Possible reef tank for classroom

[ENB]

Hey guys,
My sister is a science teacher in a school on Staten Island and is considering setting up a reef tank for her classroom to teach the kids about the many sciences involved in reef keeping.
I had suggested to her that perhaps she should contact some of the stores and vendors and see what they can donate.
I figured I would reach out and see if anyone has any advice/donations they would be able to send.
I suggested she have a DIY LED project with her class and she was very excited about the prospect so if anyone has any plans for a full spectrum led build or any extra pieces and could let me know it would be awesome.
I am not sure how big of a tank she is getting yet as I don't know what her budget is, I done know that the school can help out her budget with this.

Thanks,
Isaac.

 

[prattreef]

There are several members on MR ( including myself) who have done/are doing this. It is an amazing resource for the kids, but a HUGE commitment for the teacher. She needs to get serious buy-in from her administration and janitorial staff to pull it off-- long weekends and vacations are particularly problematic. Generous support from MR is never a problem.

 

[lnevo]

She could talk to the Brentwood High school folks who are maintaining a very nice reef tank and working on quite of bit of projects in relation.

http://brentwoodsciencebuddy.com/brentwood-high-school---sonderling-reef-tank.html

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I'm in if you need coral an labor , I love science and have had my reef as a topic in my daughters class , I have also given skimmate and chaeto for the kids to study under microscopes .

 

[Cu455]

How old are the students and what science does she teach? If she has a STEM class the leds will be a great idea. If she teaches living environment it will be a waste of class time. Just the DYI lights not the whole reef idea. Maybe she could do it in collaboration with the technology teacher or science club.

Not as cool as a reef but the DEC runs a program called Trout in the Classroom. She can also look into that. There are grants out their for teachers.

 

[ENB]

She teaches 4-8 and they have some specialized classes but I dunno what they are I know they built a bridge ( decent sized one) in her class this year and they do lots of engineering, chemistry, and biology.
I am gonna find out more about her curriculum :division

 

[ChrisB]

I work for Dept of edu IT , Ill donate some gsp .

 

[ENB]

MR is full of awesome people.
Thanks guys.

 

[l Morphine]

Hey ENB,

I work at a local fish store on staten island. We sell saltwater fish and equipment, and I'd love to volunteer in setting up and maintaining the tank if your interested. Pm me!

 

[ENB]

Thanks

 

[ENB]

So she teaches 1-8th grades
And she does do STEM
So the LED is an awesome idea
She said she has room for any sized tank and can do tax deductible receipts from the school.
Any donations is awesome
And the school is open all summer so the heat and a/c is not an issue

 

[rkaragozler]

ENB, I have also helped many people that started projects like this in the past, fell free to reach out to me.

 

[ENB]

Thanks the project is coming together we are looking for a 50-100 gallon tank and equipment that corresponds
Thanks everyone who already offered equipment and help :grin

 

[l Morphine]

Animals n Things in NJ has a used 55g for sale for 10$. I could pick it up and donate it for free for you, for the cause.

 

[Dan_P]

Setting up a salt water aquarium with Long Island Sound animals may be a cheaper, less problematic and equally instructive venture. It would have an additional benefit of gaining an appreciation for the diverse local flora and fauna, not to mention the thrill of collecting.

 

[SI REEF]

I may have something to donate. Also on Staten island.

 

[ENB]

Anything that can be donated is appreciated
Thanks :grin

 

[ENB]

Someone suggested that if we could get some donations of cash we would be able to buy a setup anyone interested in donating can contact me I will find out exactly what we can do to make these donations tax deductible (I.e. Finding out if the school has PayPal or something like it)
Thanks to all MR who have donated equipment, time, or offered to help out on this project already we are going strong and hopefully we will be able to pull together this amazing resource for this school.

 

[ENB]

Bump

 

[ENB]

Okay guys here is what we have so far.

Many thanks to
Pax Bellum llc for agreeing to donate an ARID reactor
Digital aquatics has agreed to send a reefkeeper
Imorphine for heaters, anLED light (in case the diy led project doesn't pan out) offering to come help setup and maintain the tank (super cool!!) and offering to donate a little to help buy the tank.
Rkagozler for return pumps and advice and for helping out together some of the other equipment.
ChrisB for offering some GSP
Saltwaterinbrooklyn for offering labor and coral when we have everything to out together.
And my phone doesn't let me get all my PMs so anyone I missed a big thank you to you also.
We still need some equipment most noticeable is a tank I may have someone from the school who is able to build a custom stand for free do I am holding off on that unless we can get it for free from someone else.
There are a bunch of setups on sale here on MR if we could raise enough money to buy one it would be great, ocean gallery in Plainfield NJ has offered to
Get us a tank for what I believe is as close to cost for a new setup as we are going to get from any store.
So the list of what we need is
Tank
Stand
Live rock
Sand
Pumps for flow

And if I missed anything please feel free to add.
And if anyone has any stores or people they know who can donate that would be awesome.
The school is called JFS it's in Staten Island NY 10314
All contributions are tax deductible

Thanks for everything so far and hope to see this project done soon.