Graph 5/24

Here is a line graph of our (Me and James W.) results that was compiled by James W. Over the time, our Nitrate got higher and higher. As the days wore on, our Ammonia got lower and lower until it stabilized about April 18th.

Changes 5/23

Over the last few weeks I noticed that changes in our aquarium came slowly, subtly, and sometimes not at all. The water quality grew staler and more turbid over the course of this project, and we never completed a full water test to create a clearer environment for our fish friends. The plants that we placed in our tank were eaten by our fish so much that I am beginning to doubt that they ate the fish food we gave them every day. It probably just decayed and disappeared into the rocks. Our biggest change was with our fish. After a few weeks of stable living, all of a sudden, one of our fish died a terrible death and was covered in mold when we returned after the weekend. The cause of death is still uncertain, but I really don't care. We had other organisms in our tank but after a while I think most of them died.

Here is a picture of our aquarium from an earlier blog:

Project 5/22

During the course of this project I learned many new things about taking care of an aquatic ecosystem. I learned how to perform Nitrate and Ammonia tests and the importance of both of those. I learned about the seriousness of water quality and its effects upon aquatic creatures. I now understand the Nitrogen cycle and its role in the lives of plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem. I learned that dechlorinating the water is perhaps the most important thing in keeping your fish alive, other than feeding it.

If there was anything I would change about this project, I would just get rid of blogs because they take a lot of time and I'm not sure it helped me out in this class. I learn better through the CPS tests and questions from teachers than doing blogs online every week.

Update 5/21

As this is my final update, I wish I could have given the cause of death of our fish, but the autopsy report has not come back yet. Our water has faded over time and grown more and more grey and cloudy. This is probably the result of us never doing a complete water change, and only adding more water when the water levels decreased. Our only surviving fish was donated to Mrs. Wind and I sincerely hope he/she has a happy life in that tank. Our water quality tests were weaker than our last time out, but still good. Now we don't have to worry about taking care of any fish any more. We did not make any changes.

Invasive plants 5/20

An invasive plant is a plant that is put in an area that it does not belong and where it negatively affects the new environment that it was placed in. The most likely reason why they are not a concern in their native areas is because those environments have adapted to their problems and created solutions for them.

                                                                            Hydrilla

The hydrilla is a submerged aquatic plant that has a long stem and is covered in many leaves. The negative effects of this plant are that it reduces oxygen levels, its hydrogen ions acidify the water, and it can change the  pH of the water vastly.

                                                                       Water Hyacinth

The water hyacinth has big, oval, lavender leaves, and it negatively affects the pH levels and reduces the oxygen in the environment, while also impeding navigation of other plants.

                                                                        Alligator Weed

The alligator weed has white flowers that has long stems that branch out. It creates mats on top of the water, and reduces oxygen levels that effects the fish and people that are travelling on the water in boats.

Water Quality 5/17

Water Quality is the single most important aspect of a stable ecosystem and critical to the survival and quality of life of the animals in an ecosystem. Reproduction is affected if the pH is low and the water quality is of poor quality. Nitrogen is one of the most essential factors in an ecosystem. We did not have many problems with our water quality, in fact we had mostly successes. I can not name a single issue that affected our aquarium in a serious way. Our water quality was always steady and provided a great environment that let our fish have an enjoyable life.

Update 5/16

Our fish has lived peacefully and, in my opinion, healthily even though the other fish in our tank died a few weeks ago. He spends his time underneath the filter and enjoys swimming through the rock in the middle of the tank and hiding behind it. We have had well performing tests and we have not been required to completely change the water. We had to add some more water from the sink because the water level had sunk to almost below the filter. Over the entire run of our aquarium, we have had to make very little changes and our tank has been better off without our interference.

Ecosystem 5/15

When an ecosystem is self sustaining, it requires it to be able to have a stable environment that isn't interfered with by an outside source. This self sustaining ecosystem has its own plants and animals that keep the environment running smoothly. This does not describe our aquarium's ecosystem because our aquarium relies on us to survive. We give the fish its food, and we provide the filter that keeps the water fresh and habitable. To become independent, it would require a natural filtration system and a means of food like smaller creatures that live in the water and provide food for the larger animals.

Nitrogen Cycle 5/14

In the nitrogen cycle, fish eat plants and dispose of it as waste which is turned into decaying organic matter and then into nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. Bacteria eat the nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia and turn it into nitrogen in the atmosphere. I don't think it is possible to have a functioning ecosystem without any of these, especially the bacteria that take the nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia and put it back into the atmosphere for the cycle to start all over again. Each member in the cycle is vital to it being steady, so there is no way it is possible to have a stable environment without any of them. 

Water Quality 5/13

Our tank's water quality is probably similar to that of a lake. Even though the size is much different, there are still plants and fish and light in our tank that would produce similar results to that of a lake. Because a river is so fast moving and always changing, it has a different water quality than our tank or any lake.

Aquarium Update

Nothing has really changed since the last update. Our lonely fish has gotten more active though, and he is not as shy as he used to be. The water is staying fresh and neat, and we tend to feed our fish lightly because he/she is not a big eater. We have noticed that he keeps on eating the plant more often than the food, so maybe the flakes are not very tasty. Our water quality test results today were the same as last time, zero for both Nitrate and Ammonia. I am starting to wonder if we are doing it wrong, but I followed the instructions exactly and our water has just been in great quality the last few weeks. We took no measures to keep this quality going so we just watched our fish float around the tank. We hope that he survives until the year is over.

Dichotomous key

Dichotomous keys are used to identify algae by organization and questions to help identify them. You start with the first question and depending on the answer you follow the order that it tells you until you reach the organism that is most likely what you were trying to identify. It is very basic but very helpful. It took awhile to make my own key but I used some different questions than the sample, but I based it off of the sample. I got stuck a few times, but mainly used the look of the algae and not the actual properties. Color and shape were the biggest ones I used and whenever I got stuck I just looked for differences in the shape, color, size, etc.

Steps of water quality assessment

The first is observation and after that is collecting samples, identifying the problem, completing Nitrate and Ammonia tests along with Aqua check tests. If you identify the problem early on, you can save yourself from having to buy all those tests because they will cost a bit of money. The organisms that live on or around the water affect the assessment because they help in the very first step of observing the water. Sometimes you can see and identify the problem just by looking at the organisms in the water.

Dissolved Oxygen and cycles

Oxygen dissolves into water from two sources: the atmosphere and from plants in the water. The primary source of oxygen for a pond is from microscopic algae (phytoplankton) or submerged plants. The CO2 and O2 levels alternate and the O2 levels are high when the sun is out and low at night. Photosynthesis is the reason why these levels are affected by the time of day. When the sun is out, plants are photosynthesizing and producing oxygen. 

 

Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen dissolved (and hence available to sustain marine life) in a body of water such as a lake, river, or stream. DO is the most important indicator of the health of a water body and its capacity to support a balanced aquatic ecosystem of plants and animals. Waste water containing organic (oxygen consuming) pollutants depletes the dissolved oxygen and may lead to the death of marine organisms.
To conduct a DO test you need to fill this tube with 25mL of water from whatever body of water you wish
to test. You need to break the tip off of another tube inside the tube you filled up with water and wait for a bit. Compare it to the chart and hopefully it is above 3 mg/L. I think there would be more DO in a large river than a small pond.

Aqua check

The five components of the Aqua check test are pH, free chlorine, total chlorine, total hardness, and total alkalinity. pH is the measure of the activity of the hydrogen ion. Free chlorine does the hard work of killing bacteria and oxidizing contaminants. Total chlorine is just the sum of both combined chlorine and free chlorine.  Total hardness is the sum of all hardness constituents in a water, expressed as the equivalent concentration of calcium carbonate. The total alkalinity is alkalinity of water is its acid-neutralizing capacity.

We were unable to perform our tests and we have no test results. I am sure that we would have had solid results because our water quality tests were good. 

My Fish

My angelfish that I bought from Petsmart is a very shy creature. It doesn't like to be bothered and likes to stay behind the big rock in the middle of our aquarium. It is very easy to take care of and doesn't require a lot of attention. It is a member of the cichlid family and it originates from South America. Angelfish are carnivorous and it is best to feed them flakes. They can grow up to 10 inches, but they average about 6 inches. When they grow to be adults, they will get very aggressive and it is better to put them in different tanks. They need a temperature range of 74F to 78F when they are kept as pets. The pH of the water must be from 6.5 to 6.9. They are very prone to ick, which is what I think one of our fish died from. And finally, males and females look the same. You can't tell the difference until the female is ready to breed.

Field Trip Experience

After finally making it to Dallas World Aquarium, we only ended up skimming the surface of the place because of the limited time we spent there. I would love to go back and take more time to look at each animal. I think the most interesting part of the whole trip was tunnel of sharks. Just being able to watch these creature glide over your head and interact with other sharks was incredible. I stood gazing at them for the longest time. It was the best part of the trip for me. I learned that Aquarium also encompasses mammals and birds. I had no problem with it, but it was kind of like a zoo with more fish. I also learned that the Japanese Spider Crab is the largest arthropod in the world. I also learned that the Antillean manatees were brought to the aquarium by plane as babies. The Dallas World Aquarium was opened in 1992. I also learned that they have many endangered species including the Orinoco Crocodile at the aquarium.

Aquarium Update

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but one of our fish died, and so far the other has seemingly been better off. We never saw either of them eat, but now that this fish is all alone he is eating more and more active. The quality of our water has improved as well, we recently filled the water back up in the tank because the water level was almost past the filter. The Ammonia and Nitrate tests ended up at zero. This has remained steady for the past few weeks. We haven't changed much about our water. We have just added some bacteria supplement.

Pollution Index Chart

The purpose of the Pollution Index Chart is to assess the quality of any body of water. The benefits are you can find out what is wrong with the water and if the quality of water needs some attention. Although, that only represents part of the problem. You can't always test every bit of water, so there might be other problems that you can't see. I think it is the definitive test for water quality at this moment, because of its quickness and accuracy, but there could be a better way to test water in the future.  With a high population and low diversity the water quality is poor with plenty of pollution. This is most likely because of all the pollution being dumped in oceans and lakes.

In order to focus a high powered lens, you have to turn the knob using the scanning lens. Then rotate the high powered lens. To make a wet mount you must get a small sample to place on a slide, then add a few drops of water and place the slide cover on top. Press firmly until it sticks but don't crack the glass. To stain a slide, you put a drop of stain on the edge of the slide cover. Using a small paper towel,  put it against the opposite end of the slide cover and it will act as a magnet. When the stain has been pulled in it should cover the specimen on the slide. I had really no knowledge of microscope usage and it helped me understand new aspects of the microscope.

• 
  

Amphibians

Each and every frog has an unique mating call. Their life cycle includes three stages; egg, larva, and adult. Frogs are carnivores, so they only eat meat and not plants. There are between 5000 and 6000 species of amphibians alive today. They are declining and 1/3 are either threatened or extinct. Amphibians need water for respiration. They need to keep their skin moist so the gas exchange can occur. They are sensitive bio-indicators of degraded stream habitats and water quality.

  

Aquarium Update

Dear diary, our fish are getting along well, but they are hiding in the back of the tank often. They don't eat often either. I don't know what is wrong with them. I hope they survive. Other than that, they seem to be pretty normal for fish.

Watershed

Watersheds are areas of land where water meets to runoff into lakes or oceans. We live in the Elm Fork branch of the Trinity Watershed in Flower Mound, TX. We need to restore our water supply, so by learning about our watersheds, we can try to do that. We can provide protection of animals and plants that grow in our watershed, and there are many benefits including food and oxygen.

Mata Mata

A mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus) is a freshwater turtle that inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. They are entirely aquatic, although they prefer shallow, stagnant water, where they can easily reach their head out of water to breathe. The mata mata can grow quite large, up to 33 pounds. They feed on invertebrates and fish and aren't dangerous to people. I chose this organism because I like turtles and was interested in a very bizarre and unique aquatic turtle that I have never heard of before. 

Aquarium Update

As of April 18th, we have not added fish into our aquarium, but we are about to tomorrow. I just have to go to the store to get them. Our water is still looking good and clear, and our water tests went great. Both Ammonia and Nitrate tests were at zero. We are able to finally get some fish. I plan to get two angelfish of different color.

Organisms

We got to look some pond water that was brought into class.We were looking for some small organisms. There were small shrimp, snails, and some worms. We put some of the small shrimp things in our aquarium. They disappeared into the rocks and were never to be seen again. There is no way of knowing if they survived or not.

Freshwater Careers

Of the many career options, three stuck with me the most. An Entomologist is a zoologist who primarily studies insects. A freshwater biologist studies plants and animals in a freshwater ecosystem. A freshwater ecologist studies how animals and plants fit into the freshwater ecosystems. The pictures are in order of Entomologist, freshwater biologist, and freshwater ecologist.

Lakes

   Ecological Succession refers to more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in composition or structure of an ecological community. Each type of lake is a different and has its own changes in composition or structure. In Freshwater Ecology, we need to know which type of plants and animals live in each type of lake. Mesotrophic describes our bottle, and Lewisville Lake is eutrophic.         

                                       

Oligotrophic Lake

Mesotrophic Lake

Eutrophic Lake

Freshwater Ecology

I took it as the study of life in freshwater as compared to the ocean. It is important because we live much closer to freshwater than oceans and we get our water from freshwater lakes and rivers. A pond is fed by a river and the river is constantly flowing. Ponds do not lead to the ocean. A pond is not tributary to a larger body of water.

Water Issue Presentations

I learned that our pond near Kid's Castle is full of waste and is not taken care of properly. I learned that zebra mussels damage both marine and human life. I learned that steak uses 1200 gallons of water compared to the 15 of salad. The largest dam is the Three Gorges Dam. Gravity moves sewage from your home to the waste water plant. The best presentation by far was the one on Water Pollution at the pond near Kid's Castle because they used videos to explain everything. Going back, I wish we would have included videos in our presentation and made it more exciting.

Progress

As of right now we still do not have any fish. Our water quality has gotten better since it was cloudy and turbid. We failed both tests for water quality, but we were not that far off. We have added more bacteria in the water in order to get better results for water quality tests. Hopefully the next time we test our water, the results will be much better so we can add fish to our tank.

Ammonia and Nitrate

When these two factors get too high, they can harm and kill fish. Ammonia is produced when fish pee and nitrate is produced from the waste of the bacteria that eat the ammonia. In order to test for these you have to get a sample of your tank water, put the right amount of drops from the bottle for each type of test and wait to compare it to a chart. The lower the better when it comes to these tests.

Observation

All the rocks in this aquarium are lined up. I infer that the owner likes this type of fish and keeps this tank very clean. I think that the organization of the fish tank is boring and the rocks and plants should be moved around. A good observation is one that can be spotted by anybody. Observations are important because people need to understand what they are looking at. Inferences and opinions do have a place in science because debate is a important factor in all studies. 

Water Issue Presentation

Our water issue was conservation of water and I chose this topic because I already knew many ways to conserve water. Also, I think this is a important issue because our society today does not have sympathy towards water or trees or the environment for that matter. If our presentation changes the lifestyle of just one classmate, then we have accomplished our goal.

Our water property demo was about specific heat, and we blew up a balloon with water and held it over a lit candle to prove that the water will not allow the balloon to pop because the water absorbs the heat. Everything went exactly as planned, except one of our classmates got a balloon in her face. I learned that water is known as the "universal solvent". Water has a high level of surface tension. I learned the difference between hard water and soft water. I learned that salt and sugar are polar so they dissolve well in water. I also learned that water sticks to itself easily.

Set Up

We set up our aquarium with a rock right in the middle and as of the set up, we did not have a filter so our water was very cloudy and turbid. After we got the filter, the water has cleared up and looks fine. Cleaning out the rocks and getting the dirt off of them was by far the most time consuming part. Even though our ammonia and nitrate tests eventually failed, I think our water will be ok.

Plans for aquarium

Right now, other than having two different types of fish, I don't know what types to get. My goals for the assignment are to keep the fish alive and healthy, while maintaining a clean environment that the fish will enjoy. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep it clean, but we will see.

Water Uses

The many uses of water range from drinking to watering your lawn, and through many other people I learned other uses of water that had slipped my mind. We use water for almost everything. After all, it is 70% of our bodies and our planet. With the ways to conserve our water, I learned new ways to help our ecosystem including taking quicker showers and not wasting that water that I couldn't finish from my glass. The benefits of living near a lake showed me that while there are some benefits, the negatives outweigh them. The noise and attraction of people would frustrate me even though I enjoy swimming and fishing.