Saturday, September 28, 2013
Algae and Invertebrates September 28, 2013
Dichotomous Key September 28, 2013
This is the Dichotomous Key that Sarah Dixon and I created using the fourteen different algaes in out picture book. It is very important to use one of these when assessing a water body so you can easily tell exactly which algae you are looking at. If you see algae in your water body, you can pick out certain characteristics of it and use a Dichotomous Key to narrow down different algaes until you find the exact algae you see in the water. This key easily speeds up the proses of determining what kind of algae in in a certain body of water.
Dissolved Oxygen September 28, 2103
In class, we all took turns finding the dissolved oxygen level, the temperature, the conductivity, and the pH level of each of the four bottles (seen in the picture). The first bottle is the control and contains only gravel and tap water. The second bottle has gravel, tap water, and a plant. The third bottle has gravel, tap water, a plant, and salt water in it. Finally, the fourth bottle contains gravel, tap water, a plant, salt water, and a fish. We found that the dissolved oxygen level went down with each bottle, indicating that the more substances or organisms that are in the bottle, the less dissolved oxygen there is. The temperature and the pH level remained fairly consistent throughout each bottle. We also found that the conductivity rose with each bottle, showing that with every substance or organism put in the bottle, the conductivity rose.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Fish are Friends not Food
I. Purpose: To monitor a freshwater ecosystem overtime and to collect and interperate data. 
II. Materials:
-tank
-water
-bubbler
-rocks
-toys
-test tubes
-food
-bucket
-filter
-fish
-thermometer
-dropper
-dechlorinater
-sieve
-net
-sponge
-paper towel
-fake plants
-real plants
-bacteria supplement
-pitcher
-sink
-clams
-scuds
III. Procedure:
1. Find an empty tank
2.clean out tank with just water (no soap)
3.get rocks and clean them with water and a sieve
4.put rocks in the tank (spread out on bottom)
5.put water in the tank up to the top of the tank using a pitcher and the water from the sink
6.put any decorations in the tank (rinse them off first)
7.add dechlorinater after asking how much to put in the tank (depends on the size if the tank)
8.test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate qualities
9. Test temperature (should be around 72 degrees ferinheit)
10.buy fish that are compatable with each other and that will for in the tank
11.depending on the fish, place the bag of fish and water floating on top of water in tank to even out the two different water temperatures
12.whaen the temperatures are even, cut a slit in the bag and pour the fish into a net over the sink
13. Quickly stick the net with the fish I the tank and release them
14.with the appropriate food, feed the fish a tiny pinch of food
15.add a bubbler to the tank
16.add bacopia plants, with the roots still attached, to the tank
17.find, clean, and add water to filter that fits the tank
18.place the filte over the edge of the tank
19.find aquatic organisms such as scuds, snails, and clams to put in the tank
20.add bacteria supplement to the tank every day
IV. Data:
A.Quantitative:
Date Ammonia nitrite/trate temp.
Degree:C/F
9/4/13 0 0 22/73
9/9/13 0 0 21/70
9/10/13 .25 0 22/74
9/11/13 .25 0 22/72
9/16/13 0 0 23/72
9/19/13 0 0 21/72
9/24/13 0 0 22/71
9/25/13 0 0/20 22/71
9/30/13 0 .25/10 24/74
10/8/13 0 .25/10 19/68
10/9/13 0 0/10 23/72
10/10/13 0 0 24/74
10/11/13 0 0 22/71
10/14/13 0 0 23/72
10/15/13 0 0 22/71
10/16/13 0 0 22/71
10/17/13 0 0 23/72
10/18/13 0 0 24/74
10/21/13 0 0 25/76
10/22/13 0 0 24/74
B.Qualitative:
9-18: added some mondo grass and two clams to the aquarium. All of our fish our dead and unsure of why. Because there are no fish, there was no reaction to the clams and grass put in the tank. The beta was found dead, lying on its side on top of the rock.
9-19: The water is a bit turbid, The clams have dug into the gravel, these nails are still alive, I do not see the other animals that we put in the aquarium previously- they were probably eaten
9-20: The water is clearer and there were dead fish found in the tank that were not ours.
9-24: we have a steady water quality that never seems to change. We have decided this is due to the fact that we have no fish to create ammonia.
9-25: The claims are sotill buried and the water is perfect because we still do not have fish.
9-26: The water is perfect again but the clams are still buried in closed and I don't know why that is, We tested our nitrate for the first time today and it was at about 20, we plan to get fish either tomorrow or Tuesday.
9-27: there was no change in the water and the clams are still buried under the rocks, hopefully will be able to see the nitrogen cycle when we get our fish.
9-28: our clams are still buried in the gravel and remain closed. Our water quality seems to be doing fine do we do not understand why our clams do not seem to like the water in our aquarium.
9-30: we added water to our tank because it was getting low, added dechlorinater, and then we changed out the filter. Our nitrite level went up to .25 and our nitrate level went down to 10.
10-4: Today we found two black fish swimming in our tank. No one in iur group put them in there nor did mrs. Wood. We are very curious as to how they got there and why they are there.
10-10: we have decided to of serve the aquaponics aquarium. In the first tank I observed 5 fish, snails, and clams that were unopened. In the second tank there were 2 shrimp 4 unopened clams. In the third tank I observed 2 baby fish, one adult fish and, one shrimp. Finally, in the fourth tank, I observed 2 baby fish.
10-15: in the first tank I observed one fish and unopened clams. In the second tank I saw a crayfish four adult fish and unopened clams. In the third take there was a crayfish and an adult fish. And in the fourth tank there was an adult fish and a baby fish.
10-16: I am now back to observing our own tank. The snails are still there and the filter is still running. We have not observered any strange occurrences today.
10-17: our clams are still buried and closed. Our water levels are fine so we cannot tell what is wrong with the clams.
10-18: we have yet to find any of the tiny organisms we had put into the aquarium a while back.
10-21: still no sign of the other organisms other than the snails. We suspect the fish either are them or they may have possibly gotten stuck in the filter.
10-22: clams still shut and buried. No drastic change in the water quality.
10-23: water seems very clear today however the clams continue to stay shut.
10-24: snails still alive and clinging I to the walls
10-25: we find it curious that the snails are thriving yet the clams continue to stay buried and closed. Still hc not found the true cause for our fish's deaths and I guess we never will.
1) Ammonia: this is very dangerous and can cause the death of fish when there are high levels of it. It is caused by fish waste and excess food.
Nitrite: second most toxic nitrogen compound in the aquarium.
Nitrate: least toxic of nitrogen compounds. However, high levels can cause stress in fish.
Temperature: certain fish can only survive in certain water temperatures. The temperature also determined how much food to give the fish.
pH: most freshwater fish are found I'm water with a pH between 6 and 8 and most salt water fish are found in water with a pH between 8 and 8.4.
Conductivity: the degree to which a specified material conducts electricity, calculated as the ratio of the current density in the material to the electric field that causes the flow of current. It is the reciprocal of the resistivity.
Dissolved oxygen: Oxygen saturation or dissolved oxygen (DO) is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium.
Hardness: a measure of the quantity of certain metallic ions present in the water, mainly calcium and magnesium. Water hardness affects of fishes ability to maintain the balance between internal body fluids and the external environment.
Alkalinity: Indicates the total amount of buffers that are present in the water. Alkalinity protects the environment from setting changes in pH by absorbing excess acids or bases, which may be added to a solution.
Chlorine: a chlorine treatment on water ways leave behind harmful chemicals that can negatively affect fish.
2) Nitrogen cycle: The nitrogen cycle has five steps total. The first step is when the fish makes waste which turns into ammonia. Next, the ammonia turns into nitrite through nitrosomus bacteria. Then, the plants absorb the nitrite. After that, the water is cleaned by the plants. Finally, the cycle continues forever.
3) Overall, our water quality stayed fairly constant except for a few instances. Our ammonia levels were always zero except on August 10 and 11 when it went up to .25. After that it went back down to zero. Just like our ammonia levels, our nitrite levels were always at zero until it went up to .25 on August 30 and October 8.
4) Oxygen and carbon dioxide cycle:
Without sun, photosynthesis stops at night, lowering the oxygen levels. However, animals still need oxygen at night which causes the oxygen level to drop even further. At noon oxygen production is at its highest because there is the most sunlight at this hour. At night, and are exhaling carbon dioxide With cellular respiration while plants are resting and do not need carbon dioxide. Therefore, carbon dioxide levels go up at night.
5) we didn't have too many problems keeping our tank stable. We added multiple plant, animals, and clams which all kept the aquarium stable.
6) -I learns that plants help keep nitrate levels down.
- clams keep their mouth shut when they do not like the water quality and leave their mouths open when they do.
-Beta fish should never be out with any other fish because they will terrorize them.
-Fish like to hide in and under things like our rock-cave.
-I learned that the nitrogen cycle is an important key in the aquarium because it keeps the water stable.
7) The most interesting thing, the worst thing, and the weirdest thing that happened in my aquarium all occurred during the same instence: all 8 of our fish died. The day after we baught our fish, five of them died. Then, the next day, two more died. We suspected it was the beta that killed the other fish because he was the only fish left after the first two days but then he eventually died too. We still have not found the cause of all of our fish deaths.
8) Consicerdering all of our fish died within the first few weeks, my favorite part was observing the fish in my friends' tanks and seeing how they interacted with each other in the aquarium and where they liked to spend most of their time within the tank.
9) I would advise other students not to but beta fish with other fish no matter was the guy at the pet store says and to continuously test their water quality to make sure it is always perfect or at least near perfect. I cannot think of any way to make the project better, I love it just the way it is.
My watershed September 22, 2013
I live in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River watershed and my watershed address is 12030103. Some of the benefits of a watershed include the capturing, storing, and releasing of water, the filtration of sediment, pollutants, and other harmful materials, habitats provided for plants and animals, and sites provided for biogeochemical reactions. Some problems facing our local watershed are domestic and industrial use, swimming, over fishing, endangerment of aquatic organisms, agricultural use, commercial use, pollution, and urbanization.
The White Croppie September 22, 2013
One freshwater fish that lives in Texas, is the white croppie. The scientific name for this fish is Pomoxis annularis. These fish have a high reproductive potential which often leads to overproduction in small lakes. They lay their eggs in small beds in shallow water during the spring time. White croppies can be found in large rivers, reservoirs, and lakes, and are tolerant of turbid waters where there is little rooted vegetation. Adult crappies feed on small fish and insects such as various species of minnows and young gizzard shads and are eaten by bass. White croppies are known for their delicious taste, they are easy to catch while fishing, and they are less votive during the day but come out during dawn and dusk.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Aquarium observations September 14, 2013
My aquarium group found three snails, two scuds, one daphnia, and a leach and put them all in our aquarium. When we first out everything, the snails stuck to the glass and the leach quickly hid under the rocks and the scuds and the daphnia swam too fast for me to tell where they went. The fish had no original reaction but I'm sure it ate then eventually because I did not see them the next day.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Nitrogen Cycle September 14, 2013
The nitrogen cycle has five steps total. The first step is when the fish makes waste which turns into ammonia. Next, the ammonia turns into nitrite through nitrosomus bacteria. Then, the plants absorb the nitrite. After that, the water is cleaned by the plants. Finally, the cycle continues forever.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
River Model September 8, 2013
This river model is split up into four separate tanks: P1, P2, P3, and P4.
At the beginning of the day, P1 had water, six orange fish, and twenty brown fish. P2 had water, rocks, and two brown fish. P3 had water, rocks, sand, pea gravel, plants, and twenty ghost shrimp. P4 had water, sand, pea gravel, plants, one orange fish, one brown fish, and one blue crayfish. For the rest of the year we will be tracking what fish move where, if any die, or anything else that may occur in a log book. With this river model I hope to learn so much more about rivers.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Density and Temperature Demonstration September 7, 2013
This demonstration was to show the difference in density between warm and cold water. There were four glasses; two with red water (warm) an two with blue water (cold). We placed one red water on a blue water and a deferent blue water on the other red water as you can see in the "before" picture on the left. The picture on the right shows what happened afterward: When the red was put onto the blue, the red stayed on top because warm water is less dense than cold water. For that same reason, when blue was placed on red the red tried to rise to the top as the blue attempted to sink to the bottom creating the purple you see. In connection with this demonstration, the lake is just like the red, warm water on top of the blue, cold water. The lake water is much warmer on top than toward the bottom.
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