Aquarium water treatment basically aims to:
- Filter out particles of excess food or waste or dust
- Remove ammonia by converting it into nitrates or even completing the N cycle by converting the nitrates into N2 gas. This is accomplished in the biofilter where beneficial nitrifying bacteria colonize some kind of media with high surface area.
- Trickle filters also remove the CO2 from respiration which affects the pH
- Protein skimmers remove DOC by creating air bubbles in a column and collecting the foam which contains the DOC. Used mostly in marine aquariums
- AC filters in Bio-filtration systems remove any medications/metabolites that may have accumulated in the water. Obviously they will also remove the chlorine from the potable water.
- UV lamps kill pathogenic bacteria
- Air bubbles Oxygenate the water
- Aerobic denitrification or co-respiration the simultaneous use of both oxygen (O2) and nitrate (NO3−) as oxidizing agents, performed by various genera of microorganisms. This process differs from anaerobic denitrification not only in its insensitivity to the presence of oxygen, but also in that it has a higher potential to create the harmful byproduct nitrous oxide.
- Nitrogen, acting as an oxidant, is therefore reduced in a succession of four reactions performed by the enzymes nitrate, nitrite, nitric-oxide, and nitrous oxide reductases. The pathway ultimately yields reduced molecular nitrogen (N2), as well as, when the reaction does not reach completion, the intermediate species nitrous oxide (N2O).
- To adjust hardness or alkalinity: add hard or alkaline salts or use RO or add distilled water
- Natural algae help in filtering out nitrates
Monitoring Aquarium Water Quality:
- Monitoring Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates is very important
- Monitoring pH is important. High or low pH can stress the Fish
- Monitoring hardness and alkalinity is important as low alkalinity can lead to unstable pH
- Last but not least the Fish need to breathe hence DO monitoring is very important
- You want to watch that BOD coz it will consume DO
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