Customer Reviews

Aquatic Systems Engineering: Devices and How They Function

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More facts and science and less anecdotal data and conventional wisdom is long overdue in the aquaria hobbies. This book is a step in that direction. This is not a book with lots of colorful pictures that merely repeats what has been repeated in so many other books on aquaria, with or without any factual basis. This book presents models of several pieces of equipment used in aquaria systems. The models use quantitative elements (i.e., expressable as numbers), then present the math to show how the models work.

For example, if a water pump can pump so many gallons per hour, how long will it take for the pump to process all of the water in the tank? (It's not as simple as you might first think.) This book presents a model for that. Models are presented for sizing Ultraviolet sterilizers, skim filters, and determining processing rates for water processing devices generally.

But it is not all science; there is dogma here too. An unsupported claim is that ultraviolet sterilizers are one of the most important pieces of equipment for an aquaria. This is controversial at best and just plain false at worst. But in any event, there is no scientific support for the claim in the book.

The models are somewhat lacking also. The processing model for sizing ultraviolet sterilizers and determining proper flow rates does not take into account the replication rate of organisms. In fact, this matter is swept away with a wave of the hand, basically saying if you want to pick a different processing rate, go ahead. But no accurate model of sterilization can ignore the math involved with the rate of bacteria or protozoa replicating.

The models also assume, quite impractically for real application of the models, that whenever a pump, filter or ultraviolet sterilizers returns water to a tank, the water is instantly and thoroughly mixed with the other water in the tank -- instant homogeneity. This assumption is useful in simplifying the model but it hardly applies to any real world situation. So the formulas for determing the number of times a given device will turnover all the water in an aquarium has little practical application. But even if that were not a problem, the correct number of turnovers is assumed more or less--unless you know a lot more about bacteria decomposition in various filters than most people do.

This book does a reasonable job of explain how the models are built. But the books focuses on certain equipment (the kind author's company sells?) and ignores others without presenting any scientific support for those choices. The book describes water pumps but only those having two moving parts; it ignores water pumps that have only one moving part, such as Eheim has used for years.

When presenting the formula for selecting a heater, the formula doesn't facdtor in the heat from water pumps (almost all water pumps, powerheads, filter [umps use the aquarium water to dissipate motor heat), lights, etc. So practical application of the formula is limited.

The book doesn't note the characteristic problem with fluidized bed/sand filters. All types of filters have good and bad points. The famous bad point of fluidized bed filters is that once the flow throw the sand becomes uneven at all, the unevenness exacerbates itself until you clean or replace the sand. And it's not hard for the sand to develop some uneveness.

So this is a good book as far as it goes. Rather than just saying, for example, this kind of filter works, it provides a mathematical model of (some of) how it works. That's a step in the right direction towards putting more science and less marketing hype and merely anecdotal data in the hobby. Developing the formulas is the right idea, but the formulas are not yet complete --and they focus on some equipment ignoring other, in some cases mor common, equipment. So it is only one step in the right direction; it doesn't make the whole trip.

With that in mind it's worth reading, although maybe best borrowed once from a library.

Although a bit technical at times, Escobal's book is designed to literally teach aquarists the often mysterious ways our aquatic devices really work. As a dedicated aquarist, I have tinkered with all my aquariums for a long time but, it was not until I got this book, that I truly began to understand the chemistry or physics behind the diverse array of filters, protein skimmers, reactors and so forth, that are part of this hobby. The book is written like a textbook and it includes exercises, examples, charts and graphics. As a result, the reader can absorb the contents as his/her own pace and safely tinker with his/her own devices at home. Although at times too technical, the book is a true jewel to be cherished by all who love aquatic life and strive to keep it alive and well in their aquariums.

If you want to make your filters or UV sterilizers work EFFICIENTLY, you must have this book! It gives you "why and how" and proves it mathematically. You can easily modify some "constants" if you feel that the author is too conservative and takes excessive precautions. There is no "just because" type of answers in this book. And don't get scared away by the math, it is really quite simple and understandable. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to fully appreciate this book.

25 years ago I made a living of Dr. Escobal's book on celestial mechanics. I was in awe of him then and now.

This book is unique in aquaium hobby (all fish?) books in as much as it actually derrives things from first principles. Which is fascinating for a fellow physicist/EE.

My only complaint is that a little intuition would always motivate the math and usually give the same results. I.e if the range/depth dissapation of a UV light in H20 is 2", it's too not surprizing that with a 1" light tube the optimal diameter is around 3", etc. Using that result it's pretty simple to get the dose. I came at it the other way and loaded all the math into Mathematica and played around with different limits/optimizations for a while until the light turned on. So sometimes the results seem more analytical than they might be, but they are important results: use a flow meter!

If you're not handy with a calculator, then this book isn't for you, but if you are and you want to see a lot of silly claims made by gadget vendors debunked, then you'll find this interesting.

As an amateur aquarium enthusiast, I've had trouble obtaining accurate and reliable information about the design and functioning of aquatic systems. This book takes a serious top-down approach so the reader can drill-down as far as he wants into theory and mathematics to satisfy his curiosity. It is well organized and concisely written. The chapters on ultraviolet sterilizes are particularly well-done. I can now hold my own with retailers and manufacturers' representatives who push buyers towards high cost solutions that are inefficient or don't work. Now if Mr. Escobar would take on natural aquatic systems, I might learn the relationship between sunlight and artificial ultraviolet lighting as it relates to the control of algae!

Gives good analysis of some of the aquarium hobby's most common filtration devices, including mathmatical formulas for optimizing function of these devices. However, some very common filtration methods (e.g. undergravel filtration) are not addressed by the author, where a mathmatical treatment of these could have also been included in the book. The devices most detailed seem to coincide with the product line offered by the manufacturing company also founded by the author. In all, the book is a valuable reference of the serious hobbyist wishing to understand how important concepts in aquarium keeping work (protein skimming, water flow, etc.)

hope you know your algebra kiddies, this book has plenty of it, but many helpful insights on how to stop wasting your money on things that do not work, and why, we dug it!! the equasions are kinds confusing though nikki