How to raise water well in fish culture

As the saying goes, fish culture should first raise water. So, how can we raise water well?

As we all know, the tap water released from the faucet is not suitable for direct fish farming. We must first remove chlorine and increase oxygen, which requires high requirements, but also adjust the hardness and PH of the water. We usually call the treatment of water before entering the tank as "making water". Of course, making water can also be regarded as a part of water cultivation.

Is the water that has been dechlorinated, oxygenated, adjusted for hardness and PH considered good? From the commonly used test indicators, it can be regarded as good water, but this kind of water has two disadvantages: one is not stable enough, and the other is relatively "thin". When fish are raised with prepared water, the water quality will change quickly because of its lack of self-purification ability; the prepared water is usually clean and has almost no harmful substances, but it also lacks things that are beneficial to fish and other organisms.

Storing fresh tap water in an open water storage container for a period of time is of great help in removing chlorine and increasing oxygen, but this is not what we are talking about raising water. The real raising of water must be in the aquarium and can only be carried out under the condition of fish.

1. Opening the tank is an important stage of water conservation, and whether the foundation is laid well or not will have a great impact on the future.

Tap water is put into the new aquarium. After aeration to remove chlorine and increase oxygen, the fish can be put into the tank. With fish, there is a source of organic matter in water, which mainly includes carbohydrates, fat, protein and so on. The accumulation of these substances pollutes the water. at the same time, microorganisms that live on organic matter, mainly various heterotrophic bacteria, begin to multiply in large numbers. The products of organic decomposition attract new microorganisms, in which ammonia produced by decomposition of nitrogenous compounds such as proteins provides food for nitrifying bacteria, so nitrifying bacteria begin to reproduce. In addition, a variety of plankton and protozoa also appeared one after another, the organisms and various components in the water tended to be diversified, and a simple food chain was formed, and water began to have activity.

Nitrifying bacteria include ammonium oxidizing bacteria (also known as nitrifying bacteria) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (also known as nitrifying bacteria). They can effectively decompose ammonia which is toxic to fish and its transformed nitrite, so it is of great significance. Whether the cylinder opening is successful or not is mainly marked by the establishment of nitrification system and the removal capacity of ammonia and nitrite, which is also an important index to measure the self-purification ability of water.

All kinds of fungi not only live in water, but also attach a large number of fungi to the cylinder wall, bottom sand and other solid surfaces in the cylinder. nitrifying bacteria are mainly attached to the surface, but the number in water is very small and lack of activity. There are also many heterotrophic bacteria that are more active on the fixed surface. In fact, the main purpose of raising water is to raise microorganisms, that is, to establish a good micro-ecological water environment, which includes various elements of water body, cylinder body and filtration system. Without the tank, the stability of water will be reduced. By the same token, a mature and good tank will not destroy the stability of water because of daily water change.

In the cylinder opening stage, take some strengthening measures to configure a strong filtration system, including sufficient filter materials.

We generally divide the filter media into three categories: physical filter media, chemical filter materials and biological filter media. In fact, most of the physical and chemical filter media also have the function of biological culture. The purpose of configuring biofilter is to provide sufficient adhesion surface for all kinds of fungi. In the aquarium, if the growth and reproduction of fungi is limited by living space, it is difficult to adapt to the load of high-density feeding. If filter materials are used to expand the living space of fungi, stronger self-purification ability can be obtained than under natural conditions.

According to the characteristics of adhesion and growth of nitrifying bacteria, providing appropriate living space for them is the basic condition for the establishment of a strong nitrification system. There are many kinds of filter materials suitable for nitrifying bacteria to attach, and we usually choose materials with large specific surface area to reduce the volume of the filter. On the premise of satisfying the growth and reproduction of nitrifying bacteria, it is also necessary to provide suitable conditions for heterotrophic bacteria culture.

Heterotrophic bacteria use a variety of enzymes secreted by themselves to decompose organic matter, and some bacteria can produce extracellular enzymes, which are released into water and can be decomposed and absorbed without attaching to organic matter, but some bacteria can only produce surface enzymes, that is to say, bacteria must be attached to organic matter in order to decompose and absorb. There are more organic matter on the filter cotton, and this is also the place where heterotrophic bacteria multiply in large numbers. Whether the filter cotton should be washed and changed frequently cannot be generalized. Generally speaking, as long as the filter cotton is not blocked, it can not be cleaned (or replaced). In addition to filtering cotton, biochemical cotton can also be used as a bacterial bed, because its pores are relatively large, not easy to block, and can greatly reduce daily maintenance. The bottom sand is also a good filter material, which can cultivate not only nitrifying bacteria but also heterotrophic bacteria. In addition, the bottom sand can form a local anaerobic zone, which is beneficial to the growth of some anaerobic bacteria.

2. Adequate supply of oxygen.

The decomposition of organic matter needs a lot of oxygen, which will reduce the oxygen content of water, which not only threatens the survival of fish, but also is not conducive to the growth and work of aerobic bacteria. Timely replenishment of oxygen loss in water is of great significance in the case of high concentration of organic matter. Nitrifying bacteria are typical aerobic bacteria, which can not effectively oxidize ammonia and nitrite during hypoxia, and when ammonia and nitrite reach a certain concentration, they will also cause the death of fish.

The efficiency of the filtration system is proportional to the oxygen content. The trickle or respiratory (tidal) filtration with good oxygen supply can accelerate the growth of the bacterial membrane. If other filtration methods are adopted, in addition to increasing the dissolved oxygen content of the water body, local oxygenation can also be considered in the filtration system.

3. Take the initiative to introduce beneficial bacteria, you can choose nitrifying bacteria or compound bacteria (including nitrifying bacteria) into the aquarium.

Nitrifying bacteria are everywhere, and as long as there are suitable conditions, they will multiply. However, nitrifying bacteria belong to autotrophic bacteria, which must synthesize organic matter in the body and reproduce slowly. if enough nitrifying bacteria are put into the aquarium, the establishment of nitrification system can be accelerated.

In addition to nitrifying bacteria, compound bacteria also have some other beneficial bacteria, which are recommended. Beneficial bacteria can not only efficiently clean up the organic matter in water and help to form a good microecological balance, but also produce some beneficial metabolites (mainly secondary metabolites), such as antibiotics, growth hormone, vitamins, alkaloids and so on. It plays a positive role in inhibiting harmful bacteria and promoting plant growth.

Under normal circumstances, after about a month or so, the nitrification system can be initially established, and the concentration of organic matter in the water is also reduced to a relatively low level. At this time, fish culture can be formally established.