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View Full Version : Update of the Carlsbad Classroom Cold Water Tanks



Paul
01-22-2007, 04:16 PM
It's been a while since I've posted any updates, but there are updates. Instead of just one tank, there are now TWO. I wish somebody warned my students and I that this would be addictive. Thankfully we do not have to worry about the electricity bill. Yes, the air conditioning still comes on at 7 am when the classroom is already 60 degrees inside. My school has still got bigger problems than me and my tanks as far as power is concerned. :rolleyes:

My students were divided on how we wanted to re-establish the tank after summer vacation. Remember I had to tear down everything and move them into a 180g tank in the garage for the summer? Anyhow, the students couldn't decide on a heavy reef environment or a sandy environment so I decided to go with both.

I went to purchase a 100g tank with a stand in Ramon for a song from a fellow SDreefer but when I got there, he told me to keep the money. :eek: Thumbs up!

Here are both tanks:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03158.jpg

The newest tank which was set up as the reef tank:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03603.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03618.jpg



Last night, adding a couple of new critters to the reef tank:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03560.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03565.jpg

Yep, an octopus. Wonder what's going to go wrong with it. I've heard so many stories. I've had two already. First one disappeared for good within minutes. We never could find it again. Might still be in there for all we know. 2nd one was great for a couple of months until it lost a fight with a rather large crab.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03620.jpg


A baby lobster, about 2 inches long flees when the octopus decides it wants it's home.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03584.jpg

<snip>

Paul
01-22-2007, 04:17 PM
</snip>

I knew I had to get that new refug up and running asap or that baby lobster would be toast within days. Set it up on the sandy tank. A bit leaky.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03613.jpg

Added a couple of these to the sandy tank:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03587.jpg


The next day the anemone moved all the way down into the sand. Should I be worried?

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e210/Blesum/DSC03631.jpg

The baby Swell Shark in the Sandy tank should hatch within the next 10-40 days. We're all twiddling our fingers over here. Again, we wouldn't be where we are with all this if it wasn't for this place. Kudos to all of you guys. :D

-Paul

cagirly2006
01-22-2007, 04:33 PM
man looks like a FUN classroom, 2 tanks and a dog on the couch...lucky kids!!

Paul
01-22-2007, 04:52 PM
Sharp eyes, Cagirly. :cool:

-Paul

DaChrisDude
01-22-2007, 08:53 PM
If your tank is not 100% sealed you are very likely to lose the octopus. They can fit through any hole that their beak will fit through. Ie if your octopus's beak is about 1/2inch wide, it will fit through any hole 1/2inch wide or larger.

Heather
01-22-2007, 09:07 PM
Sharp eyes, Cagirly. :cool:

-Paul
I had to scroll back up to find it! :p
Good luck with everything!!

DaChrisDude
01-22-2007, 09:27 PM
BTW - the tanks look very cool. You're an awesome teacher, wish my teachers were as cool as you. :) Keep up the good work.

SolRo
01-22-2007, 09:29 PM
Nice job, glad to see there are still some teachers that do more than just narrate text books.

DaveMorris
01-22-2007, 09:32 PM
Paul,
Thanks for what you do. Teachers like you are what gives our kids a chance. My daughter was given a quail by her teacher at the end of the school year last year. They brought it up from an egg in the classroom and she is quite attached to it. The tanks are really cool and must be a lot of fun.

Paul
01-22-2007, 10:35 PM
Nice job, glad to see there are still some teachers that do more than just narrate text books.

It's not like I have much of a choice - I can't even get my hands on any text books suitable for my students. :(

As far as teaching goes, if I see a kid starting to tune me out, I know I'm doing something wrong. I start out being the kind of teacher I wish I had when I was growing up and I try to adapt as needed to the current generations. At least that's the excuse I give for owning an Xbox 360. :D

Yeah, I realize that the octopus could easily escape. I just hope that it will be amused and content enough in the tank not to bother like the last one was. I have heard a rumor that lining the inside lip of a tank with astroturf can discourage an octopus from crawling out. Anybody know about that?

-Paul

lucubrator
01-22-2007, 10:53 PM
I saw at some aquarium that they would build a big lego structure, and then put hide food inside. When they gave it to an octopus it'd pull the thing apart and hold 10-15 lego bits per arm. Might be worth a test.. and some pictures :).

Paul
01-23-2007, 08:01 AM
That's a great idea. One of my students is mad about legos... :D

I'm not too sure about trying to retrieve all the pieces afterwards since there are several hard to access areas in the reef tank...

Maybe once the shark is moved over to the reef tank, I could move the octopus into the sand tank with a small cave for it?

Interesting idea!

-Paul

coral diver
01-23-2007, 08:28 AM
Paul you gave my wife more ideas oh & she's a pre-school teacher i'm just hoping her student's not going to tear down the tank that she want me to put in her class room

nanoreefbro
01-23-2007, 10:21 AM
Wow very cool Paul.. Now that is the way to get a kid's attention.. Definitely keep us posted.. Maybe you can even teach a few of us SDREEFERS..:D

Paul
01-23-2007, 01:01 PM
Nah, I don't think I could teach anybody here. You guys are way more advanced with your reactors, frag swaps, chemical additives, use of refractometers and what have you. Me, I use straight up LJ water and am amazed every day that I come into the room and find that neither tanks crashed overnight. ;)

-Paul

Chanas4
01-27-2007, 09:54 AM
I saw at some aquarium that they would build a big lego structure, and then put hide food inside. When they gave it to an octopus it'd pull the thing apart and hold 10-15 lego bits per arm. Might be worth a test.. and some pictures :).

I saw something like that on TV at an aquarium in Spain. It was actually the kids idea to use the leggos. They used the larger leggos. They did it because the octopus was bored and just laying there. I thnk if you used the bigger ones you could retrieve them.