|
|
State of the Art Aquarium Monitors for
Fish Health
| The brand new Newport Aquarium,
just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, uses YSI monitoring equipment to
measure water quality parameters to ensure the health of the aquatic
organisms that live there. The Newport Aquarium is approximately 100,000
square feet of oceanic and freshwater habitat, interactive exhibits,
shopping and dining. It holds a million gallons of salt and freshwater
and is home to 11,000 animals (600 separate species) in 60 exhibits
that allow visitors to come face to face with some of the most beautiful,
bizarre, and dangerous creatures on the planet. |
Each of the aquarium's 16 galleries lets visitors
explore different regions of the earth and displays of aquatic life
indigenous to each area. The Surrounded
by Sharks exhibit is an 84-foot, acrylic,
see-through underwater tunnel that allows you to walk beneath and
beside the mysterious predators. Using YSI's multiparameter
monitoring equipment and handheld
field instruments, the aquarium monitors
the shark tank and other exhibits for dissolved oxygen, pH, total
dissolved gas, ORP, conductivity and salinity. |
|
| The YSI 6000UPG sonde simultaneously
monitors for all of these parameters. The data collected from the
many different tanks is stored in the sonde's memory and then downloaded
into a PC using YSI's EcoWatch
for Windows software. EcoWatch is then
used to graph and analyze the data. pH is measured daily, and the
data is used to track and control pH levels. The water in the freshwater
tank tends to see rising levels of pH, so the data is used to determine
how much buffer is needed to keep the pH level down. The total dissolved
gas sensor is used to confirm that there are no concerns about Gas
Bubble Disease (Embolism), a deadly disease for aquatic animals that
is caused by high dissolved gas pressure. ORP is measured in the saltwater
tanks to determine the ORP levels in the water column and locate where
problem levels of ORP may occur. pH and dissolved oxygen data is used
to record water quality trends in the live coral tanks, and temperature
data is gathered to record the effects that the halide lights may
have on the tank's temperature. |
"The YSI equipment is user-friendly and easy to
use, plus the memory feature on the YSI
85 is great," says Erika Schissler,
Curator of Water Quality at the aquarium. The YSI 85, which measures
dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity, and temperature, and the
YSI
55, which measures dissolved oxygen
and temperature, are also used to spot-sample these parameters in
the tanks daily.
For information about how to add a total dissolved
gas sensor to your existing YSI 6000UPG sonde, or information on how
to purchase a new YSI 6000UPG sonde with the sensor, contact YSI Massachusetts
at (800) 363-3269. |
|
|
