Sph2sail October 11, 2003 Share October 11, 2003 Hi all, I'm starting a thread on how to set up a nano in a school environment OBHO Lake Anne Elementary School (LAES) science class lead by Kelly Gonzalez. I've been discussing this with the other officers and I believe a concensus is building that this may be a good plan. Input is sought to assure this is a successful project. The objectives: 1. Teach about water quality This is about easy to measure stuff. They will have a test kit to measure water quality, etc. How do water changes impact the water? How long did the tank take to cycle to zeros through the nitrogen cycle? Let's them learn about percentages, graph results, etc. 2. Teach about what is in the tank Critter IDs. What came in on the live rock? Copepods? Algae? How to control problems (clean-up crew, dilution through water changes). 3. Fun... Add Nemo. Maybe zoanthids/mushrooms. Maybe a toadstool. Easy to care for soft corals. 4. Tear down and care for their animals Which student gets Nemo in the end? Or do we distribute back to a caring aquarist in WAMAS? Let the students work on how to end this project. It is my belief that a 10G does not represent the risks of a full reef system. It is relatively easy to tear down and transport livestock to a healthy reefer at the end of the project. The true goal is to get one of the students/families to take on the tank at the end, having learned enough about caring for it, enjoyed it, etc. From an elementary school perspective, Ms. Gonzalez is teaching percentages, graphing, consistent testing, logging, etc. These forums present an opportunity for the students to post what their water quality numbers are and how they are progressing. Observation of growth in tank is interesting all by itself. A fun project. :blues: steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 11, 2003 Author Share October 11, 2003 For me, it is pretty easy to see a Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) tank. Some live sand, live rock and a couple fish in a 10G tank can easily be done. What's needed is CIRCULATION and the live sand/rock to be the filter system. Keep changing water ('cuz the nitrates will accumulate) and you will be VERY happy. You will need to learn about water chemistry (meaning how too test and set up and analyze what's in it). That's a small investment for the fun. I'm sure you can visit a few tanks to see what's what. If I priced this... $20-25 for a 10G tank $45-50 for lights (Lights of America fixture w/45Watt flourescent daylight) (1) $15 heavy duty mechanical timer for lighting (1) $10 power strip (2) $10 powerheads as circulation pumps (tank and water change water bucket) $3 for sand $30-50 for live rock $30 pair of clowns (captive raised) (2) $15 150Watt heaters (tank and water change bucket) (2-3) $5 5Gal buckets w/lids from Home Depot (1-2) $4 2Gal buckets w/lids from Home Depot (2) $3 thermometer (1) $35 Reef water test kit Need a GFCI outlet to power this up for safety w/salt water. Need a source of either distilled water or an RO/DI unit. Need to confirm the A/C runs during the weekends in your room so the tank does not overheat. Or have a strategy to cool it. There's a member in the club who breeds these guys and may be able to get you a pair for a much better price... Keep reading. You can BORROW books from the library or members for more info! Ask lots of questions... s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 11, 2003 Author Share October 11, 2003 Check this thread in the Newbie section for reading material. The happy healthy reef book is appropriate for the class... Beginner and advanced book list Lots of stuff for reference there. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 11, 2003 Author Share October 11, 2003 Something to aspire to... 10G nano reef One of our members. A tad more involved, but way cool none the less... s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquariareview October 12, 2003 Share October 12, 2003 When I lived in Oklahoma I ran a small project that put 10 gal mini reefs in 50 classrooms a year. we had 25 reef tank owners who fragged some star polyps, mushrooms and colt coral from our systems. Each tank had: 1:Powerhead 2:Small airstone driven skimmer 3:10-15 lbs of live rock (1-2 pieces from our tanks) 4:3 inch of sand (from our tanks) 5:2 NO 20 watt daylight bulbs and 1 NO 20 watt actinic. We had custom hoods with a small external ballast. Every tank had a clown or a damsel, we also had shrimp, crabs, snails At the end of the year we would dump the sand and rock back into our systems then set them back up in the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 13, 2003 Author Share October 13, 2003 wow. Did the teachers develop any kind of curiculum material from that experience? What were the goals of the classroom tanks? How did the notion of taking all that live sand around work out? Any toxic storms? Would you give me some estimates on costs for these systems? There is some money available, but we are limited to about $250 for the project. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty October 14, 2003 Share October 14, 2003 I know a very interested middle school science teacher that wants to get involved. How do I make it happen?? mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg October 14, 2003 Share October 14, 2003 Tell them to join this forum and give us an idea what they want to do. It will develop from there. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 14, 2003 Author Share October 14, 2003 I know a very interested middle school science teacher that wants to get involved. How do I make it happen?? mc Marty, you have my contact info, I believe. Send it to the MS teacher so he/she can contact me. I'll hook them up together. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquariareview October 15, 2003 Share October 15, 2003 wow. Did the teachers develop any kind of curiculum material from that experience? What were the goals of the classroom tanks? How did the notion of taking all that live sand around work out? Any toxic storms? Would you give me some estimates on costs for these systems? There is some money available, but we are limited to about $250 for the project. Teachers Curiculum: Measured growth of colt coral Showed kids plankton slides Talked about moulting (shrimp) Talked about need for Light Charted water tests on a wall chart Once a month or so the mentors (reef club members) hit a classroom to talk to the kids. Cost was easy. Every tank was paid for by a local biz.. 10 gal Tanks cost All donated Walmart Lee skimmer 29.00 Air pump All donated Walmart custom hood cost about 75.00 These cost are 1992 but not that far off. Our group was smaller than WAMAS and we did not have the local resources, but we made this a project that we cared about. Most of us had kids in the classes the tanks were in. This gave us more excuses to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 15, 2003 Author Share October 15, 2003 Nathan, can you give me contact info for the lead teachers in your project? I'd like to see if they have any teaching materials they may have developed to make this work well for them... thx, s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquariareview October 15, 2003 Share October 15, 2003 I will try to track someone down. It has been 12 years and I have lost touch with most of the people in my OK aquarium group. I might have some of the work ( small powerpoint workbook ) we developed with one of the teachers. Most of the classes were 3rd - 5th grade. Let me look thru my storage unit. if I can find the file I will bring it Sat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit October 23, 2003 Share October 23, 2003 I have a 25 high and a 10 gallon tank that are gathering dust that I would be willing to donate to the project. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 23, 2003 Author Share October 23, 2003 suhWEET. I'll be in touch soon enough. Still working the curriculum issues. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Longhorn October 27, 2003 Share October 27, 2003 Thanks to everyone who is helping Steve and me with the 10-gal. nano tank idea. Steve has been doing all of the legwork so far and has been a tremendous help. Thanks for everyone's interest. We are looking to procure funding/materials for the tank set-up. I actually have the tank but no hood, lighting, pump, sand, etc. Does anyone have any idea about who to contact for illiciting funds. If it would be a grant...who? If it would be commercial...great marketing in a school of over 500 students. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo October 27, 2003 Share October 27, 2003 i can donate a 175 watt hamilton ballast enclosed in the original housing and i should have a bulb to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Longhorn October 28, 2003 Share October 28, 2003 Thanks so much for the offer to donate the following: i can donate a 175 watt hamilton ballast enclosed in the original housing and i should have a bulb to. Can I ask Steve to get in touch with you? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo October 28, 2003 Share October 28, 2003 sure kelly,have him email me about specifics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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