The Weiss Salmon Project Mr. Jeffrey R. Bouwman Frank E. Weiss Elementary

The Weiss Salmon Project
Mr. Jeffrey R. Bouwman
Frank E. Weiss Elementary
Gibraltar School District
Weiss Salmon Project
Student Perspective
AWESOME PROJECT
• Your stakeholders are going to LOVE this project!
• Promote your project in school newsletters, the local
newspaper, at the county level, and on your website.
• Many parents are more than willing to help out. Teach
them how to lead the students in testing, tracking
data, and tank cleaning. This frees up time for you!
• #Memorable! Many students will never have the
chance to experience a simulation like this.
Funding Ideas
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Place a donation bucket somewhere in your school.
Ask your PTO to sponsor your project.
Look for grants.
Ask a local environmental group for sponsorship.
Ask a local fishing store for sponsorship.
Ask the local aquarium store for a discount price in
exchange for promotion.
TANK TESTING
• Have the students test the tank!
• Get a plastic medicine syringe (10 ml) from a pharmacy
- great for drawing water!
• Learn the nitrogen cycle! Pay close attention to
ammonia and nitrite! Try to keep these at 0 ppm.
• Record your water parameters and tank cleans on a
Microsoft Excel or Google Drive Spreadsheet.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to the local aquarium guru for
advice.
Water Changes
• My water change formula (5 gallon bucket)
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Water conditioner (remove chlorines and metals)
pH 7.0 powder (helps keep your pH at 7.0)
Bacteria supplement
A very small amount of aquarium salt
Use a high pressure hose to stir the water up good.
If you can, let the water sit outside to get cold.
I do not go straight from the faucet to the tank.
Lessons Learned
• Not every egg/fish is going to survive!
• It is NO FUN pulling multiple dead fish out of the tank.
• It’s horrible when all of your fish die. It’s happened to
me!
• Avoid an gravel filtration system. Just vacuum as
needed. Get a vacuum with a longer tube or a glove.
• Rinse your new filtration carbon and rings in dirty
water.
• Keep as much water as you can at the end of the year!
Salmon Buddies
Questions
Jeff Bouwman
Fifth Grade Teacher
Weiss Elementary
[email protected]
Check out Frank E. Weiss Elementary – Fifth Grade on Facebook