On the 6th of April, me and my marine biology class went to the Omaha Zoo. We had to leave our school at 6 a.m. and we had to make a 3 hour drive to Omaha. We got there at 9 a.m. and we entered the zoo at 9:30 for a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. The aquarium was the first thing we saw and it was really cool. We saw penguins, sharks, manta rays, octopi, jellyfish, polyps, corals, turtles, and lots of fish. Later on, we saw the aquarium behind the scenes. We saw where they feed the fish, how they do it, we saw all the equipment needed to host all the marine animals, we saw the filtration systems, and each tank is set up uniquely to comfort the animals.
After seeing the aquarium, we had time to do whatever we want, so we looked through most of the zoo. We saw all types of animals. We went to the monkey house and we saw monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, and squirrel monkeys. Then we went to the rain forest, where it was a big house that imitated a rain forest, with a whole bunch of animals. There were snakes, lizards, tapirs, hippos, birds, monkeys, and fish. It was moist and humid in there, and it was like being in a real rain forest. After that we went to the dome. The dome was an imitation of the desert, with a whole bunch of animals and plants. There were cacti, and plenty of desert animals like bearded dragons, hummingbirds, and lizards. Everything I saw was so cool and entertaining. I had a great time and I thing it was worth my time.
In marine biology class, we got pretty far on our tanks. So far we've filled it up with saltwater, put in sand, and put in corals to our liking. Hopefully, soon we will get some type of organism put in them, and get the filter running for the tank. From now on, every day we meet in class we will test our tanks for pH, nitrite, and ammonia. Our ideal values for each test respectively is 8.2, 0, and 0. If our tanks fulfill those values, then they are susceptible for a saltwater organism to live in. I'm looking forward to getting a fish or some type of living thing in my tank, and when i do, it'll be cool.
