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Schematic representation of the flow of Nitrogen through a common aquarium. Ammonia poisoning is a common fish disease in new aquariums, especially when immediately stocked to full capacity. Ideally, the level of ammonia (NH 3) and ammonium compounds (i.e. those containing NH 4 +) in fish tanks should be zero.
Harmful elements dissolved in the water of the aquarium, including ammonia, phosphates, and nitrates, are processed with the help of the organisms that are introduced from the live rock into the aquarium's ecosystem. Excess ammonia, nitrate, and phosphates are eliminated with the help of the algae and corals growing on the live rock's surface ...
The processed ammonia is converted to nitrite, which is then processed to nitrate. Weekly water changes (25% of aquarium volume), while vacuuming debris from the bottom of the tank, can solve this problem of nitrate build-up, provided the tank is not overcrowded. Build-up of algae is largely related to light level and mineral imbalance.
Municipal, or tap water, is not recommended for a marine aquarium as it often contains high levels of nitrates, phosphates, and silicates and other dissolved solids which fuel the growth of nuisance algaes, particularly diatoms, which appear as a rust-colored powdery algae and grows in the overabundance of silicates present in all tap water.
Nitrate is the end-product of nitrification, and is the least toxic of the nitrogen compounds, with 96-hour exposure LC 50 values in freshwater in excess of 1,000 mg/L. [6] A biofilter provides a substrate for the bacterial community, which results in thick biofilm growing within the filter. [ 4 ]
In the natural environment these nitrates are subsequently taken up by plants as fertilizer and this does indeed happen to some extent in an aquarium planted with real plants. An aquarium is, however, an imperfect microcosm of the natural world. Aquariums are usually much more densely stocked with fish than the natural environment.
Ingesting too much nitrite and/or nitrate through well water is suspected to cause methemoglobinemia. [17] 95% of the nitrite ingested in modern diets comes from bacterial conversion of nitrates naturally found in vegetables. [18] However, potentially cancer-causing nitroso compounds are not made in the pH-neutral colon.
Periodic removal of the algae that has grown inside of an algae scrubber removes nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate) from the aquarium water, thus providing the needed filtration. An algae scrubber is a water filtering device which uses light to grow algae; in this process, undesirable chemicals are removed from the water. [1]