How is the water quality maintained in the aquarium?&make an ecotank for your fish!

本文同时提供以下语言的翻译:中文

Have you ever raised fish and had to change the water every once in a while because the water was too cloudy(muddy)?
And some tanks and aquariums can maintain water quality and do not need to change water for a long time?
–A complete water tank system, ranging from a small fish tank at home to a large tank in an aquarium, is an ecological model, showing respect for life and the significance of education.

Introduction

Imagine a giant tank of 8,000 cubic meters of water housing more than 500 species, including sharks, rays, and eels.Whether these animals are swimming, benthic, or planktonic,
They all excrete, along with the residue from feeding.The waste is broken down into nitrites by bacteria, and the algae grow.High levels of nitrite can scar fish gills,
Reduces the immunity of fish.In this case, the animal may not show the outward signs of illness.But it slowly dies or becomes more susceptible to diseases it can’t fight.

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At the aquarium, divers will either clean tank glass or electrically clean artificial coral every day, using special pads and bleaching equipment to remove algae and collect waste in narrow crevices.
Aquariums also have a powerful filtration system: before entering the tank, water passes through a three-layer filtration system, including protein filters and biofilters.

They have their own life support system.
Life support elements include filtration, temperature, light and treatment systems used to protect water quality throughout the aquarium.
These systems are bundled into a central computer network and are able to make some adjustments to different exhibits.Most of the time, these systems show up when the water is out of balance in terms of acidity, salinity, or toxicity.
The parameters of a life support system do tell the staff how the system is functioning, but its effectiveness is measured by water quality.So aquariums often need water quality testing.
These tests measure pH or ammonia equalization factors, allowing workers to make adjustments to the aquarium’s biological, chemical and mechanical filtration systems as necessary.

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The concept of an ecoaquarium

Theory
Aquariums have enough technology and equipment to maintain water quality, but what about at home?How can you maintain water quality in your home water tank without changing the water?
The answer lies in the biofilters mentioned above.You can think from another Angle, how can rivers and lakes in nature maintain their water quality?
– Yes, a biofiltration system.At the heart of this is nitrifying bacteria (microbial metabolism).

A paper from the University of Delaware’s School of Oceanography, which used an aquarium system to simulate nutrient regeneration in the ocean, says:
Nutrient regeneration is the main rate controlling process of Marine productivity.(However, it’s nearly impossible to measure regeneration directly in a Marine environment.)
Nutrients that limit plant growth circulate from inorganic to organic form through primary producers, through the food chain, and finally back to inorganic form through bacterial decompresses.

Experiments show that the biofiltration system effectively oxidizes a large amount of incoming organic matter.(Dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content did not increase, ammonium nitrogen and nitrite content did not increase)

Although the fish tank at home is small, it has the advantage of being easy to operate.
Making an ecotank is not as difficult as it might seem:
Modern ornamental fish tank filtration should have mechanical filtration and biological filtration at the same time, the two filtration systems are complementary to each other, which is determined by the limitations of the aquarium.
Once establish complete ecosystem, harmful material can get decomposition, make toxin reduces greatly, also can prolong aquatic animals box to change water time so.

An eco-tank is a complete biofiltration system that has been established. The biofiltration system is a successful culture of nitrifying bacteria in the tank, which breaks down or filters the harmful substances in the water through the water cycle.
To some extent, this microcirculation system mimics the natural ecosystem, but it is confined in space. The essence is the same.

Procedures

Specific operation can be searched on the internet建立生态缸的教程,详细步骤
Affix a tutorial here, if have infringement please contact delete.
First, Preparation before opening the cylinder:
Equipment: aquarium (nonsense), external filter bucket (other filters that can accommodate glass rings can also be used), oxygen pump (including hose and sand head), bottom sand (can be cancelled).
Reagent: cerritoammonium and nitrite ion solution (nitrifying bacteria for short).
Tank fish: cheap and healthy cleaning work fish, feed fish, etc.
Filter material setting of external filter barrel (according to the direction of water flow) :
1, coarse filter cotton (two layers), the main role is to carry out physical pre-filtration, if wrapped outside the filter barrel inlet, it is easier to replace;
2, biochemical cotton, the main role is to cultivate digestion bacteria decomposition of organic matter, can improve the clarity of water quality;
3, glass ring, under normal circumstances, the volume of glass ring to account for 3 ~ 5% of the volume of the whole cylinder water, the main role is to cultivate nitrifying bacteria, to ensure that the water quality is non-toxic;
4, coarse filter cotton (one layer), the main role is physical filtration, break up, adsorption of bacterial metabolic waste.
Other types of filtration equipment can be set by referring to the above external filter barrel.

　　Second, cylinder opening process:
On the first day, install the equipment – water injection – sand paving (about 5cm thick, or no sand paving) – run the equipment – check whether there is any water leakage, and whether there is any problem with the equipment installation.
The next day, drainage and water injection (after aeration treatment of tap water) – operation equipment (filtration and oxygen equipment, no longer shut down) ———— add healthy and healthy tank fish, according to the instructions add nitrifying bacteria.
(Nitrifying bacteria were added for 10 consecutive days as instructed)
On the seventh day or so, according to the experience of some masters in cylinder opening, nitrite bacteria to decompose NH3/NH4 have been initially established at this time, but nitrate bacteria have not been able to keep pace. At this time, the content of NO2 in the water body will peak, and fish rushing into the cylinder are prone to discomfort.
If there is nothing wrong with the fish at this time and they are actively feeding, the number of fish can be increased day by day from the tenth day onwards and the feeding amount can be gradually increased.
After a month, the biochemical system is basically stable, you can consider adding expensive main fish.
Three, daily maintenance:
Regular water change (one-third to one-fifth every week), the water change period can be gradually lengthened, the water change can be gradually reduced to no brown algae as the limit.
If the water is tap water, it should be pumped for 24 hours to remove the residual chlorine in tap water and reduce the damage to the nitrification system and fish.
Quantitative timing feeding, do not let the fish eat too full, do not leave residual bait.
Four, notes:
A. Change the water (part of the water) as soon as possible if any abnormality occurs after the fish is added into the tank.
B. Filtration and oxygenation equipment should not be interrupted as far as possible.
C. The total volume of glass rings in the filter bucket should reach 3 ~ 5% of the water volume of the whole cylinder;
D. The oxygen content of water is related to the biofiltration efficiency, and oxygen can be added on the premise of not affecting the appreciation.
E. It is recommended to choose imported famous brands for nitrifying bacteria. It is better not to use domestic miscellaneous brands.
F. The physical filtration and biological filtration of the filtration system can only ensure the clarity and non-toxicity of the water.
For specific species, water temperature, PH value, hardness are important factors.
It is recommended to make adjustments according to specific materials.


##A little personal opinion
As I said at the beginning, a complete tank system presents a model of the entire ecology.
This is especially important in aquariums, reptiles, and zoos, where education is at the forefront: it’s not just about showing you what an animal looks like, it’s about how an animal behaves in nature that museums need to educate the public.
All of these behaviors, including habitat, predation, and even social behavior, require at least a qualified environment to support them, not to mention the educational significance of a proper ecological environment.
The Internet is now so ubiquitous that individual players can learn about the ecology of the animals you want to keep at their fingertips.
Building a reasonable ecological environment for your pet is not only a respectful attitude, but also ensures the quality of its life.
After building a delicate ecological tank, I believe you can feel more sense of achievement.
Perhaps a good environment allows your pet to surprise you.

Reference

Sharp, Jonathan H., et al. “Modeling Nutrient Regeneration in the Ocean with an Aquarium System.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 8, no. 1, Inter-Research Science Center, 1982, pp. 15–23, Retrieved September 20, 2021.

Citiation

1.Rock, Edward A. “Aquarium Awareness.” Science and Children, vol. 27, no. 7, Temporary Publisher, 1990, pp. 4–6, Retrieved September 20, 2021.
2.SCHULTZ, BETH. “THE BALANCED AQUARIUM.” Elementary School Science Bulletin, no. 69, Temporary Publisher, 1962, pp. 5–6, Retrieved September 20, 2021.
3.Bell, J. (2015, December 17). Science, elbow Grease keep National AQUARIUM POOP-FREE. The Daily Times. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
4.建立生态缸的详细步骤. 建立生态缸的详细步骤_水景堂. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from http://www.ssjjtt.com/a/2015/33267.html.