Robert Hopkins E.S.fish tank
Darrin Henry is a dad of 2 children, one of whom attends Robert Hopkins Elementary School. He also is one of our fish specialists and with Critter Jungle is assembling and maintaining an aquarium in the school. We have donated some of the components and as we do for other educational initiatives, we offer a 20% discount to teachers for classroom related pets and their supplies. Check the school's site at: http://www1.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/rhopweb/
This is Darrin's journey towards creating a biotope aquarium for the school and the pupils.
By now, most of you have seen our fish tank project in the library hallway. Many of you have asked your teachers for details or have asked me while I was there. The excitement is growing faster than the project, and I hope you can all be patient while our tank settles. Starting a fish tank takes time, rivers and lakes have formed over millions of years, while fish tanks need less time than that, they still require an ageing process. I have chosen a Southeast Asian biotope set-up for your school, and will use plants and fish native to Indonesia. Be on the look out for new additions every week!
The first visit…
Cleaning and setting up equipment.
The aquarium has been sitting for a while and needed a big cleaning. I set up our Fluval 204 canister filter and installed a heater. Filling the tank with water was a slow process, adding 5 gallons of water a time to check for leaks. Added a neutralizer to remove the chloramines that Ottawa uses to make our water safe to drink. Finally I added Cycle, a bacterial booster to promote filtering.
The second visit…
Inspected the aquarium for leaks and the equipment for faults. All seems to be in good order. The tank has held water for two weeks now, little chance of a leak or equipment failure for the future. I have added a gravel substrate and stones. It is starting to look like a fish tank, if you can see trough the purple water… the cloudiness is from the gravel, it will settle and we will be ready for the next step, Planting.
The third visit...
Week 4: Now we finally have living things in our aquarium, I have started to plant. Live plants complement the fish in a tank, and just like the fish, we need to add them slowly. Plants absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) exhaled by fish and change it to oxygen, which fish “breathe” in. Plants also use nitrogen, which is produced by fish wastes. Next week we should have some fish to watch!
Flora (Plants)
Cryptocoryne wilisii: Common name: Crypt Origin: Sri Lanka, Indonesia, AsiaLow growing plant with 1 ¼ to 2 inch (3 to 5.5 cm) lance like leaves. Currently located in the front of the aquarium.
Vallisneria spiralis: Common name: Tape grass, Straight Val Origin: North Africa
It originated in North Africa but has since been introduced worldwide. Has ribbon like leaves that can grow over two feet (60cm) which often spiral. Currently located in the back of our tank.
