classroom aquarium project suggestions needed!~)

[sagitariuscbc]

hello fellow reefers!~)
i was asked by my son's classroom teacher if i could help setup a classroom aquarium and of course i said sure!~) what i am looking for is places that support this type of activity such as donations or access to items necessary to pull this off!~) if you know of any programs or have some suggestions i encourage you to post!~) my son is in a fifth and sixth grade split classroom!~) i am looking into this program but i hope to find others with your help!~)http://www.dfg.ca.gov/oceo/caep/ we decided a 10-20 gallon freshwater aquarium would be best!~)

i am sure you all get the idea, thank you kindly in advance!~)

shawn!~)

 

[MrMikeB]

Not sure where you are located, but I can donate some cool nifty items. I have a multitude of 10-20 gallon tanks, filters, some odds and ends, etc.

 

[Avalanche Wolf]

Just an idea but what about a 10g salt with a 10g sump. They could learn about filtration , pluming and all that good stuff. Project like that would cost to much.


Would work for fresh water also.


Just an idea

 

[KMP]

loving salt water so much i did consider doing a tank for my kids school, but shyed away from the idea after considering who would be maintaining it. not that i would mind helping, but that's a heck of a commitment to set up salt water for folks that don't know salt water.

 

[Justin74]

Thats probably why they decided on freshwater
Which is an excellent stepping stone to learn the basics of the nitrogen cycle and maintaing a habitat for something. Sounds like from the thread you posted Shawn you would want to canvas the Nimbus fishery off Hazel Ave. Great idea btw!


-Justin

 

[KMP]

^ yeah i got that part. guess i just drifted off in la-la land and was babbling about something i would have really liked to do

i ended up getting a turtle tank for the school instead

 

[JAnwyl]

I think that my freshwater planted tank was amazing. Low algie due to the plants. I had a piece of driftwood and 4-5 different kinds of plants. A HOB filter and the el cheapo flourescent lights. Was a very cheap setup and allowed me to waste hours of time staring at the tank. Tetras and Rainbows with a Pleco is a great combo. Bosemanni Rainbow, Pearl Grammi, Cardinal Tetras, Danios....... SWEET!! It's very cool to watch the fish swimming in and out of the plant life.

-Jared

 

[sagitariuscbc]

thank you thus far for the great ideas/suggestions!~) i have another thread going in reef discussion, here's a suggestion from there!~) also i spoke with doug lee aka quasarlee and he invited me to attend the freshwater meeting in april, i will be attending!~)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9553270#post9553270 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Samala
I absolutely agree that a freshwater aquarium setup is the best way to go for something simple and easy to keep up with for an elementary school classroom aquarium. A twenty gallon with one of the cheap normal output T5 setups will probably grow freshwater plants quite easily. Use some silica sand from Lowes, grab a few freshwater plants from the local shop, use minimal equipment like a HOT filter and a heater. All set.

An idea for a tank: A pair of Kribensis cichlids (Pelvicachromis pulcher) and a school of tetras (choose something small and hardy). The cichlids have plenty of color, breed regularly, and can provide an interesting lead in discussion for lessons on rainforests, river ecology, seasonal flooding of rivers, parental care, methods of reproduction, dimorphism, a very rudimentary genetics (there are albino kribensis and the eye spots, or ocelli, are somewhat controlled by heridity) and so on. Eggs could even be removed from the tank to be viewed by microscope for vertebrate development.

Aquatic plants (choose easy stuff, perhaps water sprite and Vallisneria) lend themselves to lessons on hydroponics, nutrient cycling, niches of habitats and food webs, plant hormones, plant types, and such. You could even tie in lessons on remediation work.

There are literally hundreds of combinations of fish and other inhabitants from freshwater that can make a contribution to the classroom. Few things beat being able to tell the teachers down the hall that 'your' fish laid eggs again and are raising their babies.

>Sarah

 

[sagitariuscbc]

thank you for the offer, i will let you know what we are doing once we determine our inhabitants!~)
QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9546405#post9546405 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
Not sure where you are located, but I can donate some cool nifty items. I have a multitude of 10-20 gallon tanks, filters, some odds and ends, etc. [/QUOTE]

 

[sagitariuscbc]

it would be nice to hear from teachers that have had first hand experience/knowledge!~)

although i stated this would be benefiting my sons classroom the aquarium will be kept in the science lab for the whole school to enjoy and learn from!~)

!~)