Question

Bethany has a fish tank at her house. She uses the following data table to keep track of the nitrate and phosphate levels in the tank.

Month Nitrates Phosphates
January 8.0 mg/L 0.010 mg/L
February 8.1 mg/L 0.010 mg/L
March 7.9 mg/L 0.009 mg/L
April 9.2 mg/L 0.012 mg/L
May 9.7 mg/L 0.020 mg/L
June 9.9 mg/L 0.029 mg/L
July 10.6 mg/L 0.032 mg/L
August 10.8 mg/L 0.038 mg/L
September 11.0 mg/L 0.036 mg/L

Bethany notices that the fish tank is gradually filling with algae. Based on the data she has collected, when did the problem most likely start? Explain.

Answer 1

sudden increase of Nitrate and Phosphate in March to April that occurred, it causes the fish tank to produce algae

Answer 2

The answer is: the problem start at April.

In April, there is increase in concentration of nitrates (from 7.9 mg/L to 9.2 mg/L) and increase in concentration of phosphates (from 0.009 mg/L to 0.012 mg/L).

If the aquarium is not properly maintained, the nitrate and the phosphate levels will continually rise and contribute to algae growth.

Water changes keep nitrates and phosphates down.