Ammonia and Nitrate Results

As you can see by the graph, the ammonia levels throughout this entire project have stayed relatively the same, staying at 0.25 most of the time. The nitrate level however fluctuated a bit before leveling out. However, this was normal because of the death of one of our fish.

Aquarium Changes

There has been many changes to my aquarium during this nine weeks. First of all, originally, I had perfect a nitrate level but had high ammonia. Once we added fish  and bacteria to the aquarium, our ammonia levels dropped significantly. However, once we had a buildup of feces and one of our fish died, our nitrate level increased dramatically. To reduce this, we added plenty of duckweed because plants absorb nitrate. After some time, our water started to turn brownish but our water quality tests always turned out good so I saw no reason to change it. There was some algae growth on Squidward's house and on the fake plants, but other than that, there was no plant growth.

Thing Learned From the Aquarium Project

The aquarium project that was assigned to me at the beginning of the last nine weeks this semester has allowed me to gain more knowledge about caring for fish and maintaining water quality than I ever thought I'd know. To begin with, the assignment showed me how harmful ammonia can be towards my aquarium. The ammonia doesn't kill fish immediately but it does add extra stress on your fish which can lead to eventual death. Also, I learned that chlorine is the number one cause of death in aquariums. It didn't even occur to me that the water I was putting in the tank contained chlorine. Thankfully, my teachers stressed the importance of adding dechlorinator to make sure you don't kill your fish. Similarly, I learned that high nitrate levels can kill your fish. Before this project, I didn't know much about the nitrogen cycle, including how ammonia is broken down into nitrite by nitrosomonas and then broken down into nitrate by nitrobacter. Also, over time, I learned that less really is more when feeding my fish. The excess of food led to high nitrate levels, so after a bad nitrate test happened, my group and I decided to put less food in the aquarium. Lastly, you have to be careful which fish you choose to place in your aquarium because certain breeds of fish don't do well with each other and can become quite aggressive.  If I had to change this project, I would have the students take care of their fish the entire semester instead of only nine weeks, which would allow students to add more fish and become more familiar with different breeds of fish.

Aquarium Update

So time to update you on my aquarium again. First of all, Fish is now the fish to eat first everyday. Cow always eats the most food as his name would suggest. Meep is still being antisocial, avoiding everyone. Also, apparently we have a snail. I saw it on the glass and was confused but it was kinda cute so I left it there. He doesn't have a name, but he does move which wall he's chilling on everyday. It's entertaining to find where he is everyday. Also, my water quality tests haven't changed at all. Ammonia is .25, nitrate is 10, and temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result of these good results, we haven't made any changes to the aquarium.

Invasive Plants

A plant is considered invasive if it does not grow naturally in an area. There a numerous invasive plants in Texas. Some include:

• Alligator Weed: Emergent plant that is green with white flowers, originating from South America that is  an aggressive, mat-forming perennial. It spreads from seed or plant fragments. It causes displacement of native vegetation and can impede navigation. 

• Eurasian Watermilfoil: A submergent green plants with red stems when actively growing. It's from Eurasia and was introduced to America in the 1950s. It reproduces by seed fragments, stolens, and is spread by boats, trailers, and birds. It shades out native vegetation, displaces native vegetation, and can impede navigation. 

• Giant Salvinia: A free floating aquatic fern than has hair structures that look like egg beaters. It reproduces through buds and is also known as the plant from hell. It's originated from South America and decreases oxygen levels in water, kills lakes, impedes navigation, displaces native vegetation, and once you get it, it's nearly impossible to eradicate it. 

These plants aren't a problems in their natural habitat because there, there are insects and disease that keeps the population under control. 

Water Quality in My Ecosystem

I've learned a lot since the begging of this project as a result of having to take care of fish in an aquarium. I've learned that a high ammonia reading is bad because it can kill the fish. Also, high nitrate can kill fish. However, the most sure way I've learned to kill fish is not dechlorinating the water. The problems I've had in my aquarium was high ammonia so I added bacteria to break it down. The success was that only one of my fish died, and even the one that died didn't die because of me, he was just sick by himself.

Aquarium Update

When I approached the aquarium, Fish and Cow swam to the surface of the water as if they knew I was the food source. Fish is now the normal one to eat first out of all the fish. Cow eats second while Meep seems to be always hesitant to eat, as if he's intimidated by the other fish. Then, Fish started to chase Meep around the tank for a few seconds. Cow seems to be gaining weight, living up to his name. Our water in the aquarium now has a brown haze but since we're almost done with the aquarium project, I see no need to do a water change. Our ammonia is .25, nitrate is 10, and the temperature is a constant 70 degrees Fahrenheit. These result show that even though our water is brownish, the water quality is still good. No changes have been made because of these good results.