sera guide - Marine aquariums

Ammonium/ ammonia NitrateNitrite Heterotrophic bacteria Nitrobacter bacteria Nitrosomonas bacteria Fish waste, uneaten food and dead algae Immediate pollutant break- down within the filter by sera marin bio reefclear Immediate pollutant breakdown within the aquarium by sera marin bio reefclear 49 Organic waste products in the aquarium re- sult in a nitrogen pollution of the water. Those waste products include fish waste, uneaten food and dead algae as well as dead ani- mals. Nitrogen occurs in the aquarium in different forms. Excess protein, ammonium resp. am- monia, nitrite and nitrate are nitrogen con- taining waste products in the aquarium. The useful bacteria in sera marin bio reef- clear convert dead plant parts, uneaten food and fish waste from ammonium via nitrite into harmless nitrate. Macro algae such as Caulerpa then considerably lower the nitrate level. Organic waste products contain proteins, from which ammonium or ammonia is formed by biological decomposition. The ra- tio between relatively harmless ammonium and toxic ammonia is determined by the pH value. The higher the pH value, the more am- monia is formed. Since the pH value in ma- rine water is always above 7, the ammonium level must be monitored very carefully. The total concentration of ammonium and ammonia is checked with the sera ammo- nium/ammonia-Test. In case the measured level is above 0.2 mg/l (ppm), you must carry out a partial water change and add sera marin bio reefclear immediately. 9.5 Monitoring ammonium, nitrite and nitrate