Touch Tank for my classroom

[asmckibbin]

I am a Marine science and biology teacher and I am planning on setting up a touch tank for my classroom. It'll have to be low budget but I want these kids to have something small and cool to see and touch since some of these kids have never and may never see some of these organisms ever again. My plan is to get a 45 inch round plastic baby pool to use for the tank set on a table. I know heaters and filters cannot mount to the plastic pool so I have a small 2.5 gallon tank that i am going to inversely mount all equipment to such as wave maker, hob filter, heater and surface skimmer. I will be able to have sand and live rock in the pool as well. I plan to just have some things such as easy little inverts like urchins, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp and chocolate chip stars and such. My question is, will these animals crawl out of the tank? What can I do to prevent this? Again, low budget options please, I am just trying to help some inner city kids who haven't seen salt water animals to experience it in person.

 

[Lavey29]

Greetings, a nice idea but I can't see how this will ever work. Corals are delicate inverts that require a stable environment with proper water chemistry, flow and lighting to thrive. Not really a hands on thing like a Tidal pool as you seem to reference. Starfish are very delicate and dont live well in tanks. Most corals don't move. Nems do though. Other inverts like shrimps or conches won't last long there. Places like sea world can create these interactive experiences with sophisticated set ups but I just don't see how your set up would work beyond limited time with remote filtration and interactive contact. An actual reef tank as a visual display would be better.

 

[NanoNana]

I have a banded serpent star that stays in one of many caves and pretty much just comes out to eat. I have seen it occasionally climbing rock work but it’s not shown much interest in moving around for any reason other than food which is shrimp and pieces of clam. It was also very easy to get it taking food out of my hand. My fire shrimp also is just looking for bits of food in the sand or on rock so I wouldn’t think it would go exploring.

 

[NanoNana]

Greetings, a nice idea but I can't see how this will ever work. Torches are difficult euphyllia to sustain even in a property maintained marine environment. They are also expensive corals. They require stable parameters, proper flow and lighting. A Tidal pool set up as you describe with remote filtration will not sustain these corals. Torches don't move and can sting if handled incorrectly.

TOUCH tank. Lol. For inverts.

 

[Lavey29]

TOUCH tank. Lol. For inverts.

Yea bad eyes, I fixed it just had my morning coffee

 

[lil sumpin]

I second an actual reef tank. When I was in HS, there were several display tanks in the marine bio/ oceanography classroom. I took both those electives and I think I paid more attention to those displays than the class lectures. If I recall correctly they were very simple set ups, T5 lighting, power filters, wavemaker and a heater.

 

[NanoNana]

Yea bad eyes, I fixed it just had my morning coffee

I figured cuz I read it the same way the first time myself. rofl. I blame my eyes but in actuality it’s probably my brain.

 

[Fish Fan]

Interesting idea!

I am all for educators helping students learn more about the natural world around them. I have a Bio degree, minored in Chem, and went back later for a two year tech degree, but I LOVE biology.

And, I'm old enough to remember when an invert tank was a cool thing to have lol!

That said, I am with the other R2R members here who have suggested that a kiddie pool may not be the best idea. These are typically very flimsy, and you're asking, literally inviting, excited kids to place their hands in it. I see them leaning too hard on the plastic pool, which will cause problems, in my opinion. And, as you've noted, things like heaters may burn right through the plastic pool and would be difficult to mount and use in this situation. Last thing you want is a flood in your classroom ;-)

Better would be to get an actual aquarium/fish tank for this project. I can appreciate that as an educator you likely have a small budget for this project, but could I suggest you look for a used aquarium? Maybe check out Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace? Sometimes you can find them for free. I personally have listed tanks for sale and said that it would be free for an educator looking to add a tank to their classroom. You can also try PetCo, who offers tanks half-off a few times a year, though I believe their sale ended on the 3rd. But it comes around a few times year.

Again, I'm old, and back in the day, keeping an invert tank was a cool thing to do, and I think it still is! You could set this up with not much more than a tank, a Hang On Back filter (HOB) like an AquaClear or Seachem Tidal, and a heater. You wouldn't even need expensive lighting for a tank like this. You could keep a variety of cool animals like shrimp, snails, crabs, etc. I think people used to keep those Horseshoe crabs in tanks like these, which I believe can be picked up and handled by children, though I'm not an expert with these animals. I would look towards public aquaria that have these touch-tanks and see what they are doing and keeping.

But do not be discouraged, this is a great idea for the kids! Please keep posting and asking questions, I for one would be happy to try and help you, and I know others would too.

Best of luck with your touch-tank!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I'm going to follow this! I like the idea of doing a touch-tank for your students!

 

[JTP424]

I would re-evaluate the kiddy pool idea (as everyone has said ha)
The idea is awesome, @reefcleaners has a good selection of inverts and may be able to provide some advice on non-escaping critters.
Not sure if you have any LFS, but go in and tell them what you're doing, see if they'll sponsor the tank, good tax write off if you can get the proper paperwork etc.

 

[Fish Fan]

If you were local to me, I would donate a modest tank, heater, and HOB filter to get you going, and I'm sure someone near you would do the same. Heck, my wife would be THRILLED if I got rid of one of the many, many tanks I have stored away in our house lol!

EDIT: I'm going to second Reef Cleaners as a source of cool inverts for this tank. They are fairly inexpensive, and they ship *most* animals by USPS Priority Mail, as opposed to the overnight shipping that most places demand.

Best of luck!

 

[Cell]

I would keep a hands off display tank and use a shallow tub that I can transfer critters to and from temporarily for sensory activities. After sensory activity is done, I'd give the critters a quick rinse with water from the display before returning them.

 

[JTP424]

If you were local to me, I would donate a modest tank, heater, and HOB filter to get you going, and I'm sure someone near you would do the same. Heck, my wife would be THRILLED if I got rid of one of the many, many tanks I have stored away in our house lol!

EDIT: I'm going to second Reef Cleaners as a source of cool inverts for this tank. They are fairly inexpensive, and they ship *most* animals by USPS Priority Mail, as opposed to the overnight shipping that most places demand.

Best of luck!

On that note, state location? In case anyone on here would like to assist?

 

[Fish Fan]

On that note, state location? In case anyone on here would like to assist?

Sure, Upstate New York, just south and east of Rochester.

 

[JTP424]

Sure, Upstate New York, just south and east of Rochester.

I meant the poster ;)

 

[Fish Fan]

I meant the poster ;)

D'oh! Yeah, that makes more sense!

 

[Lavey29]

I'm in so cal and would love to help a teacher set up a tank for their classroom.

I wonder if there is a way for R2R to reach out directly to its vendors to help sponsor a tank set up for the OP teacher?

 

[Uncle99]

I am a Marine science and biology teacher and I am planning on setting up a touch tank for my classroom. It'll have to be low budget but I want these kids to have something small and cool to see and touch since some of these kids have never and may never see some of these organisms ever again. My plan is to get a 45 inch round plastic baby pool to use for the tank set on a table. I know heaters and filters cannot mount to the plastic pool so I have a small 2.5 gallon tank that i am going to inversely mount all equipment to such as wave maker, hob filter, heater and surface skimmer. I will be able to have sand and live rock in the pool as well. I plan to just have some things such as easy little inverts like urchins, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp and chocolate chip stars and such. My question is, will these animals crawl out of the tank? What can I do to prevent this? Again, low budget options please, I am just trying to help some inner city kids who haven't seen salt water animals to experience it in person.

Why not just a traditional tank?
20g is $20.00

Then they can touch (be careful what you touch) and watch the interaction between them. You can also put a lid on it so “stuff” doesn’t get in.

If you can put in live rock, you can certainly afford a glass box.

Many schools have a tank for teaching purposes.
It’s very very popular with kids and IMM, the best learning of all.

Enjoy!

 

[NanoNana]

With people suggesting actual tanks, 20 gallon longs are only 11 inches deep. And can probably be found on a budget and a 20 long aio eliminates the need for external filtration. I do understand budget constraints but the kids will be much more excited if the inhabitants live a while. I realize you can’t get as many kids around a tank at once but taking turns is also an important lesson. What ever you come up with, it’s an awesome thing to do and I wish you the best of luck!

 

[IKD]

I like the idea but wouldn’t recommend a plastic pool for children. They can/will lean, pull, and eventually crack a plastic frame. How old are the kids?

I don’t think you’ll have an issue with critters like snails, hermits, starfish crawling out entirely (some snails will go to the edge or just out of water). If you’ve been around the block a bit, then you know water top off for evaporation and good filtration will be required (in addition to algae maintenance)

Do you have a good local fish store around? Sometimes they may do a setup for you and put some sponsor advertising for them as a trade.