I have been reading papers on the nitrogen cycle since about 2005. I have read at least 50 or more. I have also corresponded or talked personally with several microbiologists as well.
I read the discovery paper on ammonia oxidizing Archaea, I read the paper claiming they were the dominant ammonia oxidizers in aquariums. I had a running discussion debate with Dr. Tanner of Swiss Tropicals on the subject which ended with the agreement that sometimes it is mostly bacteria, sometimes mostly Archaea and sometimes a combination. It depends on the water in any specif geographical location.
I have also read the original paper where they discovered that Nitrospira are capable of processing ammonia through to nitrate. And this would explain why research finds that the Nitrosomonas/Nitrosospira makes up only 2% of the bacteria in tanks. I have also read papers on how plants in aquarium use ammonia and or nitrate (mostly the former) and how they actually foster nitrification in the anaerobic area where their roots often are. So I understand the role which plants play as well.
This stuff fascinates me. But I am not your average fish keeper in this respect. I spent over an hour earlier today writing this post that was quite long and which went into this all in depth and why the nitrogen cycle most certainly exists in aquariums. However, the nitrogen cycle is much grander that just what we see in tanks. It was so long it will not post.
The original paper on the discovery that Niytospira can convert ammonia to nitrate was this one:
I read the discovery paper on ammonia oxidizing Archaea, I read the paper claiming they were the dominant ammonia oxidizers in aquariums. I had a running discussion debate with Dr. Tanner of Swiss Tropicals on the subject which ended with the agreement that sometimes it is mostly bacteria, sometimes mostly Archaea and sometimes a combination. It depends on the water in any specif geographical location.
I have also read the original paper where they discovered that Nitrospira are capable of processing ammonia through to nitrate. And this would explain why research finds that the Nitrosomonas/Nitrosospira makes up only 2% of the bacteria in tanks. I have also read papers on how plants in aquarium use ammonia and or nitrate (mostly the former) and how they actually foster nitrification in the anaerobic area where their roots often are. So I understand the role which plants play as well.
This stuff fascinates me. But I am not your average fish keeper in this respect. I spent over an hour earlier today writing this post that was quite long and which went into this all in depth and why the nitrogen cycle most certainly exists in aquariums. However, the nitrogen cycle is much grander that just what we see in tanks. It was so long it will not post.
The original paper on the discovery that Niytospira can convert ammonia to nitrate was this one:
