We are studying Swimming Creatures on the Fifth Day by Apologia this year in science. When I was moving the school room to the never used dining room, I though getting a small fish tank would be a nice addition to our room. Little did I know I was starting a hobby that was going to grow fast. We bought a little 5 gallon tank and a betta fish. Kiddo picked a fallen city theme.
Kiddo loves his fish tank he turns on the light every morning feeds his fish and talks to him through out the day. I have even caught him reading to the fish from the books on fish he had to have to study about fish.
Then we started looking at fish tanks on you tube and reading a message board on the hobby of fish keeping. You can see where this is leading right. We wanted/needed a bigger fish tank
We fell into this hobby completely and Kiddo is so enthusiastic about learning about fish it was easy to indulge him with it. So we started looking for used fish tanks on craigslist I thought it would be easy to find someone getting rid of their old tank. I had no trouble finding used tanks but after watching for a few weeks I noticed a trend everyone around here is selling 55 gallon tanks! Now I am all for a larger tank but 55 gallons or larger seemed too much. (I say that now, LOL)
Petco was having a $1.00 a gallon tank sale so we went with that and purchased a 20 gallon tank. Kiddo had it set in his mind he wanted a 20 gallon tank with black gravel, a black background, tiki themed with a big school of neon fish and two ghost shrimp. He knew exactly what he wanted.
He and Dad built a wood stand for the tank and put the tank together this weekend. We will not be adding fish for a while, we are going to cycle the tank with a fishless cycle. As part of his school science project, he will be monitoring the water with a test kit and learning all about ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and how they are essential parts of the water cycle to keep fish healthy. He will be charting the fishless cycle to know when it is safe to add the fish and then monitor the water periodically to maintain a health tank.
My idea for a 5 gallon fish tank for a school pet has turned into a interesting hobby and learning opportunity for Kiddo, have to love homeschooling.
We spray painted the back of the tank black for a completely black background. Added black gravel for the substrate.
Kiddo helped build a simple but sturdy stand out of 4 2x4’s, It was also painted black.
He helped put the tank together and picked the placement for the decorations.
The bubbling red volcano is his favorite thing ever, so he says. He also picked a tiki mask and a little greenery. We will be adding just a few more things to give the fish hiding places.
The hood we got has a moonlight mode with blue lights.
We attached the cords to the back of one of the legs so you don’t see all the cords.
We can call our new fish tank a science project, a new hobby, insanity or all three combined. We will be learning and having fun no matter what.
EDIT TO ADD:
We lost our first betta fish Kicker, it was very hard on Kiddo, he was sad and still talks about him. We did get a new crowntail betta his name is Blaster and is doing great in his 5 gallon home.
We have slowly over several weeks filled the 20 gallon tank with different type tetra fish, neons, red flame and glo fish(which look awesome with the blue night light) . We have 15 fish in the 20 gallon tank and it is full.
We are enjoying the tanks the fish are fun to watch and have so much personality. Kiddo is doing great about feeding them, helping to clean the tank and check the chemical levels.
