A Real Fixer Upper

As promised, this week is all about the setup for the bioturbation and biochemical analysis experiment. Today I finished the experimental setup and built the remaining furniture pieces that I needed for this work. In the pilot experiment, I used a folding table as the aquarium stand, and quickly learned that the table was not meant to support much weight. This caused bowing in the center of the table, which also added an extra step to the photo analysis process, as I used the end of the table for the photography setup (the photographs were all on a slant and I'm not great with tripods to adjust for the slope). The new aquarium stand, pictured here, is all metal and is designed to support this aquarium. Sadly, this will be the only time I use this aquarium and stand, so I will likely sell it after the experiment is complete; our lab does not use experimental setups in the lab to answer most of our research questions. Above the aquarium tank is one of my favorite parts of the setup: the hanging arm for the air tubing. The hanging arm provides an easy way to get the airline from the cart on the left to the end of the aquarium on the right where one of the two air bubblers will reside. 

I added an additional side cart to hold the air pumps, temperature control, and cords, and it will serve as the photography station. I also solved some photography problems from the pilot experiment by marking each mesocosm jar at 90 degree angles to ensure that each photograph provides a consistent snapshot of each mesocosm jar. I also added a small stand to elevate the jars so that the light source can illuminate the luminophores from the below, and I marked the stand in the same way as I marked the jars so that I can line up the markings to provide even more consistency. 

The final, long table, is the space for the biochemistry measurements. The clip light will help provide my collaborator with some light for her work, and I will add a few more items like an air pump and manipulator stand to the table so that she has the space to do her work. Underneath the long table is a great temporary storage space for some of my items, as the temperature control system is not currently on, so the environmental chamber was close to 95 degrees today. The team at the marine lab is turning on the system so that Monday when I get to the lab the chamber will be ready for some finishing touches and for use.

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