updates from my school's coral reef project

Fantastic way to learn science!
Now start up some frag systems and start selling them to teach entrepreneurship/economics/etc.....
 
Betta132 said:
Very impressive project! Glad to see someone teaching kids how to take care of live things. Also, responsibility is good... I see too many adults, let alone kids, who don't take proper care of their critters. The main problem there seems to be that people don't register that they're dealing with things that are every bit as alive as a dog or a cat.
As for the sump crab... perhaps you could give him some dry base rock to hide under? Crabs are simple creatures. They're happy if they have food and places to hide. Or you could plumb a rubbermaid tub or something into the system and set up a crab tank? Might be interesting to observe him.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you that respect for life and nature is not relative. People get so hung up on the warm and fuzzy animals that they ignore many other important parts of eco systems. My wife is a botonist and will talk you ear off about the importance of the most insignificant looking plant.

My kids are actually very protective and respectful of the reef life. They are quick to jump the tanks defense when they see anyone being silly or tapping on the glass. It's actually the staff members needed to be educated about the complexity and fragility of our reef systems. A teacher last month unplugged most of the tank downstairs for over 4 hours to use one of the dedicated outlets and then didn't understand when I got upset, saying that it was 'just a some fish and rocks'.

You make a good point about the rock crab. My concern was that rocks or grave would be sucked into the unscreened skimmer or pump inlets (which happened in October to the tune of $200) but I put some large PVC unions in there for the crab and he's using them to hide.
 
Guess I figured it out. I feel like I never use video because I want it to perfect and don't have the time to shoot and edit quality work. I will try to post more quick and 'dirty' video, pardon the poor quality.
 
entropygain said:
Fantastic way to learn science!
Now start up some frag systems and start selling them to teach entrepreneurship/economics/etc.....
Click to expand...

My kids are actually very aware of our project's budget and how necessary fundraising is. There's a lot of thing's on their 'wish list' but major focus is just keep the project going.

Selling frags is definitely a option later on, we just broke up several large colonies of green star polyps. We have too much empty tank space at the moment though.
 
That's awesome, man. You're doing some seriously heavy work in these kids' lives, probably more than you realize for a few of them. You're working with the right age group, too. When I was in grade school, I was lucky enough to test into a gifted program offered by the district. It allowed me (and the other kids from my school) to be bussed to the gifted school with other kids from other schools for classes once a week. We were able to chose our own course work each semester (4 classes each semester) and pursue our own interests. I took a vertebrate zoology class in 4th grade that was more in depth than any class I took until college. I might have learned a few new facts here and there, but I wasn't challenged until after high school in that area. I also took creative writing classes, classes on Shakespeare, Greek mythology, classical music, physics through legos, aerodynamics through kites, a geology class and some other stuff like that. I think it was the thing that kept me engaged and out of trouble in grade school, and taught me how to study and be ambitious in my projects, which helped in later years of school.

Your program is different, but it provides the same extra push that the gifted school gave me. I still remember many of those teachers' names (I'm 30 now), and the lessons (not just academic) they taught me. I don't doubt that you're going to be the main reason a few of your students go to college an succeed.
 
visit from Dr. Rhodes

visit from Dr. Rhodes

My friend Justin Rhodes is dropping off his son and checking out our tank in the morning.

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/116721225" width="500" height="889" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/116721225">Dr Rhodes visits the classroom</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user28704363">Brandon Rutherford</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
 
4f89ebdd8992d12cef3176422b1eebad.jpg


Greg, a super nice guy donated this ASM GX-1 skimmer for an under skimmed tank.

It's 22.5 inches high with a Sedra 3500 pump. Any idea of the recommended operating depth?
 
What an incredible project. Bravo to you and your school administration for making this happen. This is the best thing I've seen on a reefing site in a long time.
 
Thanks guys. I also wanted to excuse some of the corals in the video. I just fragged a bunch to put into this new tank and they're a little bleached out from being shaded as part of a larger bunch. I'm embarrassed.
 
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/116819928" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/116819928">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user28704363">Brandon Rutherford</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Sorry for the bad video quality. My goal is to share more media with my phone.
 
Awesome video! It's so cool seeing kids being engaged in this hobby. This is something these kids will never forget.
 
Fury165 said:
Brandon excellent project, and I would venture to say you are nurturing some of tomorrow's marine scientists and advanced hobbyists :beer: it is also nice to see vendors give back to the hobby by supporting your project with their donations and time.

Please continue to update the thread, I Love to read about things like this.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Keep up the great work! Your kids are lucky to have a great teacher like you.
 
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