We talk about the nitrogen cycle and how it works and the bacteria involved, and we talk about filter dwell times and water flow rates through the filter and over the many types of filter media to house the good bacteria.
To my question:
In a mature filer system how efficient are the bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle, and how quick do they process ammonia ?
Regards
Russ
bacteria and the nitrogen cycle
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Russ Little Pond
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Re: bacteria and the nitrogen cycle
Russ; Great question! I've no idea what the answer is but I can almost hear Mankey's keyboard working the science and crunching the numbers as I type! For you though, can I be nosey and ask the reason behind the question; is it purely academic interest or is there a practical application you're looking into? Cheers, M
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Manky Sanke
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Re: bacteria and the nitrogen cycle
There isn’t a simple answer to this, Russ, because we regularly refer to there being two species of nitrifying bacteria that colonise our biofilters - nitrosomonas and nitrobacter but, in fact, those are genus names and different genera (plural of genus) then divide into several species and sub-species.
Genus and species may easily be understood by thinking about the genus “Canis” which is a group that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes and jackals etc. Dogs are one species of Canis that we are all familiar with and the species “dog” includes several sub-species i.e. the many shapes and sizes of dogs that we encounter which all have similar, but different, nutritional requirements.
In a similar way the main genera of nitrifying bacteria have several species and sub-species that have evolved to take advantage of different environmental conditions and the availability of nutrients.
There are similarities; all species of nitrifying bacteria require a supply of micronutrients. Most important among these is the need for a source of phosphorus for the production of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which is an energy molecule that is used to power the reactions and functions of every living cell. All sub-species of nitrosomonas use ammonia as an energy source to obtain ATP and the carbon they need in order to grow and multiply. Their waste product from this is nitrite. All sub-species of nitrobacter use this nitrite for their energy source to allow them to produce ATP and fix the carbon that they need but that’s where the similarity between the sub-species ends.
The different metabolic processes that the different sub-species use, means that their rates of conversion of ammonia or nitrite aren’t the same.
That means there isn’t a standard rate of conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. Apart from the obvious factor of temperature making a great effect on bug metabolism, the different sub-species of bug will also have different metabolic rates.
Genus and species may easily be understood by thinking about the genus “Canis” which is a group that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes and jackals etc. Dogs are one species of Canis that we are all familiar with and the species “dog” includes several sub-species i.e. the many shapes and sizes of dogs that we encounter which all have similar, but different, nutritional requirements.
In a similar way the main genera of nitrifying bacteria have several species and sub-species that have evolved to take advantage of different environmental conditions and the availability of nutrients.
There are similarities; all species of nitrifying bacteria require a supply of micronutrients. Most important among these is the need for a source of phosphorus for the production of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which is an energy molecule that is used to power the reactions and functions of every living cell. All sub-species of nitrosomonas use ammonia as an energy source to obtain ATP and the carbon they need in order to grow and multiply. Their waste product from this is nitrite. All sub-species of nitrobacter use this nitrite for their energy source to allow them to produce ATP and fix the carbon that they need but that’s where the similarity between the sub-species ends.
The different metabolic processes that the different sub-species use, means that their rates of conversion of ammonia or nitrite aren’t the same.
That means there isn’t a standard rate of conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. Apart from the obvious factor of temperature making a great effect on bug metabolism, the different sub-species of bug will also have different metabolic rates.