The corner that previously housed a ten-year-old fish tank is now occupied by something new. Senior Grace Conner is setting up a new saltwater tank in the upstairs resource center as her senior project.

“The one that was there last year was a freshwater tank and it had been severely neglected,” Conner said.

Andy Keffaber, the advisor to Conner’s senior project, agreed that the old fish tank’s condition had begun to deteriorate.

“It was a good one when we started with it, but it had some pieces that, over time, just started to break down,” Keffaber said. “It was time to get something new.”

For Conner, the fish tank offered an opportunity for her to have a senior project she was passionate about.

“I’ve always loved the ocean and it’s my dream to become a marine biologist,” Conner said. “I wanted to do something that I cared about and fish are something that I really do care about.”

But taking care of a saltwater tank is a lot more work than a freshwater one.

“With saltwater tanks, you have to make sure the salinity is correct and you have to check a bunch of different nitrites and nitrates,” Conner said. “It just takes a lot more maintenance.”

For her project, Conner has decided that she will be the main person caring for the tank for the remainder of the school year.

“I’m going to be completely responsible for it,” Conner said. “I want to make sure it’s done correctly. Once everything is set up, I’ll teach [Keffaber] and others how to take care of it.”

There are still a few steps left before the tank is ready, though.

“After we get the pumps running the water, the next step would be to get some coral rock, and then we’ll eventually get some coral in there,” Conner said. “After everything’s cycled and safe for the fish, we’ll buy some fish to put in there.”

Not only is this tank going to be more work than the last one, Keffaber says that it’s going to be an expensive project at first.

“The initial cost is high, but once you get past initial cost, it’s pretty inexpensive as far as what education we can provide to the kids long term,” Keffaber said.

Keffaber thinks that the new fish tank will be able to benefit students in some of the science classes.

“The reason that we want a saltwater aquarium is to support our classes like Environmental Science, Biology and Anatomy and Physiology so students can see those kinds of saltwater organisms,” Keffaber said. 

Conner believes that the tank will help students in other ways, too.

“I know that I like watching fish tanks, so I think it would be a stress reliever for people in the upstairs resource center,” Conner said. “I also think it would be a good educational thing where I could teach people more about the ocean.”

Keffaber also thinks that the fish tank could help students at other schools.

“We’re hoping to have students from other schools, like the local elementary schools, potentially come over, see it, and have an educational program,” Keffaber said.

In the future, Keffaber also wants this to become a legacy project.

“This is something that I hope a senior will pick up every year as their project to maintain it and to potentially add more organisms in it,” Keffaber said.

But for now, Conner is just focusing on getting the tank set up properly.

“I hope to create an aquarium that people can learn from and learn how to better take care of fish,” Conner said.