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Steriliser?

Aqua sobriquet

Aqua sobriquet

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Joined
17 Mar 2012
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Location
Dorset
I think I’ve mentioned before that I filter the rainwater from my shed. Either through coffee filters or even kitchen roll if I run out. I normally do this two or three times. I’m just wondering though if there’s any type of fish and shrimp safe chemical I can add to the water once it’s filtered to kill off any of the remaining bugs that have found their way through?
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All of them but particularly worms. I don’t like seeing them in the tank, small water flea types are ok and don’t seem to cause a problem though.
And actually no, it’s not a lot of work, I just leave it to drip through. Less work than cleaning out the filter.
 
Hi all,
Aqua sobriquet said:
I’m just wondering though if there’s any type of fish and shrimp safe chemical I can add to the water once it’s filtered to kill off any of the remaining bugs that have found their way through?
Click to expand...
Shrimp safe is the issue really, because Daphnia etc are crustaceans anything that kills them is very likely to do for the shrimps as well.

CO2 would be safest, I know that they apply it at night, when they are using phytoplankton for waste remediation, to kill Daphnia etc. or otherwise zooplankton can build up to large enough densities to effect nutrient removal by the algae.

I'm not sure what would be the easiest mechanism for using it.
Wookii said:
What bugs in particular are you concerned about?
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I look at them as an advantage, they are both my <"bioassay technique"> and <"free food">.
Aqua sobriquet said:
I think I’ve mentioned before that I filter the rainwater from my shed. Either through coffee filters or even kitchen roll if I run out. I normally do this two or three times.
Click to expand...
How about just through a fine net? It would save time and if anything got through it wouldn't be big enough to be visible?

cheers Darrel
 
@Aqua sobriquet have you seen ceramic water filters? To produce water quickly would require a pump but there are gravity ones for small scale production.
Alternatively, a small UV steriliser would probably process your water change water fairly quickly as long as you stick within the stated flow rates to ensure it sterilises and isn't just a glorified bug sun bed.
 
I’m sure the coffee filters I use are finer than any net but some stuff still manages to get through somehow.
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,

I'm really surprised anything gets through a coffee filter.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
So am I but I haven’t bought any plants or inmates for this tank for years. Where else could they be coming from do you think? I do put some tap water in as well …
 
Hi all,
Aqua sobriquet said:
Where else could they be coming from do you think?
Click to expand...
I don't know if they are worms? Although I always have a few <"detritus worms"> in the water butts and tanks and I'm not quite sure where they come from.

Daphnia (Cladocerans) produce <"ephippia"> which can blow around in the dust and allow them to re-colonise ephemeral water water bodies (including water butts).

Another example is the "green algae" <"Haematococcus pluvialis">, which is a bird bath specialist. Even persistent puddles will develop a <"species assemblage"> of "colonist" diatoms, green algae, protozoans etc. and these will then be replaced over time by other species.

cheers Darrel
 
I am guessing that most trematode eggs are less than 20 µm, so most grades of Whatman filter paper should work well. I would have thought that hydrogen peroxide would be suitable, but you would need to leave it in the water butt to fully decompose.
 
Hi all,
dw1305 said:
...... CO2 would be safest, I know that they apply it at night, when they are using phytoplankton for waste remediation, to kill Daphnia etc. or otherwise zooplankton can build up to large enough densities to effect nutrient removal by the algae......
Click to expand...
I should have put a reference in for that:

Montemezzani, V., Duggan, I, Hogg, I & Craggs, R. (2017). "Screening of potential zooplankton control technologies for wastewater treatment High Rate Algal Ponds". Algal Research. 22. 1-13.

<"https://www.researchgate.net/public...or_wastewater_treatment_High_Rate_Algal_Ponds">

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
I'm really surprised anything gets through a coffee filter.
Click to expand...
Hi Darrel,

Do you have a suitable microscope at your work lab that would enable you to measure the hole diameter on a 'typical' coffee filter paper? I've often wondered about this. I guess it's also possible that the water gets through the filter by capillary action.

JPC
 
Hi @dw1305

:eek::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::eek:

Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's mind-boggling and more detail than I could have ever expected!

Thanks so much.

JPC
 
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