however, as long as they don't get too hot. Shiners, darters, madtoms, and the like would make a nice display. You even have some very small sunfishes like the Banded and the gorgeous Bluespotted. I saw some bluespots on aquabid just today, in fact, and those are from South Carolina so they can take the heat a lot better if that should be an issue for you. I know the guy selling them and know that he has plenty more, which is why I mentioned him as an example.

How about a display about the impact of invasive species, featuring the invader Zebra Mussels and Round Goby wreaking havoc in nearby Lake Erie? As a museum you could keep these otherwise illegal species. Snakeheads, too, for that matter. ( always a crowd pleaser )

You could also go with a seash o r e motiff, featuring the various saltwater species you can catch on a beach trip. Those killies you mentioned do get quite huge, though.

Tropical fish would be a lot less hassle of course. Maybe you could at least feature some nifty species befitting display in a science museum, like the foureyed Anableps anableps , or some sort of electric fish with a probe in the tank buzzing away with the fish's electrical discharges.

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by TheOldSalt

or some sort of electric fish with a probe in the tank buzzing away with the fish's electrical discharges.

they have a tank setup like that at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut with an electric eel. it's pretty cool.

[rob33]

Thanks to all for the advice and offers of donations. It's always nice to see that. I'm only a volunteer, not a board member. I have no ability to make decissions for the organization, but I have friends that do.
Things move very slowly in a museum. I think we'll accept the donation, even if we have to store it a while. Can always put it to use some time later...
Personally, I'd say something that focuses on a region, like South American rain forest areas. Perhaps part of a larger display about the rainforest... I know a lot of ecology minded folks would thrill to that.

[Fishboy93]

On ebay you can buy south american bio tope plants from a seller named aquaticplantdepot. He also has his own site AquaticPlantDepot.com

[ron v]

The first step in deciding on a region would be to determine the type of local tap water that you have. Ask your local water utility what the PH and hardness is. We can then help you pick a regon that will fit. This will make your maintainence a lot easier

[rob33]

NY has very low hardness, acid to neutral pH... that's why we make the best pizza! It has to do with our unique water.

[rob33]

Personally, just browsing around this morning, Angel fish have caught my eye. These are just gorgeous! This is my humble opinion. I might just get the 10 gallon out of mom's attic and start again myself!

[Scuba Kid]

if you do decide to use a 10 gallon instead, you will not be able to get any angelfish.

[redpaulhus]

If you haven't done so already - check out the local aquarium societies, especially Brooklyn Aquarium Society (BAS) -- most love to support educational institutions, and have a budget for donations etc (plus members often donate fishes, etc).

You might be able to get a grant or donation from a club (I think the BAS has a big education program, with classes etc - this might be right up their alley).

[ron v]

Scuba is right. 10 is too small for angels. Lots of other things will fit tho.... And the donated tank would be perfect for angels. You could very likely get a breeding pair and your water is just right for angels....... Get your 10 out tho. Get back into it yourself!!!!

[Lydia]

Originally Posted by ron v

Get your 10 out tho. Get back into it yourself!!!!

Yeah you ought to get back into it lol. Look up german blue rams for your 10 gallon...I just bought one today and they are really cute!

Also before you put fish in either of the tanks check here to make sure that the fish will get along with each other/will fit in the tank.

[rob33]

Thanks all. I'm about 300 miles from Brooklyn, maybe a little more.
The angel fish are just so striking. I must have Googled 100 pictures of them today. Some seem to be salt water fish. Others, like I saw in the stores today, seem to be fresh water fish. Pterophyllum scalare? That's what I'm talking about, just so we're all on the same page... How about Gouramis as well as mixed with the Angelfish? Tetras are cute, but perhaps most are too small for the Angels?
When I had the 10 gallon up and running before, I had common goldfish. Generally 3-4 at a time. I actually had a preference for the silvery white ones...
These fish poop a lot. Originally I had a Tetra Power Filter Jr, later I upgraded to a Power Filter 2. Typically my fish survived 1-2, maybe 3 years, got to 3-4" in length, 2-3 was tight enough.
I may very well just go back to goldfish. I think one of the problems with the goldfish was in the winter, my apartment of those days was about 70 degrees in the morning before work. By mid day it would get as cold as 60. Then maybe 65 around dinner and down to 60 or less, at night. I also now understand that the tank was somewhat over filled.