Tanks for Teacher Program Lakeridge Highschool Tank

[emerald525]

Wow looking really good Kim, props to you!

Thanks Chris! I spend the most time helping out with this tank and it is still not a lot of work. Every month or 2 I do a 5 water gallon change and just help if there is a problem. Most of the other schools maintain their own tanks but since this is a special needs school and the staff are already spread thin, I didn't want to add to their burden.

I definitely get more out of it then I put into it just watching a child smile.

Children are referred to this school for behavioral problems. I was talking to a child who was having a "meltdown" he was angry with his mother and wanted to leave and I told him I took care of his tank at the school and he calmed down immediately. We played a little game where I asked if he knew what kind of fish were in the tank and he smiled and it completely "snapped' him out of his bad mood.

Saltwater tanks can be really therapeutic!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

WOW it's a beauty!

 

[emerald525]

WOW it's a beauty!

Thanks Rev! Not bad for a completely donated tank!

 

[emerald525]

Clackamas High School Update

I snapped a few pictures today. I couldn't take too many as class was in session! The tank is up and running and through the cycling process. If you look at page 2 of this thread you can see the setup. I just now realized it has been exactly 2 months that we started the tank!:bigsmile:

Since the school will be out I stopped by to give the teacher an autofeeder that was generously donated by one of our LFS


A few weeks ago 2 clownfish and an Algae blenny were added and today we delivered some coral that was donated by reefers from my local club

If you look closely you can see the Algae Blenny!

Floating the bags! We were going to let Rod and the students decide where they wanted to put the corals!

I will keep you posted on the tank's progress! It's kind of fun to see how much it can change in a few months! The students can't wait to get an anemone too! This is the newest tank in our program!

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

The tank is coming along very nicely!!!

 

[emerald525]

Clackamas High School Update

Stopped by the Clackamas High School tank to drop off a new fish for them. A Hector Goby! Snapped a few pictures! Everything is looking great!

They have been very self sufficient taking care of making their own salt and topping off the tank and doing the water changes and they even installed this Ro/di unit!

As you can see one rock is getting overgrown with aiptasia and a local fish store is going to give us a good deal on peppermint shrimp to help them out! I was also going to drop off a flasher wrasse but he was well hidden so I will bring that when I get the peppermint shrimp! I would love to see what other clubs are doing.

 

[lofty78]

Wow... I am very moved by this and I am very interested in doing this at my son's school...It's a K-8 and him being in kindergarten and knowing so much out the tank already, it would be a great way to teach him responsibility and he could help with the maintenance through out his tenure. Of course while he is still younger, I would assist in the maintenance as well as the class that is selected to host the tank. I hate to think selfishly, but this may be a good way to talk the wife into letting me upgrade to a 150 and I could donate my 90 and a good amount of the equipment... Probably a ways off from being there... but I am defiantly subscribing to follow along. Thank you for being real heroes to these kids... I hope that I am able to do the same :bigsmile:

 

[emerald525]

Wow... I am very moved by this and I am very interested in doing this at my son's school...It's a K-8 and him being in kindergarten and knowing so much out the tank already, it would be a great way to teach him responsibility and he could help with the maintenance through out his tenure. Of course while he is still younger, I would assist in the maintenance as well as the class that is selected to host the tank. I hate to think selfishly, but this may be a good way to talk the wife into letting me upgrade to a 150 and I could donate my 90 and a good amount of the equipment... Probably a ways off from being there... but I am defiantly subscribing to follow along. Thank you for being real heroes to these kids... I hope that I am able to do the same :bigsmile:

I hope it all works out. That would be great if your son could learn and enjoy the tank and learn how to maintain it through his entire school year! Try checking with your local saltwater club if you have one. If not, most local fish stores are more than willing to donate to schools.

 

[lofty78]

Talked to my wife today... she loves the idea... I need to get involved with some of the clubs here....there are some active here... but I was hoping to get some people more local to my immediate area involved... specifically a couple local maintenance/build companies...the demographics for my area probably limits the amount of active hobbyists, but I am pretty well known at the LFS' especially the used equip shops... so I think I can pull it together...probably would take some time though as I really don't want to set them up with junk.... My 90 would be ideal and a few LFS' and some local manufactures and retailers would make for some great programs....If I could get it set up at on school, I would like to get it active in more... I seem to know a lot of teachers... but I don't know why... maybe God has put me in that position for a reason :angel:

 

[emerald525]

Talked to my wife today... she loves the idea... I need to get involved with some of the clubs here....there are some active here... but I was hoping to get some people more local to my immediate area involved... specifically a couple local maintenance/build companies...the demographics for my area probably limits the amount of active hobbyists, but I am pretty well known at the LFS' especially the used equip shops... so I think I can pull it together...probably would take some time though as I really don't want to set them up with junk.... My 90 would be ideal and a few LFS' and some local manufactures and retailers would make for some great programs....If I could get it set up at on school, I would like to get it active in more... I seem to know a lot of teachers... but I don't know why... maybe God has put me in that position for a reason :angel:

Good luck to you! I am excited to hear about the possibility of another tank going in to the school. It is a fun and rewarding thing to do and one of my favorite things in the local club. I have received generous donations from local fish stores, club members and national companies.

 

[emerald525]

Tanks for teachers New additions

Hi everyone it's been a while since I updated. The Clackamas High School tank is doing really well. It has been up for 6 months now!

I have been holding this flasher wrasse in my quarantine tank for a few months. It is well acclimated disease free and eating well. The teacher really loved the new fish!:wink:

I just picked up some donations from a local reefer who was tearing down his tank. These will be some nice additions!:bigsmile:

The clowns were so pitiful hosting a small hammer coral. I felt like the tank was ready for a tank raised anemone. This was also supplied by a local reefer!1smile1

We showed the teacher how to acclimate the anemone and the shrimp. He has a real passion for the saltwater hobby and his students also get so excited with the new additions:

The Halloween Hermit is doing well. You can see the aiptasia in the background is really taking over which is why we brought some peppermint shrimp. A LFS sold them to us for cost. We got a really good deal!
:bigsmile:

Algae Blenny is big and happy

 

[emerald525]

Pioneer School Update

Stopped by Pioneer school. This is a school for special needs children so it is near and dear to my heart. The tank really does help relax the children and open up conversation. I stopped by and did another water change! Tank is doing well! I took a few pictures!

It really is not much effort, I stop by every 4 to 6 weeks to do a 5 gallon water change and check on things. The tank is pretty well stocked at this point so no new additions.

















There was quite a bit of algae on the powerheads and I scrubbed them off and they look much better!





Next on the to do list is to install LED lights. The hope is to get them in all of the school tanks so we don't have to worry about changing out light bulbs so often. Reefstar was very generous and donated a nice little LED. I will post pictures when it is up and running!

 

[dna4ya]

Hey guys! I am an elementary gifted (advanced/high ability) teacher at a low income school in Central Florida. Although it's costing me a fortune, I really felt that it would be a huge benefit for my students to learn from a saltwater tank. The experiences and the educational benefits are huge! I am so excited to watch this tank grow with my students. (I have the same students year after year.) My husband and I have a large SW tank at home, so mostly my classroom tank will be compiled from "left over" parts from that tank...which will hopefully help keep the cost minimal. (Although I'm already double the original "budget" - go figure...so far only supplies I've had to purchase are electronic - lights, chiller, pumps - which all adds up to double my budget! And I bought from Craigslist 0 whew)
Anyway, if y'all hear of a grant ot something applicable to me, please please share! I need help! Thanks!!

++ these tanks look great! Hope mine gets to be as nice!

 

[emerald525]

Hey guys! I am an elementary gifted (advanced/high ability) teacher at a low income school in Central Florida. Although it's costing me a fortune, I really felt that it would be a huge benefit for my students to learn from a saltwater tank. The experiences and the educational benefits are huge! I am so excited to watch this tank grow with my students. (I have the same students year after year.) My husband and I have a large SW tank at home, so mostly my classroom tank will be compiled from "left over" parts from that tank...which will hopefully help keep the cost minimal. (Although I'm already double the original "budget" - go figure...so far only supplies I've had to purchase are electronic - lights, chiller, pumps - which all adds up to double my budget! And I bought from Craigslist 0 whew)
Anyway, if y'all hear of a grant ot something applicable to me, please please share! I need help! Thanks!!

++ these tanks look great! Hope mine gets to be as nice!

That is great to hear! I would suggest checking and seeing if you have a local club in the area too. This tank was put together by donations from local members and our sponsors have also been generous and we have raised money via raffles and auctions so there is little out of pocket expense for the school as we know the budgets are tight.

 

[emerald525]

Update on Pioneer School! Back to School

I haven't posted many pictures over the summer. I stopped by to do a 5 gallon water change and thought I would share. The tank is looking pretty good consider the students are out. The autofeeder has really helped. In the past the fish were overfed. Also keeping the shades down in the summer has helped with the algae growth. The teacher who helps with the tank put all the signs up which seems to help the staff who cover in the summer. I didn't get any emergency phone calls and the tank survived another summer!:bigsmile:









We have kept a log book over the years. It was nice looking back at it to see all that was done and added. PH means powerhead. All we have done is a 5 gallon water change every 4 to 6 weeks!






Broadway Clinic has really stepped up in helping with the RO water since Rose City closed down. It is a little bit farther to travel but it has been working out.





I am proud to say the Cinnamon Clowns were one of the first fish introduced when the tank was started. They were donated by Dave aka Barelycuda when he had his clownhouse up! I am also happy to say we really have not had much loss of fish.



We also have not lost many corals either. The key is having hardy corals in the tank








I always worry in the summer. There was a little cyano but considering the tank has had only minimal maintenance, it is looking really good and going strong! I hope other clubs get involved with this type of program. Fellow reefers and local fish stores are always willing to help out so once things are established it really is low maintenance and low cost.

 

[emerald525]

Pioneer School Update November 2013

It's been a while since I posted pictures. Sadly with work committments I have not been able to enjoy my tanks so I took them down and am taking a break.

I donated my left over buckets and saltwater to this school.

Today we showed the staff how to do their own water changes. The tank looks really good considering it's last water change was October 2. There was a little bit of cyano but otherwise things looked pretty good.

This school is a special needs school and the children and staff really love this tank and are so appreciative. I hope to see more local clubs get involved and do a Tanks for Teachers program too!

The tank has been up for almost 3 years now. The original ocellaris and cinnamon clowns are alive and well. (We lost one ocellaris early on in the maxijet(sad) )

I am proud to say we have had very minimal coral and fish loss from this tank

I snapped a few photos today.


















The staff still have my number in case there are any questions. She should do just fine taking over the care as she does a good job with the tank already!

Reefstar also donated an LED light so they don't have to worry about changing out the light bulbs as often. I just need to get it installed.