Husky time journal

Today, Apr 17, 2014, we decided to find the frog in both upper and lower pond and also observe the living habitat of it. As Mr. Shackett told us, he saw a frog just across the pond a few days ago, so we observed the near side of the ground and the pond. But because of the cold weather, we only did find out several fishes in the upper pond, except is nothing. Although we did not find any frogs, we find out how the frog's life will be, what species will it live with, also some small insects that it will eat.

Today we continued with testing our water and plant quality. Therefore we first set up a phosphate test which gave us a result of close to zero. Also, we tested the level of  Alkalinity and that showed us a normal result in between 1.7 and 2.8.

The reason why we tested phosphate is because if the level of phosphate is too high, it allows more and more algae to grow and that creates an overusing of oxygen. If they cut off all the oxygen from other organisms, these organism could be harmed. Alkalinity is also important for treating acidic waters and leading them back to the pH value they want.

For our overall goal it was important to know howthose two influence water quality and the organisms in it.

Starfish Tank April 17, 2014

April 17, 2014
       Today usual checks on salinity and water temperature were made, to ensure the environment is able to support the organisms. Both were at correct levels. Recently two starfish, a chocolate tip and brittle starfish, were introduced to the tank. The brittle starfish was placed in another tank after we discovered the chocolate tip starfish was attacking it and tearing off parts of the brittle starfish's limbs. Since then, the only organism other than algae has been the chocolate tip starfish, so to create bio-diversity, two hermit crabs were introduced to the tank from a coral reef tank (where the brittle starfish now lives). The hermit crabs could possibly help clean the tank naturally. The hermit crabs are quite agile and fast, so we are not worried about the chocolate tip preying on them. A basic algae scrub of the tank was also preformed to help keep the tank clean. We also added a light-timer to the lighting system. Lighting is how the organisms act, and too much light can stress out organisms. This timer is extremely important in providing a healthy environment. Next class we will be able to see if there are any conflicts between the starfish and hermit crabs.

Journal entry

Today, we observed two ponds in order to catch a frog. Unfortunately, we could not be able to see any frogs due to the cold weather. We saw fish swimming all around the upper pond. Our original purpose was to catch a frog, so we can put it in our tank and observe its features and habits. Then we can release it in the lower or upper pond easily after we finish the project. Moreover, we observed the environment of the pond, thus gave us ideas how to improve our tank. We can catch insects into the tank to mimick the pond. Our frog eggs are coming and I think we are fully prepared for the project.

Husky Time April 17

Today at the freshwater tank, we did maintenance and testing. Our first test was Phosphate (PO4), which came up with 0ppm as the final result for the water, which was normal for an enclosed space like a tank. Our second test was with Alkalinity, where we had a healthy level between 1.7 and 2.8 milli equivalents per liter, which we discovered meant that the lake had a way to "deflect" and neutralize acids that were introduced to the water. Other things done today were refilling the tank to the top, a plant growth check, and filling the filter so it could run. What we did today gave us further understanding of the properties of the lake, and I'm not sure as to what we're going to do next time.

Journal 4.17

Today is cold comparing with Monday, and we went outside to try to find any sign of a frog or frog eggs. We first went around upper pond, but only saw several fishes in it. Then we went all the way to lower pond, which had deeper water and was bigger. Still, no sign of a frog. We were wondering the reason of that, and came to a conclusion that the weather was too cold for frogs to come out. Although we did not catch a frog, we did observe the environment that frogs lived in. Around and in the pond, there were bugs and mud. The environment provided enough food and shelter for frogs to survive. Hopefully we will catch a frog next time on a warmer day.

Yeva

February 20th 2014 Echinoderm Journal Entry

February 20th, 2014
       Today I cleaned up a lot of the salt that has collected on most of the equipment in the tank. Previously we had tried to prevent the further growth of an algae by using  a chemical that was designed not to harm other organisms in the tank. Today the algae looked as if it had bloomed even more, and any temporary effects of the chemicals were lost. This algae could prevent us from being able to properly support starfish in the tank. Starfish specimens for dissection have been made
available, and these could be extremely useful for understanding the generation properties of starfish, one of the main goals of this project. Today was also a progress check on our Thesis papers with Mr. Shackett. My thesis is that starfish have stood the tests of millions of years, but even being able to
regenerate can't help them survive the negative impact of humans on the earth. This progress check is important because the due date is approaching and the thesis is a big part of our grade.