Oops - accidently ended up in SW today

[cabezon]

Evaporation is the process of a liquid becoming a gas, not at the boiling point.

Evaporation does not carry gasses along. offgassing is a term used when gas effervesces from a liquid.

Nitrogen is an odorless gas.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

From the above picture, we already know that a cycled aquarium in converting solids to gas is what the cycle does, other wise there is no complete cycle at all. Evaporation helps to carry these gases away (not just n2) ask yourself why your aquarium water has a certain odor to it.

Pure water has no odor.

You're talking/typing in circles. At one point, you refer to nitrites as a solid, but later call it a gas. You've proved my point to yourself several times in what you're typing... nitrites do not evaporate. I think you're saying that well... since nitrites eventually become nitrogen, and the nitrogen out-gasses from the tank, then we can just consider that nitrites are evaporating. But that just. plain. isn't. true. And now I'm kicking myself for even asking you about it because it's completely taken this thread off track. Sorry to the original poster...

 

[Alpha_03]

Well I emailed the University here, and I actually got a response from a PhD. of water sciences.

I guess you are correct, seems I was thinking that evaporation would also carry off the NO2 as well. But since water evaporation is a gas, the two mix and viola- NO2 is removed as this happens. But only through the exchange of gases does this occur- some what the same idea but not entirely.

Nitrite (NO2)- is a nonvolatile anion (like chloride or nitrate) and cannot be lost by evaporation. However, NO2- can be converted into volatile nitrous oxide (N2O) or nitrogen (N2) gas by denitrifying bacteria (if they are present) and lost through gaseous exchange with air. Nitrite can also be oxidized to nitrate-N, and depending on the detection method used, appear to be lost from a solution such as seawater.

Hope this answers your question!

 

[Alpha_03]

Daniel D. Snow, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Laboratory Director
School of Natural Resources
202 Water Sciences Laboratory
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0844
p. 402-472-7539
f. 402-472-9599
dsnow1@unl.edu

I don't mind if you quote me. You should mention that dissolved oxygen concentration, or redox state, in seawater will determine whether or not nitrite is denitrified (converted to N2O or N2) or oxidized (converted to nitrate).

Also note that ammonia (formed from decay of organic matter) is converted to nitrite by nitrifying bacteria. Both nitrite and ammonia can be assimilated as a nutrient for algae. It gets complicated fairly quickly, but if you consider the "redox" conditions (oxidizing or reducing) then the primary mechanisms for nitrogen conversion are fairly straight-forward.

There is a good description and illustration of the marine nitrogen cycle at <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marine_nitrogen_cycle> . It might be helpful to point your reef forum to this article.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

It might be helpful to point your reef forum to this article.

I think your reef forum has been trying to tell you all of this, all along.

Your link doesn't work quite right. It's a good article - here's a link that works right for future readers that stumble across this thread:

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marine_nitrogen_cycle

 

[Jimbo7]

I think your reef forum has been trying to tell you all of this, all along.

Your link doesn't work quite right. It's a good article - here's a link that works right for future readers that stumble across this thread:

Marine nitrogen cycle - Encyclopedia of Earth

+1

Now we should prolly get on topic. Is the OP even still reading this thread? I wouldn't mind some updates.

 

[thincat]

Gee, I am glad I was at the "Dentist"!

 

[cmor1701d]

OK, you are completely missing the point of how the Nitorgen cycle works. It's a bit different in soil than in water....Actually in soil it depends on water in the soil creating an anoxic area where the nitrate consuming bacteria can live. Depending on the soil composition and amount of water, the nitrates can be converted to nitrogen and work their way to the surface as nitrogen gas, or can be carried down the into the subsurface water column where they can become a major problem.

NITRATES DO NOT EVAPORATE! Nitrates can be converted to nitrogen (a gas) that bubbles up through a dsb to the surface. It does not evaporate with the water.

 

[melosu58]

It's not like we're on some mission anyways... this thread kind of got off topic...

I agree. I think we are talking two different things. We were talking evaporation at one point and now we are talking dentrification. I think people are getting confused because they are not the same process. Let`s just help the OP on their situation and stay on topic.