CREATING YOUR OWN MARINE PARADISE:

Setting Up a Salt–Water Aquarium—

A Webquest created for Marine Science Students

By William Lynam

· Introduction: It’s shaping up to be a long cold winter in the Northeast. There’s no money for a scuba excursion down to Belize. That bites the raunchy snorkel! Lucky for you that Old Auntie Em was recently cleaning out her spare room and decided to get rid of the saltwater aquarium Uncle Ned used to fool around with-he passed away a few months back. She had heard about a marine science program at the local high school and wondered if the gently used setup might be of some use. She contacted the assistant principal of science and was delighted to hear that the students would gladly receive any and all equipment she had to offer. She delivered the disassembled setup later that day.

· Task and Process: Your marine science class is the recipient of Auntie Em’s largess. Great! You always wanted to have the experience of keeping your own collection of living, breathing, aquatic beasts. Now what! You must organize yourselves and your efforts to make some sense out of this jumble of donated materials. Time to get into teams and hit the Internet! Luckily there are numerous Internet websites (URL’s) with almost unlimited amounts of information, free for the taking. You can start with some of the hyperlink sites listed below. Individually you should create a worksheet with careful notes outlining all the information gathered in your quest. Include any questions or doubts about the information you are uncovering. These can be brought up for discussion during the group meetings. By the time you are done investigating and collaborating with your fellow experts you will be prepared to assemble your own classroom Marine Paradise!

Prepare and conduct a survey which will provide statistical information regarding public opinion of the rampant trade in wild marine organisms for private and commercial aquarium use. http://www.opinionpower.com/

Use the public policy analyst’s worksheets to organize your research on the currents international policies controlling or failing to control the trade in marine organisms. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/select.html

· Teamwork:

A team should consist of at least five individuals: Biologist/Ecologist, Chemist, Technologist, Maintenance Guy, and Economist. Some students may have more experience or knowledge in one area than others, and teams should be arranged to take advantage of this. Each team is required to produce a well thought out plan to create an operational marine aquarium. The plan will be reported to the class for discussion and criticism. After all plans are delivered and submitted, the class will decide through a voting process which direction will be pursued.

The following types of questions need to be addressed by the experts on your team. There are no clear boundaries between the various areas of expertise. All questions should be investigated individually and then discussed as a team. Regular group meetings and constant communication is essential for the success of your marine aquarium!

· Categories of Experts:

Biologist/Ecologist— A biologist studies living things and the ecologist relates it to it’s environment. What types of organisms should be placed in the aquarium? Should we go with fish exclusively? How about the wide array of invertebrates which one sees in the market place? Are all of these organisms compatible or must we be careful about the combinations we use? Do some organisms require greater care than others do? Are some species more suitable for a beginning aquarist? How do we handle the appearance of disease among our captives? What do we feed the beasts and how often? How much light? What temperature? Are these creatures going to procreate and put a strain on the community? Can we somehow create a self-sustaining ecosystem where inputs are greatly reduced or withdrawn completely?

Chemist— From where do we get our salt water? Do we fetch it down by Orchard Beach or is there some set recipe we follow? What are the proportions of chemicals needed to make salt water? Must we let the water sit for some time before we can introduce aquatic life? How do we monitor water quality? How does water quality change over time? Is pH important? Are there other measurements we need to take? What effect do the organisms present have on the water chemistry? Are there specific toxins to watch out for?

Maintenance Guy— Are there daily rituals required to maintain the health of our aquarium? Identify the supplies necessary for regular maintenance. How often is restocking of supplies required? Should there be a checklist on hand of things to do for the aquarium? Should one person be in charge of maintenance or should those responsibilities be rotated to among classmates? What must be done to maintain mechanical devices, lights, filters, etc. Will it be necessary to change the water at times? What about the algae that’s coating the surface of everything-how do I deal with that?

Economist— How much money will be required to get this aquarium up and running?

Are the fish expensive? Do they come with a guarantee? How much money will we need on an ongoing basis to buy food, chemicals, equipment, etc.? Are there discount stores for aquarium supplies? Is there such thing as a student discount? Maybe it would be cheaper to buy it through a school vendor? How about price comparisons on the World Wide Web?

Technologist— What have we inherited in terms of equipment? Make an inventory! Is the equipment in good working order or are repairs necessary? Perhaps, the tank has a leak in it or the pump has a damaged bearing? Any recent advances in technology to consider? Are we OK technologically with what we have or must we upgrade? Does it satisfy the needs of the system we hope to establish? Are we energy efficient? Where can I go to see other people’s systems? What is everyone else using? How can we use the example of other people’s systems to improve our own?

· Summary of Tasks:

1. Team Selections

2. Role Selections Within Team

3. Individual Research

4. Team Meetings/Plan Preparation

5. Team Presentation and Plan Submission

6. Final Plan Selection

7. Execution of Final Plan (not evaluated)

· Links to Useful Websites (URL’s):

http://www.saltwaterfish.com

http://home.earthlink.net/~usurper3/index.html

http://www.actwin.com/fish/index.php

http://www.fishlinkcentral.com/

http://www.garf.org/

http://www.tadreef.com/

http://www.masla.com/

http://www.planet-reef.com/indexbak.html

In addition to the sites listed above, you can use a “search engine” to try to find your own URL’s. (Try: http://www.altavista.com, http://www.lycos.com, http://www.dogpile.com, http://www.yahoo.com, to see what you can find.)

· Evaluation:

	Unacceptable (0 Points)	Acceptable (1 Point)	Loving it baby! (1.5 Points)	Superfly TNT (2 Points)
*Individual Research
*Understanding Project Needs
*Participation Group Meetings
**Team Plan
**Team Presentation
***Final Class Plan
TOTALS

FINAL SCORE

LEGEND:

* Indicates Individual Scoring

** Indicates Team Scoring

*** Indicates Class Scoring

· Conclusion: Having researched the available information currently present on the world wide web we should be ready to set up our salt water aquarium. Any areas which have doubts should be revisited, perhaps with the help of one of more of your teams experts. Do not forget that the level of understanding will almost always be greater cooperating as a group. And more fun too! Once you get your salt-water aquarium up and running challenges continue as your natural curiosity pushes you to modify the system and solve the inevitable problems which show up.