The misunderstanding about the water-clearing and nitrifying bacteria

Fish farming is a science. With the popularization of the idea of scientific fish farming, people pay more and more attention to fish tank ecosystem, biochemical filtration, biological filter material, nitrifying bacteria, and so on, they are trying to create a comfortable living environment for the fishes, so that they can show us the most beautiful side. But in the forum for a long time, found a lot of fish friends on the understanding of the existence of the misunderstanding, I give you a two examples:

Example one: Why did I get mixed up after I cleaned the filter material?

A: After cleaning the filter material, the nitrification system is destroyed, the nitrifying bacteria die, so the water will become mixed.

Example two: Why did I open the cylinder after the water has been more cloudy?

Answer: This is because the nitrification system is not sound, the number of nitrifying bacteria is less, so water is not clear, and so on after the sound nitrification system is naturally clear.
The above two cases are in the water clarification and nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) relationship, if you think the above answer is correct, then please do read this article, because these two answers are wrong.

In fact, it should be very few people can say clearly what is nitrification system, because in Baidu can not find the definition of nitrification system, so this concept is more vague, so there is a lot of the wrong understanding of the nitrification system, then how to define the nitrification system, the composition of the nitrification system and the role of what? Let me first talk about this problem.

Let's take a look at my definition of the nitrification system: the water circulating filtration system for culturing nitrifying bacteria as a carrier of biological filter is called nitrification system. From this definition, it can be seen that the nitrification system is composed of three main elements: water pump, biological filter and nitrifying bacteria. In fact, the nitrification system is a platform for the cultivation of nitrifying bacteria, biological filter material to the nitrifying bacteria provide habitats for breeding sites, water circulation system for nitrifying bacteria brought oxygen and food (ammonia and nitrite), this is the nitrification systems, its ultimate goal is to cultivate nitrifying bacteria to remove toxins in the water.

Understand what a nitrification system is, and then look at the relationship between it and the clarity of the water. We all know that the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) is the function of water purification, but many people are wrong to understand the meaning of water purification, water purification is understood to be clear, always the clarity and nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) hook, so there are the above two wrong answers.

The role of nitrifying bacteria is to remove toxins (ammonia and nitrite) from the water to purify the water, rather than clean the water. If the presence of ammonia and nitrite can cause water turbidity, nitrification bacteria will be removed after the water will become clear, if it is true, nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) has water function, but will it?

People who have studied chemistry in junior high schools know that ammonia and nitrite are inorganic, and that their presence does not change the clarity of water, as salt does not make water mixed. Water will not become cloudy because of the presence of ammonia and nitrite, and will not be clear with the removal of ammonia and nitrite. Therefore, the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) is not related to the clear turbidity of water.

The above paragraph will certainly be a lot of fish friends of the knowledge system to impact, I have experienced many times such a debate, when I proposed nitrifying bacteria and water clear cloudy theory, a lot of people at the beginning is resolutely disagree, but after careful discussion, most fish friends will agree with this point of view. In fact, it is clear that the relationship between water and nitrifying bacteria is not so easy, need to have a certain degree of expertise, the following I will fully demonstrate my point of view.

Why the water in our fish tank is cloudy, this question I in "biological turbidity harm and control" This article has been fully discussed. Biological turbidity is the most important form of water turbidity of fish tank, which is manifested in the confusion of water and fog, in fact, it is a physical phenomenon called "Tyndall effect". Bacteria are very small we can not see the naked eye, but when it is a large number of breeding, it will produce milk light, change the refractive index of water, so that the light scattering, resulting in the clarity of water decline, we see the white cloud of water is the bacteria multiply after the change of light reflection caused by the result.

Fish will be residual bait, such as excessive organic matter will cause the proliferation of heterotrophic bacteria, resulting in a "Tyndall effect" caused by biological turbidity. To control this biological turbidity there are two ways: 1, to kill the excessive breeding of the heterotrophic bacteria, 2, to remove excessive organic matter. So let's see if the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) has such a function?


1, nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) can sterilization? The answer is absolutely impossible. Nitrification system is used to cultivate nitrifying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria decomposition is the toxin, toxin is the metabolic product of the heterotrophic bacteria, the common saying is the feces of the different camp bacteria, nitrifying bacteria decomposition is the feces of the heterotrophic bacteria and not the different strains of the fungus itself, so will not cause any threat to the heterotrophic bacteria, no bactericidal function. Some people may ask if the nitrification system will be able to develop bacteria that can be sterilized in addition to the cultivation of nitrifying bacteria. The answer is no. Because I am a micro-organism, I know there are some native organisms in nature that feed on bacteria such as bacteriophages, and many bacteria secrete antibiotics and lysozyme to suppress the growth of other bacteria, but they are not related to the nitrification system, they do not need to be dependent on biological filter material to grow and reproduce, and do not need a water circulation system. It is not cultivated by the nitrification system, so it has nothing to do with the nitrification system.

2, nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) can remove organic matter? The answer is more unlikely. Nitrifying bacteria can not decompose organic matter this is common sense, organic matter is the natural enemy of nitrifying bacteria, the filter material by the infiltration of organic bacteria can not grow on the above growth and reproduction, so that organic matter to eliminate nitrification bacteria to make it nowhere to live, remove organics is the work of different camp bacteria, nitrifying bacteria can not do this menial.

It should be seen from the above analysis that the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) is not related to the clarification of water. To illustrate the problem, let me give you three more examples:

Example one:

I work in foreign drug companies, in the early years I was in the Factory microbiology laboratory testing, often there is such a situation: a bacteria to become cloudy liquid medium test tube, placed a period of time will become very clear, why?

We see in this case the liquid medium itself is rich in nutrients, if the inoculation of the different strains will be a large number of breeding, so it becomes cloudy. Why does it become clear again? It is because of the proliferation of heterotrophic bacteria after the depletion of all the resources in the test tube, and finally the nutrient depletion, and the start of a large number of different strains of the death, so the liquid medium began to be clarified. In this case, there is no nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria), mixed liquid media and the final clarification of the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) does not have a little relationship, in fact, this is the same as in our fish tank, there is no nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) are not related to the clarification of water.

Example two:

I saw a "master" in a famous aquarium forum about how to quickly cultivate the experience of nitrifying bacteria, his method is directly in the tank to rinse the filter cotton, the water tank will become extremely cloudy, but after a night of time will become clear incomparable, and tried. He thought the water from turbid to clear the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) sound, in the fish tank rinse filter cotton is to provide a large number of nitrifying bacteria food, to facilitate the rapid establishment of nitrification system.

I was "Ray" When I saw this case. First not to judge the "master" ignorance of the theory, we first see if he said this phenomenon will exist, the extremely muddy water overnight will become clear incomparable, so possible? The answer is entirely possible. To Baidu a little know this water called back to water, also known as biting water, is because the water microbial content too much, the aquarium will be depleted of all kinds of nutrients, resulting in the death of oxygen-causing bacteria, as the number of bacteria decrease, the water will become clearer. In this case, the turbidity of the water is caused by the sudden addition of a large amount of organic matter (fish), the clarity of the water is due to the result of the death of the bacteria, and nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) is not any relationship.

Example three:

Sterilization can be water, all use of UV lamp friends should have this experience. In the case of water turbidity in the outbreak of the germ phase or green algae in the case of green, as long as the UV lamp for a period of time will become clear water. This fully illustrates the water quality turbidity is caused by excessive bacteria in the aquatic, we call this phenomenon "bacteria and Muddy Waters", and the water is clear because of the killing of these bacteria, there is no relationship between the surface and nitrifying bacteria, so that the turbidity and clarity of water quality is not related to nitrifying bacteria.

Final Summary:

Based on the theoretical analysis and practical examples, we conclude that the water clarification is not related to the nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria). Hope that more fish friends can get out of the water clearing and nitrification system (nitrifying bacteria) related to the misunderstanding, so that fish more scientific.

The misunderstanding about the water-clearing and nitrifying bacteria