Water Quality and Filtration. Amphibian Ark

Transcription

1 Water Quality and Filtration Materials produced by: Kevin Zippel, Amphibian Ark

2 Amphibian Keeper s Philosophy: Treat them like fish! Water quality cannot be assessed by eye Fish and amphibians are permeable Aquarists make the best amphibian keepers!

3 WATER QUALITY What it is How to measure it How to maintain it

4 Water Quality Everything that is dissolved and suspended in otherwise pure water

5 Water quality is affected by: Source chemical components (hardness, pollution) Disease (biosecurity) Municipality (chlorine, chloramine, phosphate) Plumbing (copper, lead, asbestos) Variables (gases, ph, temperature, silt) Animal waste (nitrogens)

6 Hardness Amount of Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, and Aluminum dissolved in the water Most amphibians prefer soft, but where from? To harden: add calcium and magnesium salts: about one gram of mixed calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate (mixed 6:7 by weight) will raise 10 gallons of water by 1 degree general hardness (1 dgh) and provide an ideal calcium to magnesium ratio (3:1). To soften: dilute with distilled, reverse osmosis, or deionized water not commercial softener.

7 How hard is hard? Degrees of Hardness Milligrams/liter Hardness 0-4 dh 0-70mg/l Very Soft 4-8 dh mg/l Soft 8-12 dh mg/l Medium Hard dh mg/l Fairly Hard dh mg/l Hard

8 ph Scale 6-8 is good, high ph exacerbates ammonia

9 ph in closed systems falls over time. Decomposition, respiration of the animals, and biological filtration (bacterial respiration) A good mechanical filter that is cleaned regularly, weekly water changes, and good aeration and circulation will help keep ph fallout in check.

10 Dissolved Oxygen (DO) All amphibians do some breathing through skin Many, including most larvae, are lungless O2 consumed by animals, plants, filters Replenished by aeration Temperature Tank shape >90%, 5mg/l

11 Water Sources

12 Municipal Water Supplies Vary Greatly Contain Disinfectant (Chlorine or Chloramines) Find out which! Aeration, Sodium thiosulfate, carbon Gas supersaturation (N, CO2, O2) Aeration Low O2 Aeration Fauna! copepods in NYC

13 Well Water Consistent No Disinfectants Oxygen Deprived Supersaturated with gases Hardness, iron Salinity Pollution

14 Rainwater Naturally soft ph? Pollutants? Not from a metal roof Biosecurity!

15 Bottled water Completely unregulated

16 Reverse Osmosis Expensive Requires maintenance TOO good?

17 Temperature and plumbing Cold water tap only Heater = kettle Lead? Copper? Flush PVC/CPVC

18 Nitrogenous wastes (frog pee) The Nitrogen Cycle Ammonia/Ammonium Nitrite Nitrate Gaseous Nitrogen

19 Ammonia/Ammonium Produced by protein metabolism Produced by decomposition Can be introduced in water supply Colorless/odorless at tank concentrations Any ammonia is BAD Remove with chemical or biological filtration, plants, or water changes

20 Ammonia Much more toxic than Ammonium Ion Favored at higher ph Favored at higher temperatures

21 In Equilibrium in Aqueous Solutions Ammonium Ion low ph NH 4+ + OH - Ammonia high ph NH 3 + H 2 O More Toxic

22 Percent of NH 3 and in Aqueous Solutions at Different Temperature and More Acid ph ph More Basic o C From Thurston, et al., (1974)

23 Nitrites NO 2 - Product of bacterial action on NH 3 /NH 4 + Very toxic Combines with Hemoglobin, preventing O 2 transfer Remove with chemical or biological filtration, plants, or water changes <1.5 mg/l

24 Nitrates NO 3 - Product of bacterial action on NO 2 - Less Toxic Than NO 2 - Remove with chemical or biological filtration, plants, or water changes < 10mg/l

25 WATER QUALITY What is it How to measure it How to maintain it

26 Measuring Water Quality Testing Colorimetric Meters Faith & changes

27 Simple, Inexpensive, and Effective Colorimetric

28 Meters

29 WATER QUALITY What is it How to measure it How to maintain it

30 Water changes Dump & fill Partial changes Flow-through Filtration Aquatic animals Larger volumes Flowing water (water changes) 2 Approaches

31 The Three Types of Filters Mechanical Chemical Biological And a combination

32 Mechanical filters capture (not remove) suspended matter Clean regularly

33 Undergravel Filter

34 Cartridge type mechanical filter Replacement Cartridges Mechanical Filters

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37 Rapid Sand Filter Backwash Valve Mechanical Filters

38 Mechanical filters only trap waste, do not remove it! Clean regularly!

39 Chemical Filters remove dissolved material from water Carbon Zeolite Ion exchange water softener phosphate sponge When is it spent?

40 Biological Filters use naturally occurring bacteria to deal with nitrogenous waste These bacteria occur everywhere, we need only provide a suitable substrate

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42 Undergravel filter (reverse flow) Filter Bed Biological Filters Mechanical Filter Water Flow

43 Trickle Filter Bio ball medium Pre-Mechanical Filter

44 Fluidized Bed Filter Suspended Medium Biological Filters Not mechanical!

45 Biological Cycling Natural Using animals Pre-seeded Media 3-6 weeks Artificial Household Ammonia Ammonium Chloride <2 weeks 4-5 drops of pure household ammonia (without additives or perfumes) everyday for each 10 gallons of water. Ammonia concentration will quickly spike and then wane, usually by the end of the first week. As ammonia is converted, a nitrite spike closely follows. At that point, cut back to 2-3 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons per day until nitrites reach 0.

46 The second animal in the tank Your biofilter is a living thing It needs food and air Vacancies Antibiotics Filter tanks

47 Combination Filter Flow Bio Medium Carbon - Chemical Mechanical Filter

48 Other Technology UV Sterilizers

49 Water changes Remove phosphates, nitrates Replenish plant nutrients No universal formula # and size of animals Volume of water Feeding regime Filters Plants

50 REMEMBER Start with high quality water. Keep that water fresh: changes, flowthrough, filtration. Clean mechanical filter media at least weekly, replace chemical media regularly, and treat biological media as living organisms. Don t overcrowd or overfeed Use live plants

51 REMEMBER Think! Would I want to drink this water?