NANFA-- a lil' help from my friends....

Nick Zarlinga (njz_at_clevelandmetroparks.com)
Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:23:32 -0500

Ok, time to put the brain in gear ;) We have an outdoor exhibit that we
need to find the volume of. It is a "naturally" shaped exhibit with a
textured concrete bottom and a deceivingly large "volcano like" planter in
the middle. We need to find the gallonage to be able to dose medications.
In October, we had the system drained for repairs and so we thought we would
be smart and put a flow meter on the system to fill it. Actually, we
thought we would go one better and put two flow meters in line so that we
had a backup to verify our results. Well, unfortunately, the two flow
meters read vastly different amounts. So now we are back to square one.
What we decided to do was to go the back door route. By adding NaCl to the
system, we figure that we can measure conductivity and extrapolate from
there. So, here is the data. Have at it, if you wouldn't mind.

Measurements were taken with YSI 30 conductivity meter which was on the
temperature compensated mode.

Day 0 conductivity 268 microsiemens (.1 ppt) at 37F
added 200 lbs of NaCl
Day 1 conductivity 1130 microsiemens (.6 ppt) at 37F
added 200 lbs of NaCl
Day 2 conductivity 2080 microsiemens (1.1 ppt) at 36F
added 200 lbs of NaCl
Day 3 conductivity 3075 microsiemens (1.2 ppt) at 36F
added 200 lbs of NaCl
Day 4 conductivity 4160 microsiemens (2.2 ppt) at 36F

Here are some other values that I tested:

1 lb of NaCl in 1 gallon of tap water (257 microsiemens) raised conductivity
to 140 millisiemens

10 grams of NaCl in 1000 ml of Distilled water raised conductivity to 17
millisiemens (9.9 ppt)

1 gram of NaCl in 1000ml of Distilled water raised conductivity to 2174
microsiemens (1.1 ppt)

As you can see from these known values that it certainly was not lab quality
measurements. But, for our purposes, a close figure would be very helpful to
us. Thanks for the help.

Oh, and also, you don't get a grade unless you show your work ;)

Nick Zarlinga
Aquarium Biologist
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
216.661.6500 ext 4485
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