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Final Project

Fungarium

Fungarium is an aquarium for Fungi. A vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which fungi, lichens and bacteria are kept and displayed.

Research on the Fungi kingdom to identify ecosystem variables

pH

pH meters

with lime papper :

but pH meter measure the the concentration of hydrogen ions

"Acids and alkalis are simply chemicals that dissolve in water to form ions (atoms with too many or too few electrons)."
        An acid dissolves in water to form positively charged hydrogen ions (H+)
        
        An alkali (or base) dissolves in water to form negatively charged hiroxide ions (OH-).
    

An acidic solution has far more positively charged hydrogen ions in it than an alkaline, so it has a greater potential to produce an electric current in a certain situation - in other words, its like a battery that can produce a greater voltage.

A pH meter takes advantage of this and 
        works like a volmeter: it measures the voltage (electrical potential) 
                                                        produced by the solution whose acidity we're interested in, 
                                    compares it with the voltage of a known solution,
                                    and use the difference in voltage ("the potential difference") between them
                                    to deduce the difference in pH.
        

more about how pH meter works on pHsensor_How it works? MyWiki

about pH and mushrooms

"Effect of different levels of lime and pH on mycelial growth and production efficiency of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.)" by M. Wajid Khan @ all, Pak. J. Bot., 45(1): 297-302, 2013.

  1. 0% Lime (CaCO3) ~ pH 7.2
  2. 2% Lime (CaCO3) ~ pH 7.8
  3. 4% Lime (CaCO3) ~ pH 8.2
  4. 6% Lime (CaCO3) ~ pH 8.7

Mycelium of fungi (mushroom) obtain nutrients from substrate at specific level of pH (Sarker et al., 2007), Lime is used in cultivation of mushroom to enhance the pH of substrate. Rapid mycelial growth of mushroom (Pleurotus sajor- caju) takes place at pH 6.4-7.8 (Iqbal & Shah, 1989).

The substrate was prepared by soaking cotton wastes throughly in water, containing 2% 4% and 6% lime (CaCO3) and was allowed to ferment for 3 days under anaerobic conditions.

Cotton waste was filled in polypropylene bags (4x6”) after the adjustment of its moisture contents.

The substrate was pasteurized for one an hour by using drum system (on small scale cultivation of mushroom commonly used in Pakistan) and spawning of substrate was done @ 1% of substrate on wet weight basis. The temperature (20 to 30oC) and relative humidity (70-80%) was maintained in growth room till the harvesting of mushroom (Khan et al., 2009; Bano et al., 1979).

Some ilustrations

Fungarium

Gather information about:

Digitally Control:

Box with substract

Container
Substract

A set of Sensor's

Computer Vision

Moving Axis Camera

Local Interaction

Consola

Gant