ot?-saltwater aquarium in my high school

fishyfish22 · 10/26/2012, 10:33 PM

hello everybody. in my school, i have already set up a freshwater aquarium (90 gallons) but that story is on another forum. what i hope to do is set up a large saltwater aquarium(125 gallons plus) for everyone to see, because when i think about it i realize that there are hundreds of students who, if they tried it, would really enjoy keeping an aquarium, only they haven't been exposed to it strongly enough. here's what i hope to get done by the end of this school year, (not in this exact order)

1. start a fish club-many students, if they were exposed, would learn their true talent in keeping aquarium fish. this would expand not only the hobby, but it would teach many skills we know and use on a daily basis such as chemistry( additives), biology( learning how fish's bodies work), ecology (compatibility of organisms) and much more. it may even spark some people's interests in areas such as marine biology and engineering . most people who i know like fish, but don't have an aquarium say that they don't have space or money. but if it's in a school, they can be a part of something that they've always wanted to be a part of.

2. get a saltwater aquarium- i don't know if this is for everyone, but when we have guests over the first thing they notice is the fish tank. the 90 gallon freshwater alone captured enough attention, but a larger tank like i hope to achieve would lead to incredible ends. what we would need to do is find a large aquarium(it would both attract attention and all of the best fish for saltwater such as many tangs are saltwater). we need either a good deal on a large setup or many deals on smaller items to make a full setup. preferably reef ready, but that will come later on.

3. find a source of budget- do any of you know of ways we could get money to fund this? i know of grants but not of companies or groups that would be willing to donate to a school to have fish tanks, but then again maybe there are.

4. find a list of activities to be done for when this does become a club. we could meet once a week, but if this does become a popular club there can't be 20 people working on a single 90 gallon.there should be a list of activities to do. maybe a semester field trip, but we'd need money for that too. before things get done, there needs to be proper planing. since it will be displayed to the entire school, it must be perfect, or if not perfect then similar to perfect. any questions please ask, and any opinions or info please let me know. i'm just a kid with a dream/vision, but with support of an entire community of people, this may come to life.

if this does work, it could eventually become a reef tank (corals will come out of my aquarium or any donations if anyone would like to make any) but that's way down the road.
-i already have the principal's permission to have this happen, but we would need our own source of money.

kbacon · 10/26/2012, 10:39 PM

Start with talking to the biology dept head. Ten talk to the dean or principal about starting a club and possibly getting funding. Also the local reef stores and clubs would probably donate to the school.

fishyfish22 · 10/26/2012, 10:45 PM

already talked to the head of the fish tanks. he's actually a teacher, we don't have a biology department. we have a science department and then it splits up to chem teachers, physics teachers, biology teachers, etc. the principal said i would have to fins someone to sponsor (not financially, just to be the trusted adult) for the club. he said he could help us out with $250.

the closest lfs are petco(shouldn't be considered an lfs, but it might help), petsmart, aquarium adventure in hoffman estates, beyond the reef, and maybe advanced aquatics. i'll try emailing them to see if they'd donate, but i'm unsure of how that would work. who would they donate to, the school or the science department?

sugartooth · 10/27/2012, 07:58 AM

I have a 130 gallon tall acrylic tank I can donate. It would need the following:

- someone to buff it out
- someone to pick it up

There is no hood or stand. Hopefully, you can get something better. If not, it's your school's.

Good luck!

fishyfish22 · 10/27/2012, 09:38 AM

wow thanks! this can help us out a lot, but we'd need to find the filtration for it. i'll talk to the teacher that's in charge of the aquariums to see if it would be ok.

jmsalt1 · 10/28/2012, 01:48 AM

I really like your ideas. Have you discussed how the tank will be maintained over the summer, holidays, breaks? Just want you to have a plan for that before you have a full blown reef tank up and running. Also, you should get a budget together, especially for a tank that big. Do you have access to RO/DI water at school? How will u handle water changes? If you went smaller, maybe a 75G, your budget might go a little farther. Just a few thoughts, I like where you are going.

GumbyIl · 10/28/2012, 10:26 AM

Coming into school twice a day during summer would get old fast. Even if you had an auto feeder it would be tough. Our animal biology teacher keeps a freshwater and some birds and he's there all the time. Kids can't do that. The administration is just not likely to give keys and access all the time.

If you had a system that was small enough to go home with somebody that might work better. Even so you'd have to set up something for long weekends and spring/ winter break.

BigKev23 · 10/29/2012, 08:52 AM

I would recommend getting in touch with the people at the Central Campus high school in Des Moines, Iowa. They have an entire aquarium science department and work with the local reef club. You could get tips and ideas from them on how they got everything started and go from there.

jmsalt1 · 10/30/2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigKev23

I would recommend getting in touch with the people at the Central Campus high school in Des Moines, Iowa. They have an entire aquarium science department and work with the local reef club. You could get tips and ideas from them on how they got everything started and go from there.

That's great advice, they must have found a way to work through some of the issues that have been brought up. I hope you can make it work. I still remember my biology teacher's tanks, freshwater, but still cool. I think those oscars he had would've eaten just about anything.

Pool_shark · 10/30/2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugartooth

I have a 130 gallon tall acrylic tank I can donate. It would need the following:
- someone to buff it out
- someone to pick it up
There is no hood or stand. Hopefully, you can get something better. If not, it's your school's.

Good luck!

This is great. Assuming that your school has one, have your wood shop build the stand. Good luck with this project!

10/26/2012, 10:33 PM	#1
fishyfish22 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: palatine Posts: 278	ot?-saltwater aquarium in my high school hello everybody. in my school, i have already set up a freshwater aquarium (90 gallons) but that story is on another forum. what i hope to do is set up a large saltwater aquarium(125 gallons plus) for everyone to see, because when i think about it i realize that there are hundreds of students who, if they tried it, would really enjoy keeping an aquarium, only they haven't been exposed to it strongly enough. here's what i hope to get done by the end of this school year, (not in this exact order) 1. start a fish club-many students, if they were exposed, would learn their true talent in keeping aquarium fish. this would expand not only the hobby, but it would teach many skills we know and use on a daily basis such as chemistry( additives), biology( learning how fish's bodies work), ecology (compatibility of organisms) and much more. it may even spark some people's interests in areas such as marine biology and engineering . most people who i know like fish, but don't have an aquarium say that they don't have space or money. but if it's in a school, they can be a part of something that they've always wanted to be a part of. 2. get a saltwater aquarium- i don't know if this is for everyone, but when we have guests over the first thing they notice is the fish tank. the 90 gallon freshwater alone captured enough attention, but a larger tank like i hope to achieve would lead to incredible ends. what we would need to do is find a large aquarium(it would both attract attention and all of the best fish for saltwater such as many tangs are saltwater). we need either a good deal on a large setup or many deals on smaller items to make a full setup. preferably reef ready, but that will come later on. 3. find a source of budget- do any of you know of ways we could get money to fund this? i know of grants but not of companies or groups that would be willing to donate to a school to have fish tanks, but then again maybe there are. 4. find a list of activities to be done for when this does become a club. we could meet once a week, but if this does become a popular club there can't be 20 people working on a single 90 gallon.there should be a list of activities to do. maybe a semester field trip, but we'd need money for that too. before things get done, there needs to be proper planing. since it will be displayed to the entire school, it must be perfect, or if not perfect then similar to perfect. any questions please ask, and any opinions or info please let me know. i'm just a kid with a dream/vision, but with support of an entire community of people, this may come to life. if this does work, it could eventually become a reef tank (corals will come out of my aquarium or any donations if anyone would like to make any) but that's way down the road. -i already have the principal's permission to have this happen, but we would need our own source of money. __________________ two fish are in a tank, one says you man the guns, i'll drive. V.I.F.-very important fish Current Tank Info: 180 gallon reef ready

10/26/2012, 10:45 PM	#3
fishyfish22 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: palatine Posts: 278	already talked to the head of the fish tanks. he's actually a teacher, we don't have a biology department. we have a science department and then it splits up to chem teachers, physics teachers, biology teachers, etc. the principal said i would have to fins someone to sponsor (not financially, just to be the trusted adult) for the club. he said he could help us out with $250. the closest lfs are petco(shouldn't be considered an lfs, but it might help), petsmart, aquarium adventure in hoffman estates, beyond the reef, and maybe advanced aquatics. i'll try emailing them to see if they'd donate, but i'm unsure of how that would work. who would they donate to, the school or the science department? __________________ two fish are in a tank, one says you man the guns, i'll drive. V.I.F.-very important fish Current Tank Info: 180 gallon reef ready

10/27/2012, 09:38 AM	#5
fishyfish22 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: palatine Posts: 278	wow thanks! this can help us out a lot, but we'd need to find the filtration for it. i'll talk to the teacher that's in charge of the aquariums to see if it would be ok. __________________ two fish are in a tank, one says you man the guns, i'll drive. V.I.F.-very important fish Current Tank Info: 180 gallon reef ready

10/28/2012, 01:48 AM	#6
jmsalt1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 742	I really like your ideas. Have you discussed how the tank will be maintained over the summer, holidays, breaks? Just want you to have a plan for that before you have a full blown reef tank up and running. Also, you should get a budget together, especially for a tank that big. Do you have access to RO/DI water at school? How will u handle water changes? If you went smaller, maybe a 75G, your budget might go a little farther. Just a few thoughts, I like where you are going. __________________ PicoAquariums 6.6 Gallon Cube, 40 Breeder Aqueon Sump

10/28/2012, 10:26 AM	#7
GumbyIl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Naperville IL Posts: 226	Coming into school twice a day during summer would get old fast. Even if you had an auto feeder it would be tough. Our animal biology teacher keeps a freshwater and some birds and he's there all the time. Kids can't do that. The administration is just not likely to give keys and access all the time. If you had a system that was small enough to go home with somebody that might work better. Even so you'd have to set up something for long weekends and spring/ winter break. __________________ 180g peninsula. 75g basement sump with 30g fuge. Set up 2/10. Torn down 12/13

10/26/2012, 10:39 PM	#2
kbacon Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 36	Start with talking to the biology dept head. Ten talk to the dean or principal about starting a club and possibly getting funding. Also the local reef stores and clubs would probably donate to the school.

10/27/2012, 07:58 AM	#4
sugartooth Reef bully Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: IL Posts: 2,832	I have a 130 gallon tall acrylic tank I can donate. It would need the following: - someone to buff it out - someone to pick it up There is no hood or stand. Hopefully, you can get something better. If not, it's your school's. Good luck!

10/29/2012, 08:52 AM	#8
BigKev23 Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 799	I would recommend getting in touch with the people at the Central Campus high school in Des Moines, Iowa. They have an entire aquarium science department and work with the local reef club. You could get tips and ideas from them on how they got everything started and go from there.