The National Marine Life Center » critter tank

My Final Update

randerson24 — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:44:57 +0000

Four weeks ago when I began my senior project here I was told my main project would be to get the critter tank up and running for the summer. The Tank wasn’t in the best of shape; half of the filter wasn’t working, the tubes were dirty, and I knew very little about plumbing or filters. On top of that there were signs posted all over the tank that said “Check back in May 2010 to see what exciting creatures we will have next year!!” I knew I had to get the tank running or there would be some disappointed people. I’m proud to say that the tank is up and running and that there are some critters inside of it. On Wednesday, June 2, the interns and I captured 7 killifish for the tank. They can now be seen swimming around the tank and hiding behind and under some of the rocks. We have to wait until the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels are just right until we add more critters.

Although my main task was the critter tank, I did more than just get that up and running. I helped volunteers like Bob with the Red Bellied Cooters. Linda taught me how to check the water quality. Wendy taught me a trick to make siphoning the water easier. When Len and Paula were in Alaska, I filled in for them. Sometimes I went out and got clean salt water from the pump house when a volunteer needed to be somewhere. I even helped Joanne create Patty’s new set up with the trash cans and higher water level.

Catch-22

I’m sad to say my four weeks here is up but I really enjoyed my time here. Working with the turtles was a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people. I wish the interns luck with maintaining the Critter Tank and I hope the Discovery Center has a successful summer. Next year I will be going to college at Georgetown University in Washington, DC but I hope will have time to come by and visit NMLC to see what’s going on.

My Senior Project 2

randerson24 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:40:10 +0000

The week of 5/24 -5/28 started off a little bit hectic. I came in on Monday to discover that over the weekend the Critter Tank had leaked 40 gallons and Joanne was forced to drain the whole thing. The leak occured where the old broken pump was. I hadn’t installed the new pump yet but I closed off the pipe using the valve and didn’t think there would be a problem. Turns out I was wrong and the valve failed over the weekend and water began to leak out. So on Monday morning I had to sit down on the still wet carpet and try to get the new pump on. I installed the pump and ran some water through it but the pipe still leaked so I took it off and put some more glue on it. The glue worked great, I filled the tank all the way up, and it still hasn’t leaked yet.

The end of the week was a bit more relaxing and fun. I set up some tanks incase we recieved more Red Bellied Cooters when we turned ours in and then I got to travel up to Westborough on Thursday with some of our interns and volunteers to turn the Red Bellies in. In Westborough we attened a meeting at which we learned about the headstart program. At the end of the day we returned with #122 (later to be named Catch-22) a turtle with a fungus problem on it’s shell. On Friday we went to Middleborough to realese the Red Bellies. I personally realesed three and one of mine beat Frank’s and Juan’s Red Bellies in a race. An interesting thing I learned there was that when the program started the population of the Northern Red-Bellied Cooter was around 300, now the population is around 2,500.

Me releasing a Red Bellied Cooter

I’m on my last week here but it has been fun. Check back to see my final update.

My Original Post

My Senior Project

randerson24 — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:13:36 +0000

The critter tank as of 5/14/10

Hi everyone, my name is Robert Anderson and I am a senior at Cape Cod Academy. For the month of May, I will be volunteering at the National Marine Life Center for my senior project. At Cape Cod Academy the senior class is required to complete 80 hours and four weeks of community service in order to graduate. I chose to volunteer here at the National Marine Life Center because during the fall and winter of the past two years I have spent my Wednesday afternoons helping out with the Red-bellied Cooters and the Diamondback terrapins and I really enjoyed doing that. While here for my project, my main task will be getting the critter tank up and running for this summer. So far I have figured out the filtration system wasn’t working on the right side because the pump was broken, checked the tank for leaks, and set up the aeration system. Another thing I discovered is a way to keep rocks and other things from being sucked into the filtration system. I have also been creating new ways to identify the creatures which involves flipping a picture over to see the facts underneath. Once we obtain a new pump I should be able to get everything working and then hopefully we will be seeing some critters in the tank. Over the next four weeks I’ll keep posting updates, so check back for more.

NMLC Critter Tank

theturtleguy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:53:29 +0000

Can there be anything more exciting to children than a Critter Tank? I think not. Snails and shrimp and crabs, oh my! Children become entranced watching lady (calico) crabs dancing around the tank. Then there are the too proud hermit crabs parading over the rock floor to show off their latest homes, yet coveting everyone else’s shell at the same time. The sea star clings to the center of the tank, while shrimp pulse through the water, occasionally getting swept away by a towering spray of air bubbles.

Come rain or come shine, the NMLC Discovery Center is open seven days a week from 10 am to 5 pm. Don’t miss it! The National Marine Life Center can be found at 120 Main Street, Buzzards Bay on the north (mainland) bank of Cape Cod Canal, right near the Railroad Bridge and Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Enoy a sneak peak at the NMLC Critter Tank!