Aquatic Systems Engineering: Devices and How They Function

By Pedro Ramon Escobal

All You Need to Know about Turnover Times, Filters, Sterilizers, Reactors, Venturis, Skimmers, Pumps, Hydraulics, Heat, Ozone, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Calcium, Tank Bio-Load Capacity, and Light... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888381051
• ISBN13: 9781888381054
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Dimension Engineering Pr
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 5.8" x 0.8"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read

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!

Technical... but full ok knowledge

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.

Great but always missing the final simplification...

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.

For those who like to think and build

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.

Good for the technically oriented hobbyist

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.)