Hello from Indiana!

[dwair]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[Kennya]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Welcome and thank you for your service!!!

 

[KWT]

Welcome to R2R, come in sit down and relax, enjoy

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R. What a great idea. Maybe teach them how to test parameters, do water changes when needed. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[69reefman]

Hello and welcome

 

[Just John]

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hello everyone.

I set up my first saltwater aquarium back in '86. Without the Internet or easy access to aquarium books, I relied on old fishkeeping gazettes my father had--possibly precursors to Tropical Fish Hobbyist--to get me started. I kept fish successfully until '92, when I left home to serve in the Marine Corps. Didn't get back into the hobby until 2016. This forum has been a wealth of info since then (WAY better than those old gazettes), and I am thankful it's here.

I am joining now because I need your suggestions.

I teach at a high school in a rough neighborhood that has been on remote learning for the last week, not because of COVID, but because two students were shot outside of another school in town. We'll be on remote learning this week as well while the district revises its security measures. Many of my students come from impoverished and broken homes. Adding to their stress is the fact that this year, the district combined four high schools into two, effectively dumping half our kids into strange buildings in neighborhoods they used to avoid.

So I've been trying to think of ways to make my classroom a more relaxing and inviting place to be. One idea is to set up a saltwater tank. Over the years, the kids have expressed interest in pictures of my home aquarium, and a handful from this year have said they would like to set one up and maintain it. I have a spare 20 gallon long, some unused HOB filters, and a variety of odds and ends that I no longer need at home, so I'll bring those in and pick up what I don't have in a week or two.

I know I want the aquarium to be the students' tank. I want them to--within my budget and under my supervision--decide what goes in it and what they do with it. And I want there to be a goal that is obtainable by the end of the school year in early June. I'm just drawing blank on what some possible goals might be. I'm hoping the R2R community can give me some ideas that I can pass on to the students as options.

I'll be restricted on some things: there will be no RO/DI (I'll be bringing in 5 gallon bottles of distilled water), it will have to be a budget build, no poisonous or toxic livestock, and the tank will need to be relatively easy to break down so I can bring it home during the summer.

Thanks for your help.

Welcome!

GREAT idea!!!! Honestly feel like just having stable water parameters at year's end before summer break is a good goal - but why not give the kids time to research and ask them their thoughts on goals?

I 'share' my tank with my boyfriend and we often have conflicting goals and approaches. Having 20-30 kids with potentially different goals could potentially be even harder, but feel just having tank there will spark interest and lifetime learning.

The stress everyone must be going thru with shootings and upheavals must be tremendous and can't even imagine, but a healthy tank is peaceful and positive distraction. You are bringing ocean beauty into their lives - WAY TO GO! Keep us posted.

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing your reef!

 

[Esox]

Welcome esox,
One concern would be malicious damage to the tank in a rough school.
Look for easy livestock

I got lucky this year and have a classroom with an office attached to it. The office has a window to the classroom. Figured I could put the aquarium in the window, and that would provide an extra layer of protection.

 

[Esox]

Welcome to the best reef over the sea. Sadly, I agree with Pistondog about potential damage to the tank. There is a high likelihood it will happen.

That is certainly a risk in any school, not just the ones like mine. But most of my students are good kids, and they tend to shine when given opportunities to pursue interests they would otherwise never have.

 

[Esox]

Welcome!

Ideas for goals.
Start a build thread.
Maintain a tank parameter notebook for the entire year.
Learn to acclimate fish. Budget limited on space(discuss quarantine, fish diseases)
Add first fish.
Learn to acclimate coral. Dips when to use which.
Add first coral.
Identify different types of algae, and how to treat.
Learn about light spectrum for corals, and the symbiotic relationship between coral and xooanthele.
Just a few ideas for an end goal of students knowing how to start and maintain a basic reef tank.

fun goals- decide on fish, corals.
If going with gsp ask them to decide how much it will spread by the end of the school year. Closest group or student gets something special.

design a scape competition (drawing) best one goes in the tank.

Guess the cycle time- pick the number of days until tank is cycled.

I figured I'd teach them the basics, let them set everything up, have them monitor and record parameters, make adjustments, and only step in to prevent potential disasters. But you're right, just maintaining a successful tank might be a good enough goal.

I do like the idea of guessing contests to make it more fun. Thanks for that!

 

[Esox]

Also if this happens to be the northwest side of Indiana, I need to frag some of my Xenia and GSP soon. I can hold on to some until you’re ready for it. I’m an hour drive into Illinois.

I appreciate the offer! I know where Plainfield is. I grew up about 45 minutes away in Richton Park.

 

[Operator Wrasse]

I figured I'd teach them the basics, let them set everything up, have them monitor and record parameters, make adjustments, and only step in to prevent potential disasters. But you're right, just maintaining a successful tank might be a good enough goal.

I do like the idea of guessing contests to make it more fun. Thanks for that!

I'm glad to see another face from NWI! My wife is a teacher and I totally understand what you're going through. I have some frags of easy softies I could donate, just send me a PM. I'm also willing to help with some manual labor if you need it, but probably not with only a 20 Long. I would contact Paul at The Ark in Crown Point. He's the saltwater manager and a great guy. Maybe the Ark could donate some old gear, supplies, or salt.

 

[Esox]

Welcome!

GREAT idea!!!! Honestly feel like just having stable water parameters at year's end before summer break is a good goal - but why not give the kids time to research and ask them their thoughts on goals?

I 'share' my tank with my boyfriend and we often have conflicting goals and approaches. Having 20-30 kids with potentially different goals could potentially be even harder, but feel just having tank there will spark interest and lifetime learning.

The stress everyone must be going thru with shootings and upheavals must be tremendous and can't even imagine, but a healthy tank is peaceful and positive distraction. You are bringing ocean beauty into their lives - WAY TO GO! Keep us posted.

Letting the kids decide is key, but I've long since learned that providing options for them to choose from at the very beginning streamlines the process and helps keep chaos at bay.

There will be six different classes exposed to the tank. So far, six students from three classes have volunteered to be part of the tank crew. If I can recruit some from the other three classes and maybe from the Science classes, I can set up a couple teams (figuring a few students will inevitably drift away), so the maintenance doesn't become too taxing.

 

[Esox]

I'm glad to see another face from NWI! My wife is a teacher and I totally understand what you're going through. I have some frags of easy softies I could donate, just send me a PM. I'm also willing to help with some manual labor if you need it, but probably not with only a 20 Long. I would contact Paul at The Ark in Crown Point. He's the saltwater manager and a great guy. Maybe the Ark could donate some old gear, supplies, or salt.

Thanks for the offer! Once I know what direction the kids want to take the tank, I may take you up on it. I know who Paul is. He helped me out a lot when I got back into the hobby (my how things had changed in two decades!). Haven't been to The Ark in ages, though.

Because I don't know how successful this project is going to be, I'm not asking for donated equipment and supplies. If it turns out to be something the students want to continue next year, then I'll probably start knocking on doors.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

That is certainly a risk in any school, not just the ones like mine. But most of my students are good kids, and they tend to shine when given opportunities to pursue interests they would otherwise never have.

I understand. It's just from the malicious things I have seen or experienced in the workplace I would worry about the tank too much to have it. There was a posting here in the welcome forum who told his story about having two brothers which would never fess up to who hid dryer sheets in his tank. He still remembered that many years later from his childhood.