Hello! This is our setup for an experiment compares the health of basil grown conventionally (in the soil) to that of basil grown through aquaponics.*
Q: What is the purpose of this investigation?
A: The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether a deep water culture aquaponics system can simultaneously provide enough nutrients to grow large-leaf basil (Ocimum basilicum) and filter the water in a fish tank enough to provide a livable habitat for common goldfish (Carassius auratus).
Q: Your hypothesis, please.
A: If a deep water culture aquaponic system is arranged to grow basil, parsley, and other similarly leafy plants, then the plants in the aquaponic system will grow faster and larger than plants in a regular soil bed.
Q: What kind of qualitative data will you collect?
A: In this experiment, our qualitative data will include the color and general appearance of the basil plants, where we hope to see them stay green with no withering occurring. Also, we will observe the apparent health of the fish and the quality of the tank’s water, where we expect the fish to remain active and healthy with regular feeding, and the water to remain relatively clear with some slight buildup of organic matter.
Q: What kind of quantitative data will you collect?
A: We will measure the height of each basil plant in centimeters as well as the temperature (in degrees Celsius), nitrate levels (in parts per million, ppm), nitrite levels (also in ppm) and pH of the tank water.
Q: When/how often will you collect it?
A: We will collect data every 2 days starting on Monday of each week so that we obtain three data points per measurement per week.
Q: How will you measure/record your data?
A: pH will be measured with test strips, temperature with a mercury thermometer, and plant height with a tape measure.
Q: How will you document your progress for the scientific community?
A: This is it! This website has a graph and data table that get updated on every other weekday evening. Our homepage: www.plantdoctors.weebly.com.
Q: How will you report your final data to the scientific community?
A: Through graphs that will be published on the Final Data page.
Q: How will you know your experiment is a success?
We will consider our experiment a success if the majority (6+) of our fish are still alive at the end of the investigation and if we have managed to grow harvestable basil.
*We are using floating foam rafts, which contain holes for the conical (top) portions of water bottles containing clay pellets.