May 24-Graph

The only steep rise we had in nitrate was between 4/18 and 4/22 when one of our fish died. Then at the end it rose to 80 ppm. The ammonia rose to 1.00 ppm but we added pondzyme and fixed the problem.

May 23-Changes Over Time

Our ecosystem has changed over time because when we started the tank was fairly dirty, and the rocks on the bottom needed to be cleaned, and the water was a little cloudy. After we conducted a partial water change, cleaned the sides of the tank with a sponge, and siphoned the rocks, the water quality was better. In four days, after one of our fish died, the nitrate level rose from 5 ppm to 160 ppm, so we had to do another partial water change which fixed that problem quickly. Our nitrate rose and fell, but never again went to an uncontrollable unhealthy level for the fish. The ammonia did rise to a bad level at one point, but we added some pondzyme and it went back down to 0 ppm. Our plants stayed the same throughout the time we had the aquarium, and the baby mollies grew throughout.

May 22-Things I have learned

Things I have learned:
1. Nitrate can be deadly to fish if not controlled.
2. It is better to feed fish every other day instead of every day so they are not overfed.
3. Nitrate levels will go up alot when fish die.
4. Partial water changes should be done regularly to keep fish healthy.
5. Water has to be dechlorinated before the fish are put in or it will be deadly to the fish.

For next year, I don't think anything about the project needs to be changed. I think it was good that it was an interactive project that lasted a lot of the year, and we did all of the different tests and learned many different things.

May 21st-Aquarium Update

The aquarium is going well. The nitrate level did go up this week to 80 ppm which is above the acceptable level, so we are going to have to do a water change on Friday to fix it. These higher levels of nitrate might be affecting the fish, as they have been sluggish lately and a little less excited and active than they normally are. The temperature of the water stayed at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 21 degrees Celsius which is good, and the ammonia was at .25 ppm which was also a good level, so we will not have to make any changes for that.

May 20th-Invasive Plants

Invasive plants are plants that can completely take over an ecosystem in a harmful way.

Floating: Water Lettuce

Water lettuce is makes a rosette of gray-green leaves. It can impede navigation and affect habitat.

Emergent: Aligatorweed

The aligatorweed is an aggressive, mat forming perennial with a white flower on a stem. It can impede navigation and displace native vegetation.

Submergent: Eurasian Watermilfoil

The Eurasian Watermilfoil has a red stem when it is actively growing and just has a stem with leafy strands. It can impede navigation and shade out native vegetation.

In native areas these plants are controlled by native organisms that will feed on them and control their levels.

May 17th-Water Quality in Aquarium

In our aquarium nitrate has definitely been the hardest part of water quality to control, because with a fish death that spiked up the nitrogen a lot, and the levels have been fluctuating since then. The hardest part about controlling the nitrate is that the only way to effectively make a quick change if the levels are very severe is a water change, which requires a lot of work if done properly. Our ammonia has stayed at a good level for the most part, and if it was bad it was an easy fix to just add in some pondzyme to get it back to a good level. The temperature of our water has stayed fairly constant, and our dissolved oxygen was good.

May 16th-Aquarium Update

The aquarium is still going well. We have not had another fish die. Our fish still seem very excited when we feed them, and the goldfish is always swimming around biting at rocks at the bottom or bubbles at the surface of the aquarium. Our nitrate level went down from 20 ppm to 5 ppm which is good, and our ammonia went from .25 ppm to 0 ppm which is good. Both of those levels have been fairly constant and at acceptable levels so we have not had to make any changes to our water to fix either of those levels.

May 15th-Self-Sustaining Ecosystem

A self-sustaining ecosystem is one that does not need humans to take care of it for it to support life, it can take care of itself. Our aquarium ecosystem is not self-sustaining because it requires a filter, and we have to check the ammonia and nitrate levels and do water changes so the fish are not harmed. To become independent, our aquarium would need more sunlight and plants so it could keep up oxygen levels and keep the nitrate levels down.

May 14th-Nitrogen Cycle

In the nitrogen cycle, the animals eat food and then have waste which turns into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants as a part of photosynthesis. Nitrosomonas then turn the ammonia into the by product nitrites, which nitrobacter then turn into the by product nitrates. Nitrate is absorbed by the plants and also water change. It is not possible to have a functioning ecosystem without one of these components because the levels would become to high and nitrates and nitrite are toxic to fish.

May 13th-Water Quality

The water quality in our ecosystem is more easily controlled than the water quality in a lake and can be changed faster because it is a more condensed and controlled area. Our aquarium would have less oxygen than a lake because it is smaller and not as open to sunlight, and also does not have as many plants which would mean less photosynthesis and less oxygen. The aquarium would probably also have less oxygen than a river because it is not moving water like a river, therefore it does not get as much oxygen.

May 10th-Aquarium Update

The aquarium has been going well. The goldfish still continues to bite at the gravel on the bottom and the edges of the tank. The fish seemed happier and more energetic after they were fed, and on days we didn't feed them they seemed more lethargic and slow. One of the neon yellow fish has been staying very still which is somewhat of a concern. The last water quality test we did was similar to the previous one, with 20 ppm Nitrate and .25 ppm of Ammonia, which was a slight increase. The temperature was 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 20 degrees Celsius. Although the ammonia increased, it was still at a manageable level that the fish can handle so we did not need to make any changes to our tank at this time.

May 9th-Dichotomous Key

To correctly use a dichotomous key, one must start at the beginning and answer the questions, then follow the answers to the correct number of the next question, until they eventually find the name of the organism they are attempting to find. The purpose of a dichotomous key is to identify organisms by their appearance and qualities using an easy to read key. I created my key by looking for key characteristics that two or more the algae shared, and then splitting them up to name the different algaes. Some of the algaes were hard to identify by simply their outside characteristics, so I also used smell as a characteristic to include in my key.

May 8th-Water Quality

The first step I would take in assessing the water quality of a body of water would be to check the nitrate and ammonia, because these could be very harmful to the fish living within the waters and could cause a problem and be solved if necessary to avoid fish death. Then I would test the dissolved oxygen, to make sure the dissolved oxygen is at a level that will sustain the fish, and then I would test the temperature to make sure it is not to hot or cold for the fish. I would have to be careful of the organisms living on and near the water to avoid disrupting their habitat or prohibiting them from doing there normal activities within the ecosystem for my own tests.

May 7th-Dissolved Oxygen

Two sources of dissolved oxygen are the atmosphere and plants in the water. As the sun rises and photosynthesis is occurring, the amount of oxygen in the water increases throughout the day until the sun goes down and the amount of carbon dioxide decreases. When the sun goes down, photosynthesis stops and the amount of oxygen starts to decrease again. Earlier in the day there is less oxygen that in the evening, and then there is less oxygen again when the sun goes down.

May 6th-Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved Oxygen is the amount of oxygen dissolved in a body of water which reflects the health of the water and its' ability to support aquatic life.
To conduct a dissolved oxygen test, first you take the glass with the chemicals in it out of the package. Then you get a water sample in the beaker, followed by breaking the tip of the glass at the bottom of the beaker to release the chemicals into the water. After that, the chemicals in the glass will turn a different color, and you compare that color to the colors on the package to determine the level of dissolved oxygen.
Some fish can live with dissolved oxygen levels of only 5 ppm, like warm water fish, but other fish need higher levels of oxygen than that, 6-7 ppm. The oxygen level in my ecosystem is 10 ppm. In a small pond the levels might be around 8 ppm, while a large river might be around 10 ppm.

May 3rd-Aquacheck Test

The five components of the Aquacheck test are Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, and pH. Free Chlorine kills bacteria and contaminants in the water. Total Chlorine is chlorine that has combined with the contaminants along with the free chlorine. Total Hardness is the amount of minerals that are dissolved into the water. Total Alkalinity is the ability of water to neutralize acid. The pH of water tells one if the water is acidic or basic. For our aquarium, the Free Chlorine was 0 ppm, Total Chlorine was 0 ppm, Total Hardness was 250 ppm, Total Alkalinity was 180 ppm, and the pH was 7.8. Because we added dechlorinator to our water, it was good to see that there was no chlorine in the water. Also, the hardness, alkalinity, and pH was at a manageable level that was acceptable for our fish to live in.

May 2nd-Fish

Neon Tetras


The neon tetra has a blunt nose. A glowy blue line spans the side of the neon tetra, with red near its tail. When fish is resting its colors will dim but when its awake they are bright.
Facts:
1. The neon tetra is a peaceful fish.
2. The neon tetra can be kept in a tank with other fish that aren't aggressive and are around the same size.
3. Neon tetras should be kept in groups of around 5 or more.
4. If the neon tetras are left alone in a tank, they will be stressed and nervous, and will hide most of the time.
5. In groups, neon tetras are very active fish.
6. They will be in the middle or lower parts of the aquarium most of the time.
7. Neon tetras enjoy aquariums with a lot of plants.
8. Neon tetras also want places where they can hide if they want to hide.
9. One should feed their neon tetras different kinds of food to avoid malnutrition.
10. If the neon tetras colors look dull during the day, that could be a sign that something is wrong with it.

May 1st-Field Trip

I did not go on the field trip, but the research is going well. We picked all of our animals, and have learned some interesting facts about all of the animals we have researched. A few of the animals we have decided to research are the sloth, giant octopus, and the axolotl. The axolotl is endangered, and efforts in Mexico are being made to help these creatures get back into the wild in larger numbers. One of the reasons they are endangered is because their predators eat them before they can adequately reproduce. We found all of our research from Google, mainly using major websites like national geographic.

April 30th-Aquarium Update

The fish have been doing well recently. The fish seem to be a little bit sluggish on the days we do not feed them, and then they seem to have a lot more energy immediately after we feed them. Lately the fish seem to be staying in groups by species, and a lot of times the neon yellow fish will just stay in their own little corners kind of floating around there. The big molly also chases the little mollies very often.
The water quality test results was 40 ppm Nitrate, 0 ppm Ammonia, and 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 21 degrees Celsius. The Nitrate did go up but it is still at a manageable level which is good. The Ammonia went down from the last test because of the pondzyme we added, so that was good.

April 29th- Pollution Index Chart

The purpose of the pollution index chart is to figure out what range of pollution water has, from low to high levels of pollution. The benefits are that it can show if certain types of organisms would be able to handle living in certain bodies of water, and it can warn one to not put certain types of organisms if water is too polluted for them to handle. Its shortcomings are that it does not include every type of algae and therefore some of the levels of pollution may be slightly skewed. The effect of organic pollution on algae is that certain types of algae, such as euglena, are more likely to live in areas with more pollution and can handle higher levels of pollution than other types of algae that could not survive in high levels of organic pollution.