From the beginning of school we've worked to create a self sustaining oceanic environment that is contained within a fish tank. Early on, we noticed how difficult this tank would be to maintain. However through our combined efforts Lauren and I have managed a tank without much struggles. We achieved this by working hard and concentrating on making sure that everything was prepared before putting our two clown fish into the smaller scaled ecosystem.
We began our "project" by researching many different saltwater fish and plants. We went into this project thinking we would have a seahorse, which we soon realized was not something we wanted to deal with. Due to the fact that seahorses are not very entertaining, and very high maintainance. However we did come to the consensus that we would get clown fish. So, with that we began researching the perfect environment for clown fish. We looked up the pH level required, what food they ate, the salinity required, and various other aspects. Alot of research was put into this tank before we even started to set it up.
The set up of the tank itself, without fish, required extensive care and watchfulness. Every class we took a step closer to being able to put our fish into the tank. First we had to clean the sand, as well as the tank and purify the water. We had to add small amounts of salt with the water to make sure the salinity was at a constant level and the right one as well. Slowly we added things like abiotic objects because we had to do this in a process. A week or two went by and we added biotic objects into the tank.
Some abiotic things we put into the fishtank were sand (obviously), rocks, and our filters. However, it's difficult to say any of those are "abiotic", or nonbreathing, because they have small bacteria within each of those. So to say they are "abiotic" would be a false statement. A few of the biotic objects we placed into our tank were the two clown fish named Link and FiFi, a few hermit crabs and starfish, sea anemenes, live rocks and sea grass.
Kim-From this class I've learned alot about not only marine biology but also responsibility. It's taken alot of responsibility and time management in order to maintain Lauren and I's tank. I learned that pH levels were important and that you needed to be sure that they stayed at a constant level. I also learned that clown fish cannot mate with Jason's fish in the tank. I learned that sea anemenes multiply really uren-quickly and that we need to make sure they do not overthrow the tank.
Lauren- So far I learned a ton about marine biology that i didn't know before. I also learned to mangage a salt water tank which is a lot of responsibility. It's also a pain in the butt with only two people in a group... anyways. I really loved this class and i'm even thinking about studying bio in college.
-Kim & Lauren
We began our "project" by researching many different saltwater fish and plants. We went into this project thinking we would have a seahorse, which we soon realized was not something we wanted to deal with. Due to the fact that seahorses are not very entertaining, and very high maintainance. However we did come to the consensus that we would get clown fish. So, with that we began researching the perfect environment for clown fish. We looked up the pH level required, what food they ate, the salinity required, and various other aspects. Alot of research was put into this tank before we even started to set it up.
The set up of the tank itself, without fish, required extensive care and watchfulness. Every class we took a step closer to being able to put our fish into the tank. First we had to clean the sand, as well as the tank and purify the water. We had to add small amounts of salt with the water to make sure the salinity was at a constant level and the right one as well. Slowly we added things like abiotic objects because we had to do this in a process. A week or two went by and we added biotic objects into the tank.
Some abiotic things we put into the fishtank were sand (obviously), rocks, and our filters. However, it's difficult to say any of those are "abiotic", or nonbreathing, because they have small bacteria within each of those. So to say they are "abiotic" would be a false statement. A few of the biotic objects we placed into our tank were the two clown fish named Link and FiFi, a few hermit crabs and starfish, sea anemenes, live rocks and sea grass.
Kim-From this class I've learned alot about not only marine biology but also responsibility. It's taken alot of responsibility and time management in order to maintain Lauren and I's tank. I learned that pH levels were important and that you needed to be sure that they stayed at a constant level. I also learned that clown fish cannot mate with Jason's fish in the tank. I learned that sea anemenes multiply really uren-quickly and that we need to make sure they do not overthrow the tank.
Lauren- So far I learned a ton about marine biology that i didn't know before. I also learned to mangage a salt water tank which is a lot of responsibility. It's also a pain in the butt with only two people in a group... anyways. I really loved this class and i'm even thinking about studying bio in college.
-Kim & Lauren