RU2565257C1 - Granulated soil for aquariums - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: granulated soil, designed to create a favourable environment for development of aquatic plants and fish in the aquarium, is made on the basis of organic sapropel preliminary severely frozen and dried to a moisture content not exceeding 5% with an ash content not exceeding 50% and a particle size of 0.25-0.5 mm and gypsum with a particle size not exceeding 0.1 mm in the following ratio of components, wt %: sapropel - 45-50, gypsum - 50-55. And the granules are round-shaped with the size of 3-12 mm. The soil is characterized with the bulk density of 500-600 kg/m³, and the strength of at least 20 N, and the ratio of N/P as 1/10-1/20.

EFFECT: reduction of risk of entering into the aquarium environment of pathogenic bacteria.

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Description

The invention is intended for use as soil in aquariums to create a favorable environment for the development of aquatic plants and fish.

It is known the introduction of sheet silicates in the soil of an aquarium in an amount of 5-15% by weight of the soil [RF patent 2189139, IPC АКК 63/04, C02F 1/00, publ. 09/20/2002]. Any known minerals from the subclass of sheet silicates are introduced into the soil - muscovite, biotite, glauconite, serpentine, kaolinite or mixtures thereof, taken in various ratios, as well as rocks and mixtures containing them in different quantities. The proposed minerals and the rocks containing them can be introduced both in-kind and enclosed in a permeable shell, as well as in the form of granules (obtained by sintering and other methods). In addition, they can be modified by exposure to various chemicals. The filler improves the hydrochemical parameters of the environment both in the freshwater and in the marine aquarium: it forms water with hardness and acidity, favorable for many aquarium fish and most plants; reduces the likelihood of fish developing diseases associated with abnormal conditions; improves the carbon nutrition of plants; limits the concentration of ammonium and nitrates and stabilizes them at a level safe for fish; inhibits the development of planktonic algae and interrupts the flowering of water as a result of the absorption of phosphates; absorbs non-toxic organic substances entering the aquarium with food and secreted by fish, making them more accessible to bacteria that inhabit the filter substrate; absorbs toxic substances and acts as a detoxifier, the constant presence of which maintains ecological balance in the aquarium and reduces the likelihood of developing chronic poisoning and related secondary fish diseases.

However, the use of well-known natural materials of the subclass of layered silicates and their mixtures (muscovite, biotite, serpentine, etc.) are not without drawbacks. Layered silicates (mica) do not provide nutrients for the development of aquatic plants, in addition, mica in its composition may contain harmful impurities and radioactive elements, for example, mica of rare-metal granites and pegmatites.

It is widely known the use of soil-based natural clays with various additives to provide aquarium water and soil with nutrients, maintain ecological balance in the aquarium, for example, with the addition of peat [Zirling MB Aquarium and water plants - St. Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat, 1991, 256 pp.], Ligands: trace elements, medicines, vitamins, complexing agents, etc. [for example, patent FR 2849844 (B1), IPC АКК 63/04; B01J 43/00; C02F 1/42].

The closest to the proposed granular soil for aquariums is an additive to the soil for the aquarium, including a granular mixture of peat, clay and buried organic sapropel of natural moisture in the following ratio of components, calculated on absolutely dry matter, wt.%: Peat - 40-70; clay - 10-20; organic buried sapropel - 30-40 [RF patent 2216169, IPC: А01К 63/00, publ. November 20, 2003]. Selection of the optimal concentration of the components included in the additive allows the formation of its internal structure. The prevalence of peat protects the granules from destruction in water, clay supplies plants with nutrients and neutralizes the acidity of peat, and buried organic sapropel is a source of a large amount of nutrients, trace elements, humic substances and organic components necessary for both plant and animal organisms inhabiting aquariums. In addition to its main functions, an additive to aquarium soil improves the properties of water (if necessary, it acidifies, extracts fulvic acids, softens, cleanses). In this case, the natural characteristics of the components included in the additive are used. The filler is made in the form of molded, dried cylindrical granules with a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 15 mm. The specified addition to the aquarium soil significantly increases the time spent by the granules in the water without destruction (up to 12 months), their biological resistance (up to 12 months) and nutritional ability.

However, the presence of clay in granules in an amount of 10-20% leads to its soaking in water already in the first tens of hours and leaching from granules. As is known from the furnace business, clay soaks in water in the first hours of its use. At the same time, peat and sapropel particles also begin to be washed out of the granules. All this creates the appearance in the water of a finely dispersed fraction of clay and peat, clouding the aquarium water. Ultimately, granules containing clay, peat and sapropel are destroyed. The absence of heat treatment or other method of disinfecting peat and sapropel can lead to the introduction of unwanted parasitic organisms into the aquarium environment. In addition, peat present in the granules gives the water an ugly tan.

The technical result to which the invention is directed is the creation of a granular soil for aquariums, which provides a favorable environment for the development of aquatic plants and fish while maintaining the preservation of granules in water for a long time (at least 24 months), improving the convenience of handling the soil during plant transplantation and cleaning the aquarium, reducing the risk of introducing pathogens into the aquarium environment.

The claimed technical result is achieved as follows. In granular soil for aquariums based on organic sapropel with additives, pre-frozen and dried to a moisture content of not more than 5% sapropel with an ash content of not more than 50% and with a particle size of 0.25-0.5 mm are used, and gypsum with a size of as additives particles of not more than 0.1 mm in the following ratio of components, wt.%: sapropel - 45-50, gypsum - 50-55, while the granules have a rounded shape of 3-12 mm in size and the soil is characterized by a bulk density of 500-600 kg / m ³ , strength not less than 20 N and the ratio N / P as 1 / 10-1 / 20.

To prepare the soil, natural organic type sapropel with an ash content of not more than 50% is frozen for at least 30 days at a temperature below minus 20 ° C, which guarantees the elimination of possible harmful organisms in the natural sapropel. To ensure plant nutrition with a sufficient amount of organic substances, it is necessary to use organic sapropels with an ash content of not more than 50%. Frozen sapropel is dried to a moisture content of not more than 5%, which is necessary for the preparation of the composite when mixing the starting components. The dried sapropel is ground and sieved to obtain particles with a size of 0.25-0.5 mm. Sapropel with a particle size of less than 0.25 mm does not form a composite, and particles larger than 0.5 mm are too large to provide sufficient adhesion in the granules and not to crumble. The prepared sapropel is mixed with gypsum having a particle size of not more than 0.1 mm. Larger particles mix poorly and do not create the necessary strength of the granules. The components are mixed in the following ratio, wt.%: Sapropel - 45-50, gypsum - 50-55. The addition of sapropel less than 45 wt.% Does not provide the soil with the necessary amount of nutrients, with a sapropel content of more than 50 wt.% The granules lose their strength and soak in water. The use of gypsum of less than 50 wt.% Does not allow to achieve the required strength of the granules, and when the content in the mixture is more than 55 wt.%, The amount of nutrients in the granules of the soil decreases. The mixed components are diluted with water of the required consistency, mixed, poured into molds, dried, crushed and rolled to obtain a rounded shape. The obtained soil granules are scattered according to the granule size of 3-12 mm and packaged.

The soil, having a low bulk density of 500-600 kg / m ³ of rounded granules with a size of 3-12 mm, provides minimal pressure on the root system of plants, prevents soil caking and saturates the root system of plants with oxygen. The regulation of the biochemical regime in the aquarium (the absence of “blooming” water, limiting the growth of algae) is ensured by the ratio of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil: N / P as 1 / 10-1 / 20.

The obtained granules of the soil with a strength of at least 20 N for a long time (up to 24 months) retain their integrity in water and, therefore, the transparency of the water. When planting and transplanting plants in an aquarium, the granules do not create turbidity and are convenient to use. The use of frozen sapropel completely eliminates the entry of parasitic organisms into the aquarium, and the filler - gypsum - is harmless to both aquarium plants and fish. In addition, sapropel absorbs toxic substances entering the aquarium with food and fish waste products.

Examples of specific production of granular soil.

Example 1. Organic sapropel from Lake Menzelinskoye, Kolyvan District, Novosibirsk Region, containing 57.6 ppm. organic matter and ash 50 ppm they are kept for 30 days at a temperature of 20 ° C in the freezer, then dried in standard drying equipment to a moisture content of 5%, grinded with a hammer mill and sieved through a vibrating sieve with a set of sieves to obtain 0.25-0.5 mm sapropel particles. Prepared sapropel in an amount of 22.5 kg (which corresponds to 45 wt.%) Is mixed with gypsum of the grade G-16 with a dispersion of 0.1 mm in an amount of 27.5 kg (which corresponds to 55 wt.%) Pour 40 l of water. The mixture is stirred, poured into molds, dried at a temperature of 40 ° C until the composition hardens. Then crushed in a mill and doused, for example, in a rotating drum mill to obtain rounded granules. The obtained granules are scattered in size through a set of sieves and roundish granules from 3 to 12 mm are obtained. The granular soil has a bulk density of 520 kg / m ³ , strength 20 N, and the N / P ratio is from 1/10 to 1/20.

Example 2. Prepare the soil, as in example 1, using 25 kg (50 wt.%) Sapropel of the same field, 25 kg (50 wt.%) Gypsum and 45 l of water. Rounded granules from 3 to 12 mm in size are obtained. The granular soil has a bulk density of 580 kg / m ³ , strength 20 N, and the N / P ratio is from 1/10 to 1/20.

Claims (1)

Granular soil for aquariums based on organic sapropel with additives, characterized in that they use pre-frozen and dried to a moisture content of not more than 5% sapropel with an ash content of not more than 50% and with a particle size of 0.25-0.5 mm, and as additives - gypsum with a particle size of not more than 0.1 mm with a ratio of components, wt.%: sapropel - 45-50, gypsum - 50-55, while the granules are rounded in size 3-12 mm and the soil is characterized by a bulk density of 500 -600 kg / m ³ , strength - not less than 20 N, and the ratio N / P as 1 / 10-1 / twenty.