II. Materials:
- Tank
- water
- dechlorinator
- gravel
- rock
- ammonia
- thermometer
- bala sharks (4)
- fish food
- mini beakers
- paper towels
- notebook
- monument
- blue grass
- bacopa
- filter
- bubbler
- nitrate
- ammonia lock
- net
- pitcher
- sifter
- baggies
- scrubbers
- Took gravel out and cleaned with sifter
- Scrubbed the tank
- replaced gravel
- filled tank with water
- added dechlorinator and ammonia lock
- waited a day
- test with nitrite and ammonia and check temperature
- if water is good, add decorations
- wait another day
- test water again
- if water needs to be changed, take a pitcher and draw out 2/3 of water. Then replace.
- then add ammonia lock and dechlorinator
- add a filter and bubbler to the tank
- add fish
- feed fish everyday
- test water everyday
- 9/17 I have 2 Bala Sharks in my tank. I did have 4, but 2 of then died already. The bigger of the 2 sharks sometimes follows the smaller one. But most of the time the smaller one stays by the decoration, and the bigger one stays within the rocks. Our ammonia is very high, needing a water change.9/18 the ammonia and nitirite are still high even though we changed it yesterday. The 2 sharks still don't eat much, but they're managing.
9/19 Today we had to do a water change because the ammonia was a 1.0. We've had to clean our tank all week because our ammonia has been so high. And it's almost killed the sharks so we moved them to the other tank and they became okay overnight.9/20 We had to do a water change again. Just half a tank though. The sharks seem to be doing well and adapting. And we now have 5 clams and they've been opening their mouths which lead us to think that they can feed (good) in the tank.9/26 We had a shark jump out of the tank and die last night. So we have 5 clams and 1 shark left. Our ammonia is again really high, but we didn't have time to change it today. So we'll change it tomorrow.9/28 we came into class and we had an empty tank. So we found our last shark on the floor, dead. I guess he jumped out too and died. So now we only have clams left and no fish. I won't get fish until we get our tank clean and livable to fish.9/29 today we complelty cleaned our tank too to bottom. So hopefully in the next few days it will be a suitable fish tank.9/30 today we found out that our tank is finally moving through the nitrogen cycle. The nitrite has gone up, and the ammonia is going down. Our clams have dug down in the gravel so we can't see them. But the big clam is doing good. Our tank seems to be pretty stable. And hopefully I'll get some new different fish soon.10/1 the tanks water is still moving through the stages of getting clean.10/2 it's still getting there. The clams still dig in the gravel, but open their mouths to feed.10/4 the water quality is getting close, so we did a half tank water change to move it faster maybe.10/6 were thinking tomorrow or the next day adding fish. I'm not sure if I can buy any, so I'll see if my partner can. But the clams are doing great and so is the tank.10/8 today out water quality was good today and yesterday. So mrs. Wood let us put in fish finally. We took a grey fish with red too eyes and a small almost goldfish fish.10/9 the fish are still alive! We gave our clams to our tank neighbors to have. Our tank is still really clear and is going through the nitrogen cycle. We're finally getting the tank healthy.10/10 we have to do a half tank water change. The fish seem to be okay in the water cup. And hopefully the nitrogen will go back down like the ammonia did.10/13 the water is getting better, no need for a water change. But we'll keep a close eye one it.10/15 out tank is finally at 0 on the ammonia and nitrate. I'll check the nitrate tomorrow if I have time. But the 2 new fish are doing great and are eating regularly and seem to live happy together. Not much food has built up on the gravel so that's good. But the filter needs to be cleaned off.10/16 our water is still good but our nitrate is a little high. So we added water to the tank. So we'll check it tomorrow to see if we have to make a water change.10/17 the nitrate did go down. So we don't have to do a water change. The fish are still happy and eating great.10/18 today the fish were super excited to eat today and we're swimming around a lot. The ammonia and nitrite are still at 0.C.) aquatic check of river model
- Ammonia- a clear colorless gaseous compound that is suffocating and made from nitrogen and hydrogen gases. Ammonia is not really important, it's bad for fish, but it helps a tank move through the nitrogen cycle. Nitrite- a salt or ester of nitrous acid. It's important for it to get rid of the ammonia through the nitrogen cycle. Temperature- the measure of coolness and hotness with a uniform unit of measure (ferenheit). It's important to know so you can keep the water at a livable temperature for the fish. pH- used to measure the amount of acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 0-7. It helps the tank keeper be aware if their water is too acidic or has too much alkaline. Conductivity- a property that can conduct electricity, heat or sound. We need to know the conductivity of objects we put in our tank to know if it's safe or unsafe for the fish. Dissolved Oxygen- a measure of oxygen that has been dissolved or is carried through a given medium (like water). Dissolved oxygen is important to have for your fish to survive in your aquarium, if you don't have any, your fish will die. Hardness- the quality in water that deals with dissolved salts and calcium. If you have hardness you'll see white hard stuff built up on the glass and you need to clean it. Alkalinity- the alkaline concentration or quality in water. It's important to know the amount of alkaline in your water for the health of your fish. Chlorine- a greenish-yellow, irritating halogen, that's incompustable, and can combine with almost anything. Used for the purifying of water and cleansing things. Used for cleaning tanks but can position fish and is bad for the respitory.
- What is the nitrogen cycle and how does it apply to the sustainability aquarium? The nitrogen cycle is the phases of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that the tanks water undergoes to clean itself. A fish can't breathe in ammonia so use plants or ammonia block to rid ammonia so it can move to nitrite then nitrate so it's healthy.
- How has your water quality changed over time? My water quality was very bad in the beginning, but after awhile it cleared up fantastically.
- Why is the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle important to the aquatice ecosystems? The fish in the tank have to have oxygen to breathe, so when the fish breathe they put out carbon dioxide and plants take it in and produce oxygen for them to breathe. The more oxygen that's converted in our lakes and ponds, the more fish will thrive and fish men have more fish to hook.
- What problems did you face when trying to keep the aquarium stable? How did you solve these problems? I was having to clean my tank everyday because the ammonia was always high. Our fish died because of the ammonia, so after awhile of no fish and completely cleaning our tank, the water quality went to perfect.
- What are the 5 educational concepts did you learn through this project? Disapline, life, how to keep fish alive, nitrogen cycle, and oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle.
- What was the most interesting thing that happened during this project? The worst thing that happened? The wierdest thing? All my fish jumping out and dying. Losing all 4 sharks. How all 4 sharks jumped to die.
- What was your favorite part of this project? Why? Having an aquarium in school. I live being able to play with fish at school and not at home. It's like a class pet that's my own.
- What advice would you give next year's students about this project? How would you change this project to make it better? Don't buy expensive fish...they could jump out and die. Make the project last all semester.
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