Starting the MicroAquarium

In lab on Tuesday, I set up my MicroAquarium. After Dr. McFarland explained to us the basics of the project, he went on to show us thirteen different water samples that he had collected, and told us about where each one had been found. I chose to use sample #10 from Lynnhurst Cemetary, the details of which are below.

10. Water pool below spring. Lynnhurst Cemetery off of Adair Drive. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure Spring Feed Pond N36 01.357 W83 55.731 958 ft 10/9/2011


After attaching the base to the rest of the MicroAquarium, I extracted a layer of mud and water from the bottom of the sample and added it to the aquarium. I then added a layer from the middle of the sample, and a final layer from the top. I used water from different layers in order to hopefully capture different types of microorganisms that may be living in the three layers. Afterwards I added samples of the two following plants:
Plant A . Amblestegium sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/9/2011
Plant B. Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.


I finished the setup of my MicroAquarium by adding a cover in order to decrease evaporation rates which may have otherwise caused changes to my results.