If I have 1ppm of ammonia out of my tap that's going into my tank does that mean I will have 1ppm of nitrite then 1 ppm of nitrate as the nitrification reaction proceeds? Say if I'm doing a 50% water change that will immediately be cut in half- so 0.5ppm of ammonia turns to 0.5ppm nitrite (scary!) and hopefully QUICKLY turns to 0.5ppm nitrate (safe). I don't have any idea what the rate of reaction is but this seems sketchy for my fish at any rate.
It looks like the nitrogen is conserved throughout the reaction from looking at the equations on this page: https://study.com/academy/lesson/nitrification-definition-cycle-equation.html
Best I can tell is the nitrogen is conserved during the nitrification process and oxygen is consumed, or are the oxygen molecules coming from CO2 fixation? Is there someone with a bit more chemistry background or solid understanding of the process that can comment?
I think they are also photophobic so any light coming into the filter will impede their growth? Particularly a UV sterilizer leaking light into the rest of the filter perhaps?
It looks like the nitrogen is conserved throughout the reaction from looking at the equations on this page: https://study.com/academy/lesson/nitrification-definition-cycle-equation.html
Best I can tell is the nitrogen is conserved during the nitrification process and oxygen is consumed, or are the oxygen molecules coming from CO2 fixation? Is there someone with a bit more chemistry background or solid understanding of the process that can comment?
I think they are also photophobic so any light coming into the filter will impede their growth? Particularly a UV sterilizer leaking light into the rest of the filter perhaps?