g the concept of freshwater habitats and the unique animal life found there.
ĐIntroduce the activity by asking students to create a creature that could survive in a future time. This allows students to express possible scenarios for future ocean habitats.
Setting up a Long Island Sound Aquarium
An aquarium must provide everything that the organisms in it require to stay alive: Food, oxygen, and clean water of correct temperature, correct salinty, and correct chemical balance. If you buy the right supplies the tank will mostly take care of itself.
The pump forces water through the gravel. The gravel filters and cleans the water physically by trapping sediment, including animal waste products. The surface of every piece of gravel gets colonized with bacteria, which break the organic matter down into nutrients. The nutrients are the most easily removed by changing the water regularly. You should do a 10 gallon water change once a month.
- 1. Tank, all glass. Metal parts will corrode and introduce toxins into the water. A 20 or 29 gallon tank is sufficient. Since most of your animals will be bottom living, rather than swimming in the water column, a long tank is better than a high one.
- 2. Air pump and tubing, and air stones. The stronger the pump the better. Don’t skimp, since the air pump is providing both oxygen and cleaning power.
- 3. Gravel made of calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate keeps the pH stable, saving you the trouble of testing and correcting it. You need to buy gravel designed specifically for a salt water aquarium. You need 15-20 pounds, giving you a layer of 2-3 inches thick. You could also use oyster shells crushed finely. You can obtain quantities of oyster shell from Tallmadge Brothers Inc. in New Haven. Students enjoy putting shells into a pillowcase and, wearing eye goggles, smashing the shells with a hammer. The pieces need to be very fine, however, both to provide sufficient filtration and sufficient surface area for bacteria, and also to keep the tank uncluttered.
- 4. Under gravel filter. The air rising in the tube pulls water up the tube. The through the gravel, and passes under the platform and up the tube.
- 5. Water. If you live or work near the Sound, the easiest thing to do is to get water in empty jugs or buckets. You can also buy sea salts such as “Instant Ocean” from a pet store. For a Long Island Sound aquarium use a little more water and a little less salt than the package instructions recommend.
- 6. Cover. This keeps water from evaporating, and keeps animals from jumping or climbing out. Also it keeps children’s hands out and limits vandalism.
- 7. You will also need a small dip net and a few rocks for the animals to hide under, you will not need a heater or a light.
- ĐSet the aquarium in a cool place. You will not be able to move it once it is filled.
- ĐPlace the pump above and to the side of the tank so that it cannot fall in.
- ĐPlace the filter in the bottom as directed.
- ĐRinse the gravel very well trying to get out as must dust as possible.
- ĐAdd the gravel on top of the filter platform, fill the tank with water and start the pump.
- ĐLet the aquarium run for a day or two until the water is clear.
- ĐAdd one or two small crabs. They will run around for a week spreading bacteria into the gravel.
- ĐAfter a week, introduce the other animals gradually. Choose hardy animals direct from Long Island Sound. Many fish, mollusks, crustacea, and other animals do very well but be careful not to overcrowd the animals. A good rule to remember is no more than one or two inches of animal per gallon of water.
- ĐFish should be less than six inches long.
- ĐYour students can begin collecting intertidal animals from the beach, tide pools, and mud flats as you begin to take your class on field trips to the shoreline.
Mussels collected and broken open or chunks of canned tuna can be used for aquarium foods. Feed two or three times a week. Remove uneaten food after half an hour or it will rot and foul the tank.
Children love to be made part of the process of setting up an aquarium, feeding