fresh 'n' marine aQuarium Blog » Water Chemistry

Understanding Carbonate Hardness

Edmund L. — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:21:31 +0000

The carbonate hardness CH is one of the most important water parameters in aquarium keeping and for garden ponds. The CH stabilises the pH-level and therefore prevents any dreaded plunge or sudden steep rise in pH levels, both of which are equally dangerous.

In normal community aquariums and ponds, the CH should never drop below 4° GCH. Even if the initial water contained sufficient CH levels, the CH in the aquarium and pond may decrease. This may be the result of vigorous bacterial activity or a lack of CO2 – with plants and algae extracting the CO2 they require from the CH. Consequently the CH decreases and the pH-level is unstable.

Cloudy Water in your aquarium!

Edmund L. — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:23:36 +0000

Ever experienced the cloudy water problem in your aquarium? There is no single answer as there is no single cause. The colour of the cloudiness should give clue to a couple of basic causes which are highlighted below to aid your understanding.

1) White or Grayish Water

Gravel Residue – Water could get cloudy immediately after setting up a tank with insufficiently washed gravel. Solving this problem is simle by rinsing the gravel and draining the cloudy water.
Dissolved Constituents – If the cloudiness still persists even after washing the gravel, the next most likely cause of the cloudiness could be due to the existence of a high level of dissolved constituents such as silicates, phosphates or heavy metals. Use the appropriate water conditioners to remove traces of these dissolved constituents should resolve the problem. Alternatively, if your budget allows, use RO (Reverse Osmosis) water for better results.
Bacterial Blossom - If the cloudiness appears some time later after the tank has been set up, it could most likely due to the bacterial bloom as the new aquarium goes through the initial break in cycle. The cloudiness problem should resolve by itself as the bacterial colonies are established over time to clear wastes from the water. Comat this problem by removing any decaying plants and excess uneaten food, vacuuming the gravel regularly and performing partial water changes. A flocculent may be used to remove particles of debris by clumping them together so they can easily be removed by the filter.

2) Green Water

Excessive Lighting – Direct sunlight or leaving the lights on for too long will result in algae growth. Cut down on the lighting hours or move the aquarium to a location away from direct sunlight.
Excess Nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates also fuels the algae growth, and can be reduced getting rid of them using appropriate phosphate or nitrate removal products. Phosphates come from decaying matter such as fish food, and water source itself. Nitrates naturally increase in level over time as a result of nitrification process by the bacterial.

Back to Basic: Ammonia NH3

Edmund L. — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:00:03 +0000

In an aquarium, Ammonia (NH3) is produced from the waste of fish and invertebrates and released through diffusion from the gills of fish during osmoregulation as well as from bacterial decomposition of excess food, decaying plant material and decomposing animal material. Ammonia poses huge problem all living organisms in high amounts due to its toxic nature.

The effects of continuous exposure to ammonia in fish can be lethal and will cause severe gill damage leading to suffocation, kidney damage due to inability to osmoregulate, and the increased inability to secrete ammonia from the body resulting in metabolic and physiological imbalance. Even at lower levels, ammonia can reduce growth rate and damage to gill filament tissue in a fish, loss of equilibrium, convulsions and then death.

Ammonia exists in two forms, namely, un-ionized (NH3) and ionized (NH4+). Both forms are measured together and are referred to as total ammonia.

The levels of ammonia in an aquarium can be reduced by a efficient and effective biological filtration. With good filtration, ammonia level should always be kept zero. The aquarium design, number of fish and feeding regime are factors that affects the level of ammonia concentration.