Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

In my science fair project I filled 6 aquariums to the top with water. Then I put in minnows. All of them dies and that made the ammonia levels go very high. Now I have 3 ways of removing them

1.putting in ammonia remover bottle solution
2. Putting in a plant
3.removing 20%water every 3 days

The results showed that the ammonia remover bottle had the best. I measured it my getting an ammonia test kit and measuring every 3days. How can I improve this project. Please help me as soon as possible

Hi,

I assume your project is no longer about algae, right?

Dead fish will certainly contaminate aquarium water as they decompose and the ammonia may come from bacteria that are eating the fish. You could try putting a small amount of clorox--maybe one drop--into the water to kill the bacteria and see if that reduces the ammonia.

Is there something you can use to absorb the ammonia--maybe charcoal? Filtering might also be good as it should remove the bacteria and the fish bits and that should clear up the water. If you want to test the bacteria hypothesis some more, you could try adding something like antibacterial soap or mouthwash. I really don't know what will work, so you'll just have to try it and see.

Good luck,

Sybee