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Env Sci 1 Lab Report Bottle Aquarium

Group 1 created a bottle aquarium ecosystem with water, sand, a plant, and two fish. One fish died after a few days likely due to lack of oxygen, food, and too much sunlight. The remaining fish survived the month as the nitrogen cycle balanced the system, regulating ammonia, nitrite, and pH levels. Nitrate levels increased then decreased as the plant used nitrates for growth through denitrification by cyanobacteria. The interactions of biotic and abiotic factors through the nitrogen cycle supported life in the closed bottle ecosystem.

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Jessabelle Ibañez
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246 views6 pages

Env Sci 1 Lab Report Bottle Aquarium

Group 1 created a bottle aquarium ecosystem with water, sand, a plant, and two fish. One fish died after a few days likely due to lack of oxygen, food, and too much sunlight. The remaining fish survived the month as the nitrogen cycle balanced the system, regulating ammonia, nitrite, and pH levels. Nitrate levels increased then decreased as the plant used nitrates for growth through denitrification by cyanobacteria. The interactions of biotic and abiotic factors through the nitrogen cycle supported life in the closed bottle ecosystem.

Uploaded by

Jessabelle Ibañez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Group1

Abenojar,Alex

EnvSci1
LaboratoryReport

November10,2015
Prof.BenjaminVallejo

Camagay,Pia
Guballa,Maybelle
Ibaez,Jessabelle
Milambilin,Eubie

BottleAquarium

Introduction

The bottle aquarium project was introduced in class as a culminating activity for the
discussion of biogeochemical cycles. Students were tasked to create a bottle aquarium and to
take care of it for one month (15 September15October2015).Thepurposeofthisproject was
to model a closed ecosystem, through which students could directly observe the effects of a
biogeochemical cycle (the nitrogen cycle). This microcosm setup allowed students to observe
changes brought about by the interactions between certain biotic (fishes and plants) and abiotic
(water, sunlight, minerals, etc.) factors. The ultimate goal of the experiment was to keep the
fishesalive.

Objectives

1. ToobservehowtheMatter,Energy,andLivingSystemsInterconnectionTheoryapplies
inaclosedecosystemsetup
2. Toobservetheprocessesandeffectsofthenitrogencycleinsideanaquarium
3. Tomeasureandmonitortheammonia,pH,nitrate,andnitritelevelsofthewaterinside
theaquarium(tocreateanequilibriumstate)
4. Tocreateanenvironmentthatishabitableforthe(2)fishes

Hypothesis

Aclosedsystemenvironmentcanbehabitablebyregulatingandmonitoringtheflowof
matter,energy,andlivingorganisms.
Materials

1gallonofdistilledwater(plasticcontainerandcap)
1kilowhiteaquariumsand
1freshwaterplant
2blackguppy

fish
Aquariumreagents
Syringe(withoutneedle)

Procedure

Theclasswasdividedinto8groupsconsistingof56memberseach.

I.

GroupDynamics
The group met the first time 3 meetings before the experiment started. Members agreed

to create a Facebook chat group where they can talk about the project. Most group plans were
discussed online. Sinceitwasrequiredtocheckthebottleaquariumeveryday,membersresolved
to create an assignment plan of personsincharge for each day. A schedule matrix was created
through Google Spreadsheets to help members see each others schedules and set the project
calendar(seefiguresbelow).

ColorcodedScheduleMatrix(Blockswithcolorindicatedunavailabilityofmember)

II.

PreparationofMaterials
Each group was asked to each bring 1 gallon of distilled water, aquarium sand, and a

syringe.Thereagents,fishandtheplants,wereboughtbytheprofessor.

III.

BottlePreparation
The label of the bottle was removed. The group reduced the amount of water in the

container and covered the bottom of the bottle with about 1 inch of white aquarium sand. Each
groupwasgivenadifferentplantfortheiraquariums.Group1receiveda
vallisneria
.

III.

AddingtheLivestock
The two guppies were added. The group was not able to tell whether both fish are

male/female or one is male and the other is female. But they decided to name their fishes
Ben
and
Val
fornovelty.

IV.

BottleCare
The group triedtofeed thefisheveryotherday.Onanaverage,the fish wasfed3timesa

week.Thebottlewaskeptoutofdirectsunlight.ThewatersweretestedeveryTuesday.

DataandResults

The group had not been abletocheckontheaquariumfor4dayssincethefirst timethey


put the fishes inside (September 17). The next time they went into the lab (September 22),they
found out that one of the fishes had died (Val). Theremainingfish(Ben)haditsfirstfeedingon
September 22nd. Two days after the first feeding, the group tested the water for pH, ammonia,
nitrite, and nitrate levels. Water wastested3timesthroughouttheexperimentperiod: September
24th, October 6th, and October 13th. The following table summarizes the data gathered in the
tests:

Testingdate
September24

pH
6.0

High
NH
4
rangepH

0.50ppm

NO
2

NO
3

0.25ppm

0ppm

October6
October13

7.2
8.4

0.25ppm
0.15ppm

0.25ppm
0ppm

5.0ppm
0ppm

The group stopped testing the water on the Tuesday of the last week for the experiment
period. But they still checked onthe fish fromtimeto time,albeitnotasregularlyasbefore.The
groupdiscoveredthatthefishdied(October27),probablybecauseitwasnotgivenenoughfood.

Analysis

The first fish (Val) is speculated to have died duetothreefactors:(1)toomuchsunlight,


(2)lackoffood,and(3)lackofoxygen.Sincetherearetwofishes,oxygenproducedbytheplant
may not have been enough to sustain both fishes. The remaining fish (Ben) survived the
monthlong duration of the experiment as the cycle in the enclosed environment became more
stabilized.
Ammonium content spiked during the first water test most likely due to thedecayofthe
dead fish during the first few days. The dead fish was taken out of the environment to keep
ammoniumcontentfromrising,sinceammoniumisthoughttobeone ofthekillersoffishes.The
group allowed several days for the system to regulate without the presence ofthe deadfish,and
the ammonium concentration was seentohavedecreasedsignificantly. Ammonia wassincethen
continuously regulated through fish waste, respiration, and other biological processes. On
October 13th, the ammonium level almost reached the recommendedconcentration(0.1ppm)at
0.15 ppm. The group considers this to be the effect of the nitrogen cycle balancing the
concentrations over a significantamountoftime,especiallywiththepresenceofanaquaticplant
which consumes the ammonia. Furthermore, it is surmised that the pinch of fish food given
during the first few feedings may have likewise contributed to the decrease of ammonium

concentration. Each pinch contained only three or four beads of fishfood.Inaddition,ammonia


is"food"fornitrifyingbacteria,whicharealwayspresentinthewaterandcanproducenitrite.
Nitrite in the environment was observed to be consistent at0.25ppmwithinthefirstfew
weeks despite the significant changes in ammonium concentration. This could possibly have
been caused by the lack of nitrifying bacteria. Nitrifying bacteria in aquariumsoftencomefrom
the filter. Since our aquarium was a closed system, it prevented bacteria from entering through
the air. Additionally, the sand we used was washed sand from the pet store. The water did not
blur when this was added, indicating that any bacteria that may have been in the sand was
removed in the washing process. The most likely source ofthenitrifyingbacteriainthebottleis
the fish themselves. There could be nitrifying bacteria in their gills, on their scales but most
importantly, in and around their excretory organs, acquired from the aquarium they lived in
before they were transferred to the bottle aquarium. (This is largely possible, just like how
human bottoms are densely populated with
E. coli
). However, nitrifying bacteria take time to
sufficiently colonise the filter in the fish tank so, in the meantime, waste products accumulated
and potentially kill the other fish. Nitrifying bacteria are reproductivelyinefficient,soittakesa
long time for them to build up a large population enough to clean the bottle aquarium. The
consistent concentration of nitrite was not caused bythecompleteabsenceofnitrifyingbacteria,
butjustbytoosmallapopulation.
Nitrate is seen to have started with 0ppm. This may havebeencausedbynotfeedingthe
fish. Nitrate mainly comes from decayingorganicmatterandfishfood,whichwereabsentinthe
beginning of the experiment before the test occurred. The dead fish was taken away from the
bottle aquarium before it started to rot so there wasnochangein nitrateconcentration.
Nitrate

may have also come from the sand that contains organic matter, which contains nitrogen
compounds. It is understandable that Nitrate concentration increased in the third week because
by then, a significant amount of fish waste and fish food may have been produced. The
significant drop in Nitrate concentration on the fourth week is inferred to have been a product
denitrification by cyanobacteria in the plants. According to research, the chloroplast in plants is
actually a cyanobacterium living within the plants cells (UCMP Berkeley). The decrease in
nitrate concentration may also be associated with low oxygen concentrations that are probably
causedbydenitrification.Moreover,thefastertheplantgrows,themorenitratesittakesup.

Conclusion

The cycle and interaction of matter, energy, and livingsystemssupportedlifeinaclosed


ecosystem. The nitrogen cycle helped in regulating the level of concentrations of the pH,
ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite that are sufficient to maintain a balanced environment for the fish.
Also, since it is a closed set up, there was nothing from the outside except for the sunlight
that interfered with the system that could have affected the cycle within the closed ecosystem.
Therefore, these conditions made the setup habitable for the fishes. Although one of the fishes
did not live long, the other one was able to live as the cycles inside the closed environment
continuedtoflowsupportinghismonthlongsurvival.

References
UCMPBerkeley.IntroductiontotheCyanobacteria:Architectsofearth'satmosphere.Retrieved
November8,2015,fromUCMPBerkeley:http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanointro.html

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