Charlie the Fish!
Purpose for our group name: We have a small, white fish that we have named Charlie, since he is the runt of the group of fish we have. We decided to make him special to our hearts. Please look for updates about Charlie, our other fish, and our project in our blog at the bottom of this page! -Katie, Coralie, Marie
Purpose for our group name: We have a small, white fish that we have named Charlie, since he is the runt of the group of fish we have. We decided to make him special to our hearts. Please look for updates about Charlie, our other fish, and our project in our blog at the bottom of this page! -Katie, Coralie, Marie
Problem/Question
An aquaponics system is growing plants from fish waste, and recycling the left over water from the plants back to the fish. The plants, however, depend on mass amount of waste from the fish to support their growth. The fish food that we will give our fish will have a certain amount of protein in it. Our question is whether or not the amount of protein in the fish food will affect the height, leaves, and colour of the plants, and how well the plants will grow from the fish waste, or whether or not the plants will die because of the amount of protein in the fish food. Plants: Spearmint (Mentha spicata), Basil (Ocimum basilicum), and Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum).
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hYpotheis
Our hypothesis is that the if the Carassius auratus are fed a supplement of food a certain amount of times per week with a certain amount of protein located inside the food, then our fish will be able to grow the plants and give them the nutrients they need to thrive and grow.
Methodology (Materials included)
1. Set up the aquaponics system by filling the tank with water about halfway (non-chlorinated; it might be necessary to add certain drops to de-chlorinate water) and putting 7 Carassius auratus, or comet goldfish, into the tank. Then place 2 growing beds on the tank so that they rest across the top and poke small hole in the bottom to let the water drain into one of them. add a layer of soil around 3-6 inches thick. Place Ocimum basilicum, Mentha spicata, and Coriandrum sativum (basil, mint, and cilantro) seeds in the soil beds and cover them up with a very thin layer of soil. take the netting off and put half of each type of plant into one of the growing beds, and the other half in the other. Be sure to place them in neat rows and label the plants. Also put a pump in the tank and place the end of the tubing into the growing bed above it. Set up the lights where both plant beds receive equal amount. Your system is set.
2. Every three days, using a ruler, measure the total length of the plant by gently holding the tip of the plant and measuring it from the soil to the tip in cm. Also, count the number of leaves on the plant. Do this for both the aquaponics plant and the plants in traditional soil beds.
3. Every 5 days, measure the pH of the soil with a soil tester kit. It can be digital or another sort of testing kit.
4. Repeat steps 2-3.
Materials
- 7 Comet Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
- Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
- Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
- Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
- Two daylights (for growth of plants)
- One 3-5 gallon tank
- Fertilizer/Soil
- Pumps/Drain
- Pipes/Tubing
- Fish Food
- 2 tupperware (will be used as growing beds)
WHat, how, and when of data collection
Plant and fish growth will be measured with a tape measure and recorded in separate tables before being converted into graphs after every two weeks. Conditional changes with the tank, goldfish diet, or growth will be recorded on a daily basis before also being converted into graphs. Temperature and pH will also be recorded if there are any necessary changes with them.
How data will be analyzedData will be analyzed throughout the course of the experiment. We will be recording of how much waste the fish excrete, how that correlates with plant growth, and the rate at which each plant grows within a set period of time by recording the data over time. Also the amount of food given to each fish will be measured (in grams) and recorded before feeding. We will present this day to day progression through line graphs at the end of our experiment.
To determine the which method of growing plants is better, aquaponics or the conventional way, we will be comparing the weights of each type of plant that is harvested, at the end of the experiment, from the two system (example: all the basil from aquaponics vs. all the basil from the control). |
How data will be reported/presentedData will be presented through charts of each plants’ total growth (example: total heights, in cm, of all the mint plants in the aquaponics system), representing the growth of different types of plants in the soil vs. the growth of plants in an aquaponics system. Any changes that are made to the goldfishes feeding cycles or change in the goldfish in any way will be recorded in a table that will be on a week to week basis.
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Systems diagram
Before picture |
Current labels/set up
Our light in the back is providing equal amounts of light, however, we have it supported by two boxes stacked on top of each other, which has been working quite well for our group! However, in the future, we might change how the lights are set up to provide a more stable set up for our lights. The plants we are using are growing in regular garden soil, like the things you would find at Home Depot to try and start a vegetable garden.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis is that the if the Carassius auratus are fed a supplement of food a certain amount of times per week with a certain amount of protein located inside the food, then our fish will be able to grow the plants and give them the nutrients they need to thrive and grow.
Literature review
The aquaponic cultures can have a 20–25 percent higher yield than the most intensive soil-based cultures, although data collected by hydroponic experts claim productivity is 2–5 times higher. This is when hydroponic cultures use lots of greenhouse management, including inputs that sterilize and fertilize the plants. Even without these inputs, aquaponic techniques were described to possibly equal hydroponic yields and be more productive than soil cultures. The main reason is that soil-less culture allows the farmer to monitor, maintain, and adjust the growing conditions for the plants. This helps ensure that there’s the best nutrient balances, water delivery, pH and temperature.
APA reference:
Plants in Aquaponics. Retrieved January 14, 2017, from Food and Agriculture Organization, http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/i4021e06.pdf
APA reference:
Plants in Aquaponics. Retrieved January 14, 2017, from Food and Agriculture Organization, http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/i4021e06.pdf
Dependent variable?The height of plants.
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independent variable?The plants located being used with the aquaponics unit (with the crude protein and waste filled water), and the plants located outside of the aquaponics system (being grown with tap water).
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Control Variables
Our 7 goldfish, our light source, and the amount of food given to the fish in one time setting (in the morning, after school).
Experimental group?Our experimental group is the group of plants (basil, cilantro, and spearmint) that will receive the water from the aquaponics tank and the waste filled water will be delivered to the soil through a pipe that will run into the soil.
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COntrol group?All three plants (basil, cilantro, and spearmint) will be grown in soil and will be watered at least 3-5 times a week, but will not receive any water from the aquaponics group.
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WHat unexpected challenges have you had thus far?
Connecting the pipe from the tank to the aquaponics control groupm finding a way to keep all fish feed so that they don’t perish, finishing the complete set-up of the tank, and making sure we have all materials so that the experiment goes exactly as planned by our procedure.
How will you know your experiment will be a success?
We will know our experiment is a success if we are able to put the right amount of food in the fish tank when the comet goldfish need to fed, and if they produce a large amount of waste to grow a set of plants.
How our experiment address energy dynamics?
Energy will be transferred to the plants from both the fish (in the amount of nutrients in their waste) and from the daylights (in the measure of lux or lumen/m2 (metric units)). This will also have to be taken into account that the fish will give their nutrients also every other day, and the light will be constantly shining on the plants with no stop until their growth is complete. Each plant might weigh differently which can affect how much light is absorbed into their cells, but that should not alter the results that our group find in the end.
NET PRODUCTIVITY DIAGRAM
The 70-90% of energy from the daylight to the plants that creates oxygen to start the respiration process minus the release from respiration/photosynthesis, which was about 90-100% of oxygen (not counting the sugars taken in by the plants), would give us about a 10-30% net productivity of oxygen released and used in our aquaponics system.
FORMULA: Net Productivity = Gross Productivity (release from photosynthesis/ respiration) - respiration (consumption of oxygen in respiration) |
What has been going well?The plants in the tap water group are growing extremely well within the past few weeks and have shown surprising amounts of good health and continuous growth. Most of our fish have been okay living in their tank and have shown no problems or signs of malnutrition or discomfort. Our group has also done very well in recording all data with correct dates and information, as well as communication of who does what when it needs to be done.
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What has not been going well?Our aquaponics group has not been growing as much as we all planned they would, and the ammonia levels in our tank have been at stress to danger for the past two weeks. We are trying an air pump to fix some of the levels of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia, however we are not sure how effective it will be. As of 2/15/17, we have lost our first fish in the experiment due to extremely high levels of nitrate and nitrite, although our ammonia levels have decreased significantly. This reflects back that we are either: 1) Feeding our fish to much and the food is sinking to the bottom and causing it or 2) Our tank is not clean and we need out the water more often to maintaining stable levels of all chemicals.
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WHat we need to adjust?
The water in our tank was a muddy color so we decided to remove some of the water from the tank and add more to make it improve. We believe that this will improve our nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia levels as well as our aquaponics plants. we also remove the colored rocks in our tank because they've been causing a dirt build up in the tank. We also need to not overfeed our fish as it causes a dirt build up in the tank, and clean the tank at least 1-2 times every 2 weeks. We also need to maintain a steady flow of our in our tank with our air pump and make sure that no holes have gotten onto the pipeline or it hasn't come out of the tank.
COmparative data of growth of plants
(spearmint, basil, cilantro)
IN OUR AQUAPONICS SYSTEM... A NITROGEN CYCLE OCCURS!!
This picture of our aquaponics system shows the nitrogen cycle (with labels and some colour), that takes place 24/7 in our system. Without this cycle in our system, our system would have never started, and kept occurring the way that it does. The nitrogen cycle is one of the most important processes while maintaining an aquaponics tank.