Starting a tank for a Science Project

[co05]

Hello, I am taking 10th grade biology and we are required to do a science project. I have NEVER had a fish tank but I decided to do a project on fish in an aquarium. I intended to see what the difference between a tank aerated by a pump and plant was but I have some questions on that topic.
Can you aerate a tank by plants only?
How would I measure results? Put the fish in a bag of water and weigh them?
How do fish react to different levels of oxygen?
Is this even experimentable?

Help!

 

[fish_4_all]

Oxygen saturation testing device of some kind is all I can think of.

 

[OceanMist]

If your only cause of setting up an aquarium is a science experiment, and you have no genuine interest in the hobby, I would advise you to think of somthing else, a healthy aquarium would require continual monitoring and may also cost a fair amount to set up, I cannot think of any reasonable ways to measure the oxygen level in the water. HTH

 

[JDogg]

Can you aerate a tank by plants only?

Sure

How would I measure results? Put the fish in a bag of water and weigh them?

you can order dissolved oxygen test, (teacher can order from science catalog, like Flinn Scientific)

How do fish react to different levels of oxygen?

i think this is part of your experiment

Is this even experimentable?

depends on how much time and $$ you have, i would suggest first do some research on aquariums in general and how to set them up properly, the type of plant, fish and size of tank you want to use in your experiment, also how do you plan to take care of the cycle?

i am a science teacher and i do pretty much the same thing you are proposing, not including the air pump, using elodea (easy to grow aquatic plant), and pond snails in a test tube...this would definitely be the cheaper way to go, also most humane for the fish.

 

[co05]

Thanks everyone.

I do have an interest in aquarium and fish but I've just never owned a tank.

Uhm, there are a few things I need to know before getting into this:
1) How much should I expect to spend? I don't plan on getting a large tanks, probably a few small ones that I can easily monitor and keep on a desk.

2)What is a cycle?

3) Does anyone have good beginners/informative websites that would be useful?

 

[OceanMist]

I do have an interest in aquarium and fish but I've just never owned a tank.

Okay, thats good


1) I couldn't give a cost as i'm not familiar with US $, however tanks can be picked up pretty cheaply without stands etc, expect to pay more for lighting & filteration ... heaters aren't too expensive, you will also need gravel/sand/fish/plants/decor ...

2) see; http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

3) ask questions here!

 

[JDogg]

size of tank and all that depends on what type of fish you want...but if you want small fish, like a betta (not a goldfish, no matter what fish store people tell you, goldfish need big tanks) then you could use a couple of these http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Pro...5+5046+30+5545_sku_990965_familyID_10313.aspx

 

[WaterPond]

just curious, do you plan on keeping this aquarium running and take care of it after this science project?

 

[co05]

Heaters: Do I really need one? I live in Hawaii and it is a constant 75-80 degrees every day.
Is there a quality difference between the air from a plant and a pump?
Would a smaller tank (2.5 gal) suffice for an experiment like this?

Problem: I have an assignment due for this on monday. I need to name it (easy), list procedures and materials. As of now, I have no clue what my variables, control, etc will be.

And yes, I do plan on taking care of it when it is over.

 

[sirwired]

I think you will have to come up with another project idea...

1) Most aquarium fish live at least a couple of years if properly cared for. This is just a science project. Unless you want to take on the upkeep of these guys probably until you leave for college (and then maybe some after that), don't get fish.
2) The small tanks you have in mind actually require far more upkeep than a decent-size tank. (29g and up). This is because it is much harder to keep the water chemistry stable in a smaller tank.
3) Water chemistry affects fish FAR more than available oxygen in the water. Maintaining proper water chemistry in a tank with significant stock (to avoid killing the fish with Ammonia poisoning) requires one of two things:
A) VERY frequent water changes. (We are talking 3-10 times per week here)
B) Proper filtration.
Unfortunately for you, both of those things will completely screw up your experiment, as changed water will remove/replace anything your plants may have done to the O2 levels, and all cheap filtration methods are either powered by an air pump or will agitate the water surface, which will ALSO mess up your oxygen levels.

In real, live, fish tanks, most of the oxygen is provided by exchange that takes place at the water's surface. (We'll leave air-breathing fish like Bettas out of it for now.) In lightly-stocked non-tropical tanks, you can get away with no artificial agitation. However, in pretty much all tropical tanks (warmer water has a lower dissolved oxygen content), the surface of the water is continually agitated via either an air pump or water pump on a filter. While plants can be beneficial to water chemistry, they really don't do much for the oxygen content...

If you still want fish...

Maybe instead of fooling around with plants and O2 levels, you could perform breeding experiments with Guppies... Find recessive and dominant traits between male and female pairs. Such an experiment would still require work, but you could get away with several fairly small (and cheap) tanks, since you would have to mate up individual pairs for this to work. For filtration, you could use one small cycled sponge filter in each tank powered by a single decent-sized air pump that would take care of all the tanks.

SirWired

 

[hc8719]

co05 i got a better experiment for you.

get 6 goldfish, or neons or whatever

split the fish up into two different tank, or put a divider in

feed the fish some of the really high quality fish food, and the others the crappy quality, and see if the higher quality really does give fish healthier colors

you may need a third group fed normal food as a control

put please think of the fish in the long run, if you get goldies, remember they get 10"+ and live for 20 years (i got mine a 8 cent feeder fish, when i was 7, and they lived for 11 years)

neon tetras are good as they are undemading, and really plump up as you feed them, so you may notice a big difference

 

[co05]

HEY, thanks hc8719. That DOES sound like an easier experiment. Neon tetras sound like hardy fish, so it would probably be easier. One more question though, would size of fish be as testable as the color of fish? Would quality of food affect fish size?

 

[Burks]

Would quality of food affect fish size?

It sure would. Imagine if you ate complete junk food with no nutritional value. You wouldn't be very healthy at all. Now if you go on a high nutrient based diet you would look very fit and grow at the proper speed.

With Neon's I'd just get whatever size of fish they have in the store. Just make sure they are close to the same size. Mine are much larger than the day I bought them, close to 2x maybe 3x their original size.

 

[OceanMist]

How long exactly do you have to complete this experiment? as this will likely rule out many things you can do with an aquarium, you just can't rush it ... the cycle alone could take a month!

... for example, the food experiment would work, although I would guess it would take a fair few weeks to visually notice any difference between the fish.

 

[sirwired]

Oohhh... we are on a roll here... instead of feeding fish really bad food (which could take months to show effects), you could examine the effects of different "color enhancing" foods, and compare them with plain.

SirWired

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Neon tetras, in my experience, are not hardy at all. I would suggest guppies, mollies, or even danios for such an experiment.
Also, I read a fascinating article about the effects of Vitamin C in fish. I will see if i can find it for you.

Other things to test would be:
live food vs flake food
salinity levels and molly breeding/fry growth
anything to do with the survival of goodied livebearers (improving their survival)
lighting requirements for fish only aquaria
current effects
simulated tide effects on freshwater fish
music for fish stimulation

Also, if you are interested in doing something concerning aquaculture, perhaps you could look into experiments with brine shrimp.

 

[OceanMist]

which could take months to show effects

not to mention lowering the fishes health and immune system.

I wouldn't reccomend purposely giving them low quality food.

 

[OceanMist]

instead of using fish why not use plants?, you could investigate the effects of CO2 on plants (from what I have read, DIY CO2 bottles seem pretty easy to build, although I have never tried) use 2 tanks, you could use the same lighting, filteration, water and plants in each tank, only rig one tank with a CO2 bottle, use low light plants and you wont need to spend a fortune on lighting. some plants also grow quite quickly, so you wouldn't have problems with not noticing any change in the fish.

 

[jsoong]

Plants! That is a great idea.

You can investigate the effect of nutrients. Since you are in Hawaii, you won't even need fish tanks. All you need are a bunch of 2 gal tubs & leave them outdoors for light. You can have a tub with a balanced fertilizer mix, and other tubs deficient in N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe ..... etc. Grow a bunch of pond plants in each tub & observe results. (Post pics when you are done, the members of the plant forum would be interested .... even write an article if you are so inclined!)

If you still want to work with fish, I'd suggest zebra danios rather than golds or neons ... hardier & more likely to survive your initial cycle.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Make sure you pick hardy fish (please no goldfish) because if the fish dies your experiment could be disqualified. Also, you will have to write to the science fair committee and fill out extra forms to get your project approved.

I know because I did it two years ago and they are tough on anyone who wants to use live animals in experiments.