Since our last post, we have some good news and some bad news... but mostly good.
Formative conclusions based on analysis of data collected thus far:
Based on our data so far, we can conclude that the plants in our aquaponics system are growing faster than the plants in our soil bed despite both groups receiving the same amount of light. Another possible conclusion we can make relates to our previous fish deaths. The NO2 concentration in our tank spiked around the time that our remaining fish died, which could have only worsened their condition brought about by a fungus.
Positive comments about your experience/experiment thus far. (How has the experiment exceeded your expectations)
The past week has been especially rewarding as we restocked our tank with 9 new goldfish and none of them have died yet. Also, our basil is finally starting to grow noticeably in our new setup and the plants appear to be healthy.
Unexpected setbacks and areas for improvement, with your plans of improving.
Thus far our major setbacks have already been adjusted for. The first was the fungus that we believe killed our previous group of fish, and this was corrected by thoroughly cleaning the tank after the last one died then restocking the tank with healthy fish.
The second was our broken foam raft: that’s why we have tape on the water bottle halves (also to keep the
Today we encountered a possible setback as someone in another period had put soap into our tank. We fixed this by skimming off the foam, stopping the pump, and emptying 75% of the tank and refilling it. We will have to wait and see if this has any effects on our plants or fish.
From Dr. Parrott: Make sure you address any concerns that I brought to your attention in the comments I have given you thus far.
We are measuring aquarium pH, nitrates, and nitrites with API (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) 5-in-1 test strips that test for pH, nitrates, nitrites, carbonate hardness, and general hardness.
Resources you have consulted about your experiment since you have started it (should be different from those in your Annotated Bibliography. Don’t’ forget APA/MLA format)
Kalbacher, Kelsey T., and Eloy N. Marquez-Gonzalez. "Aquaponics: An Option for In-situ Production of Mission Consumables."
Goddek, Simon, et al. "Challenges of sustainable and commercial aquaponics." Sustainability 7.4 (2015): 4199-4224.
Nichols, M. A., and N. A. Savidov. "Aquaponics: A nutrient and water efficient production system." II International Symposium on Soilless Culture and Hydroponics 947. 2011.
Shafahi, Maryam, and Daniel Woolston. "Aquaponics: A Sustainable Food Production System." ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2014.
What you have learned from the additional resources?
The reason we had trouble keeping the fish alive prior to the introduction of the new group was an imbalance in the aquaponic system, as described by Kalbacher and Marquez-Gonzalez. There were initially eleven fish in the tank, and the plant roots were not yet developed enough to act as efficient biofilters, thereby deteriorating the state of the fish water to the point where the fish could not survive. We should also consider finding phosphorus additives to put in the water as phosphorus, which is essential for plant growth, is often lost through solid fish excretions. Additionally, should the pH ever become overly acidic, we can correct by adding small amounts of sodium bicarbonate based on the pH of the water and the current volume of the water in the tank.
Foaming can occur for other reasons (without the soapy smell, of course): liquid agitation and protein-based waste (especially for freshwater, like our tank)
How will your experiment estimate productivity and efficiency of energy transfer?
Our experiment will estimate productivity by using the growth of basil in the soil pot as the baseline and then comparing plant height and possibly plant masses at the end of the experiment. Nitrate and nitrite levels are also an indicator of the amount of ammonia produced and processed. Essentially, the higher the concentration of nitrate and nitrite, the greater the amount of ammonia being generated by the fish, and the greater the transfer of energy between the fish and the plants.
Formative conclusions based on analysis of data collected thus far:
Based on our data so far, we can conclude that the plants in our aquaponics system are growing faster than the plants in our soil bed despite both groups receiving the same amount of light. Another possible conclusion we can make relates to our previous fish deaths. The NO2 concentration in our tank spiked around the time that our remaining fish died, which could have only worsened their condition brought about by a fungus.
Positive comments about your experience/experiment thus far. (How has the experiment exceeded your expectations)
The past week has been especially rewarding as we restocked our tank with 9 new goldfish and none of them have died yet. Also, our basil is finally starting to grow noticeably in our new setup and the plants appear to be healthy.
Unexpected setbacks and areas for improvement, with your plans of improving.
Thus far our major setbacks have already been adjusted for. The first was the fungus that we believe killed our previous group of fish, and this was corrected by thoroughly cleaning the tank after the last one died then restocking the tank with healthy fish.
The second was our broken foam raft: that’s why we have tape on the water bottle halves (also to keep the
Today we encountered a possible setback as someone in another period had put soap into our tank. We fixed this by skimming off the foam, stopping the pump, and emptying 75% of the tank and refilling it. We will have to wait and see if this has any effects on our plants or fish.
From Dr. Parrott: Make sure you address any concerns that I brought to your attention in the comments I have given you thus far.
We are measuring aquarium pH, nitrates, and nitrites with API (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) 5-in-1 test strips that test for pH, nitrates, nitrites, carbonate hardness, and general hardness.
Resources you have consulted about your experiment since you have started it (should be different from those in your Annotated Bibliography. Don’t’ forget APA/MLA format)
Kalbacher, Kelsey T., and Eloy N. Marquez-Gonzalez. "Aquaponics: An Option for In-situ Production of Mission Consumables."
Goddek, Simon, et al. "Challenges of sustainable and commercial aquaponics." Sustainability 7.4 (2015): 4199-4224.
Nichols, M. A., and N. A. Savidov. "Aquaponics: A nutrient and water efficient production system." II International Symposium on Soilless Culture and Hydroponics 947. 2011.
Shafahi, Maryam, and Daniel Woolston. "Aquaponics: A Sustainable Food Production System." ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2014.
What you have learned from the additional resources?
The reason we had trouble keeping the fish alive prior to the introduction of the new group was an imbalance in the aquaponic system, as described by Kalbacher and Marquez-Gonzalez. There were initially eleven fish in the tank, and the plant roots were not yet developed enough to act as efficient biofilters, thereby deteriorating the state of the fish water to the point where the fish could not survive. We should also consider finding phosphorus additives to put in the water as phosphorus, which is essential for plant growth, is often lost through solid fish excretions. Additionally, should the pH ever become overly acidic, we can correct by adding small amounts of sodium bicarbonate based on the pH of the water and the current volume of the water in the tank.
Foaming can occur for other reasons (without the soapy smell, of course): liquid agitation and protein-based waste (especially for freshwater, like our tank)
How will your experiment estimate productivity and efficiency of energy transfer?
Our experiment will estimate productivity by using the growth of basil in the soil pot as the baseline and then comparing plant height and possibly plant masses at the end of the experiment. Nitrate and nitrite levels are also an indicator of the amount of ammonia produced and processed. Essentially, the higher the concentration of nitrate and nitrite, the greater the amount of ammonia being generated by the fish, and the greater the transfer of energy between the fish and the plants.