Forks Middle School
Salmon in the Classroom Project 2003

         Setting Up the Salmon Tank
              at Forks Middle School

Click here for a discussion  of a salmon's life cycle.
Our tank is set up in the library so all students in the school can see what is going on.

1)  Before setting our 55 gallon tank up we put a floor protector down under the two desks that the tank sets on.  We use a sturdy shower curtain (dark green in picture), which can be spread out fully when water is being added or siphoned.  We use another one under the tank (red in picture).  Then the clean tank is set up on the desks.




Click here for a great game on helping salmon survive challenges in urban settings



2) The white bottom filter is set up and air tubes connected to three air pumps resting on the desk tops behind the tank

 

 

 

3)  This is the condenser which cools the water.  Our condenser sits on another desk next to the tank, and sounds just like a refrigerator, which
is where it came from!  It has a thermostat which goes into the water to regulate it.

4)  Notice the long pipe which extends cross-wise into the tank.  It is connected to the condenser and cools water.







5)  Students add gravel - lots of it!  Buy aquarium gravel from a discount store.  Buy enough to have 3-4 inches on the bottom.  It will cover the bottom filter.

 

6)  Slope the gravel up at one end, and put cleaned and scrubbed rocks around the end of the cooling bar.  Rocks should not be cleaned with soap!  Piling them up around the end of the condenser will prevent young fish from freezing to the pipe, and also gives them a place to hide.  Notice the oyster shells.  These are to provide needed calcium for growing fish.

 7)  A screen tray is bolted to the inside of the tank. The eggs will lie on here.




Thermometers inside the tank allow easy reading of the water temperature.  

8)  It's time for the water.  Regular tap water is fine if you're setting up your tank a week or more before any fish are added.  Otherwise, keep 5-gal buckets filled with water available at all times.  Once it sets out 24 hours or so, the chlorine will have dissipated and the water will be safe to add to the tank.

9)  We also use an outside filter which has ammonia and charcoal filters in it.  Once the fish are eating and excreting waste, the ammonia levels can rise dangerously and you want to eliminate extra ammonia.

 

 10)  Students are in charge of maintaining and keeping data on the tank.

 

Now we wait...for the eggs to arrive!

11. Terry Sullivan, from the Sol Duc Hatchery, brings our eggs, all 200 of them!

 12.  The eggs are gently transferred to the tray.  Here are the 200 eyed Coho eggs that arrived on January 16.

 
  

Now....we wait...!

 

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