Fluval G Electrical Conductivity (Ec) Monitoring System - Fluval G3 User Manual

FLUVAL G ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY (EC) MONITORING SYSTEM

What is Electrical Conductivity?
Electrical conductivity (EC) is a measure of the water's ability to "carry" an electrical current and indirectly, a
measure of dissolved solids or ions in the water. Pure water has a very low conductivity value (nearly zero);
hence, the more dissolved solids and ions occurring in the water, the more electrical current the water is
able to conduct.
How does the Fluval G EC Monitoring System measure the Electrical Conductivity in my aquarium?
The Fluval G instrumentation senses water through a special conductivity probe consisting of two titanium
alloy terminals, which will not age or degrade through oxidation and ageing. The conductivity probe in
conjunction with the temperature sensor measures the electrical resistance of aquarium water. The
sophisticated software then interprets the electrical signal to calculate and display the conductivity value.
The system recognizes if the aquarium contains fresh water or salt water, and automatically displays the
correct value in either (microsiemens) μS/cm for fresh water or (millisiemens) mS/cm for marine tanks).
The system constantly monitors aquarium conductivity and also provides a rolling line graph, which records
the historical daily readings (1 reading every 12 hours), covering up to 48 days of historical data. You also
have the ability to set an alarm to show the maximum and minimum settings.
CONDUCTIVITY SENSOR
Type
Material of the electrodes
Measurement range in fresh water
Instrument accuracy in fresh water
from 100 to 1500 us.cm
Measurement range in salt water
Instrument accuracy in salt water
from 40 to 80 mS/cm
It's important to note that conductivity is a gross measurement only, and cannot specifically indicate the
concentration or presence of any one specific component.
The EC Monitoring system is also used to protect the aquarium against other abnormal operation conditions,
such as the absence of water within the filter.
Why is Electrical Conductivity so important in aquaria?
One of the most important issues for aquarium keepers is providing and maintaining a suitable and stable
environment for living organisms; EC plays an important role in monitoring both fresh and saltwater tanks,
providing a general, but fundamental alert that something is changing inside the aquarium.
It is something similar to the body temperature of a person: a deviation from the "normal" range does not
point to a specific illness, but suggests that something is changing or has been altered, and needs to be
investigated.
In nature, every biotope can be identified by a complex list of interrelated characteristics. In aquatic
environments, EC is a very important element. Fish are very sensitive to this value since conductivity is
strictly related to the amount of osmotic pressure exerted on their cellular membranes. While they are well
adapted to the specific conductivity range of the environment in which they live, you still have to ensure the
fish you are placing into your aquarium are suitable to the water. If the water is not the right environment
for them, your fish will need to continuously pump water in or out, so that the osmotic pressure is equalized
across their cell membranes.
w w w. f l u v a l - g . c o m
G3
Contact type,
Volt/Ampermetric
measuring
Titanium
μS/cm from 10 - 2000
+/ _ 3%
%
mS/cm from 20 - 80
+/ _ 4%
%
24
EN.
Note:
For a correct reading of
G6
the conductivity value at
Contact type, the filter's 1st startup
Volt/Ampermetric
or after maintenance
measuring
operations, it is
Titanium
recommended to let the
from 10 - 2000
unit operate for at least
+/ _ 3%
48 hours so any air
bubbles trapped in the
from 20 - 80
filter can be released.
Otherwise, the probe's
+/ _ 4%
accuracy will be
reduced.
R E T U R N T O C O N T E N T S PA G E
H Y D R O T E C H P E R F O R M A N C E M O N I T O R
A D VA N C E D F I LT R AT I O N S Y S T E M