Hi all,
Using floating plants to treat agricultural effluents is well established science. They are described as FAMTS ("floating aquatic macrophyte treatment systems") in the scientific literature. If you go to <"Google scholar"> and type <"Floating aquatic macrophyte FAMTS nitrate"> you'll get over a thousand papers where floating plants have been used to re-mediate polluted waste water. If you look at <"vertical flow constructed wetlands nitrate"> you get over 20,000 papers.
In the EU the maximum permitted level of NO3 in tap water is 50ppm, and even though it is exceeded at times in SE England (and more frequently in SE Spain etc.) by and large the water companies have made efforts to <"reduce the levels of NO3 in tap water">.
If you don't have plants you are reliant on water changes, ion exchange resins or anaerobic de-nitrification and out-gassing to remove nitrates. If you have plants you can just export your nutrients when you skim off the excess plants.
If you use Limnobium laevigatum as your "Duckweed" you may even be able to sell it on ebay or get a credit for it at your LFS.
cheers Darrel
Water companies use ion exchange resins to reduce NO3 levels, but you don't actually need a specific anion exchange resin, floating plants are as good, and a much cheaper option. You also have a negative feedback loop where increased nitrogen levels lead to increased plant growth, which reduces nitrogen levels etc.
Using floating plants to treat agricultural effluents is well established science. They are described as FAMTS ("floating aquatic macrophyte treatment systems") in the scientific literature. If you go to <"Google scholar"> and type <"Floating aquatic macrophyte FAMTS nitrate"> you'll get over a thousand papers where floating plants have been used to re-mediate polluted waste water. If you look at <"vertical flow constructed wetlands nitrate"> you get over 20,000 papers.
In the EU the maximum permitted level of NO3 in tap water is 50ppm, and even though it is exceeded at times in SE England (and more frequently in SE Spain etc.) by and large the water companies have made efforts to <"reduce the levels of NO3 in tap water">.
Any efficient aerobic biological filtration system will produce enhanced levels of NO3, it just means that it has converted all the NH3/NH4+ and NO2- to the less toxic NO3.
If you don't have plants you are reliant on water changes, ion exchange resins or anaerobic de-nitrification and out-gassing to remove nitrates. If you have plants you can just export your nutrients when you skim off the excess plants.
If you use Limnobium laevigatum as your "Duckweed" you may even be able to sell it on ebay or get a credit for it at your LFS.
cheers Darrel
