Tank for the visually impaired

dantodd

dantodd

New member
My son goes to a special needs school (http://www.theavalonacademy.org/) and I am in the planning stages of building a tank for them.

The kids at the school have a wide variance in their visual abilities. I am planning on finding a 6' plus tank so they will be able to track fish a great distance. I think it will also let me vary the light from MH on one end to Actnics only on the other side with fluorescent corals on one end over to an anemone or light loving SPS on the other.

My goal is to give as much variation in a single tank as possible so that each of the kids will be able to get something out of the tank.

any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Dan
 
I have no great ideas at the moment, but I am willing to help lift heavy things or help physically in anyway.
 
Do you have a VI tech at your school? Maybe they could give you some tips for what to look for, i.e. colors, sizes, etc. I know one of my students with cortical vision impairment would benefit from as much vertical presentation as possible.
I'd love to help in any way, as well.
 
thanks for the offers. My son has cvi too and one of the reasons I started yhinking about this was his response to adding a yellow tang to our tank. good idea with the vertical component, I hadn't thought of that since Cameron doesn't really respond differently to vertical v. horizontal movement. I have to talk to his VI therapist. She really lit up when she saw the tank we have at home for Cameron.
 
Yup, my students tend to respond to yellow and red more than other colors. Good call on the YT.
IME, the "swiss cheese" effect tends to be horizontal, but you probably have kids that need the vert.
Also, make sure the stand puts the middle of the tank at eye level for the average kid so they are looking through less glass/distortion as they follow the critters.
And keep plenty of microfiber towels around to sop up the snot and fingerprints.
 
You might want to contact TeacherMark. He teaches elementary school in Burlingame and has a tank in his classroom. Hopefully, he can give you tips from his experiences.

Best of luck,

Roy
 
I would also be gald to help with it in any way that is possible I think from what it sounds like you are planing you should go with light that let you keep a wide varity of coral together rather than just in section because that would let you also creat a great deal of difference not just on a large scale but also on a small scale making everything stand out more. I think that because you are planig such a large tank for poeple who will not care about how rare a coral is you should start with fast grower that you can latter frag inorder to pay for more down the line. Also I don't know if patterns or bright color are better you might look in to that because there are some great fish that are not that brightly colored but have great patterns
sorry for the rabbling post
goodluck with it and pm me if you ever need help with it
 
Thanks guys. One of the reasons for having a dark and bright section in the tank is because kids with cortical visiual impairment sometimes get overstimulated and want/need dimmer sitmulus.

You can be sure that I'll be PMing/emailing you as we get closer to set-up.
 
Dan,

I would be happy to donate some fish and or corals to your project. Just let me know!

Tyler
Dolphin Pet
408-379-7600
 
Thanks Tyler,

May be after a couple of those home-brewed cardinals you are raising would be able to catch the kids' eyes!
 
Dan,

I'll be more than happy to help in any way. You can come by and check out the tank and see how we do it here if you want. I actually have one kid who has downs syndrome and it really makes a difference for him. When he gets upset we'll go to the tank and watch Bubbles, the yellow tang he claimed as his own. He loves it and it really calms him down. Anyway, like I said let me know what I can do.

P.S. Check craigslist, you can find an occasional freebie here and there.
 
I actually have an opportunity for a 100 from craigslist. It's doesn't have an overflow but it is otherwise ideal. I'm hoping to pick it up on Friday.

Not sure if I want to drill the bottom or put the drain in the side. I'm thinking the side so I won't have to glue a full wall partition in. I think it would be easier to glue a box over the overflow. I'll be looking for help with that soon enough.

I'm sure I'll be coming by to see the tank. What size do you have in your class?
 
Dan,

All the Cardinals are sold out and the latest batch wont be ready for a while. But I will ear mark a couple for this project.

tyler
 
Dan

I'm not sure when you need a tank by but I'm thinking of breaking down my 180 gallon plexi tank (down sizing). Whats for sale would be the tank, stand, canopy, and a 100 gallon sump. Everything is plexi and already plumbed. It comes with 2 corner over flows. Dimensions of the tank i think is 6' x 2' x 20".

All I want is $300 for the whole setup (special price for a special class room!)
 
My tank is a 60 gallon, with the simplest of setups. I made it low maintenance so that when I go on vacations one of the other teachers can care for it.

You should get andy's tank. It's gonna be hard to top that price for that setup.
 
Thanks for the offer Andy. I'm afraid that is still about $299 over my budget! :)

I will hound you about it if the 100 falls through. Or if I'm called on to build one for another special needs school. (One at a time though!)
 
Dan,

I have an older version of CPR skimmer & sump (CY 192), I believe mine is CY190, in almost perfect condition. All you need is a pump, rio 400 would do it. I would be very happy to donate to your project. If you don't need it, we can post it on our forum to see anyone need it. $50 would be a bargain. The money can go to your project. I can bring it to the June meeting.

http://www.cpraquatic.com/products/cyclone.html
 
Dan,

We had a 35 Hex come into the store yesterday. 99% of the time we give donated tanks to schools, etc (unless I need another growout tank). Its a tank and stand. If you want it call me or email ASAP because there is another teacher that might want it.

tyler
 
Thanks Andy and Tyler.


Andy, Bring it to the June meeting. I am picking up another sump Friday from another kind BAR member. I'll stash them both with the tank and when we get everything plumbed we can sell one of them off to raise money for the project.

Tyler, I'll pass on the hex. I'd probably end up using it as an ATO reservoir so I'm sure it will server someone else better.
 
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