Aquarium Project Blog

I. Purpose
To monitor an aquatic ecosystem over time through observations and data collection
II. Materials
Aquarium, bubbler, water, bacteria supplement, sifter, measuring cup, paper towels, sink, light source, marker, gravel, filter, dechlorinator, fish food, underwater structures, plants, scrub brush, rocks, name tag, fish.
III. Procedure
Pick tank, put name on tank, remove water from tank, remove gravel, sift gravel, scrub tank, replace gravel, places rocks/ structures, full tank with water, if water is turbid replace water, place bubbler into water, clean filter, put filter on tank, put dechlorinator into water, put bacteria into water, wait 48 hours, buy fish, put fish into tank, feed fish regularly, clean tank when dirty.
IV. Data

A. Qualitative

4/1/13

Water is dirty. We don't have a filter. 

We have a swordtail in the tank.

Fish is shy.

Fish usually stays in tree stump.

4/8/13

Fish is curious about filter.

4/28/13

Fish know when it's about to be fed.

Fish is starting to recognize my partners and I.

Fish seems very lonely.

Fish doesn't eat all of the food we give him.

5/15/13

We have put two minnows in the tank.

All of the fish keep to themselves.

5/17/13 

The minnows are friendly with each other.

The swordtail is still reclusive.

They are all very excitable. 

5/20/13 

After the weekend the fish are all friendly.

The fish play together.

They like to play near the filter.

The fish are usually found in the tree stump.

The minnows don't eat as much as the swordtail.

5/21/13 

When we test the water they are curious about the pipette.

B. Quantatative

 a. 0 chlorine 

0 free chlorine

250 ppm hardness

120 alkalinity

8.4 pH

b. Ammonia and nitrate levels were consistantly at zero ppm. 

c. 

Line graph:

4/18/13

V. 1. 

2. The nitrogen cycle changes the unusable ammonia into nitrite by using the nitrosomonas, then the nitrospirya changes that into usable nitrate.

3. The water quality of our tank was high in ammonia at first, but now it is at virtually zero

4. If the oxygen cycle wasn't in balance all the life in ponds would go away

5. We didn't have a filter, so Ms. Ellis got us one

6. Taking card of a fish isn't that hard. Slight imbalances can kill fish. The ecosystem is in perfect balance. Fish can't survive in regular tap water. Fish are social creatures.

7. The most interesting thing was getting more fish, because it took a while. The worst was the lack of filter. And the weirdest was the fish playing near the filter. 

8. My favorite part was naming the fish

9. I would tell the students to get a filter early, and wait to get fish until you have one.

5/10/13