Category Archives: Water Quality

The Importance of Water Quality Monitoring in Aquaculture

Bell Environmental understand that ensuring good water quality is essential when reviewing the Aquaculture Industry. It determines the health, quality and growth of aquatic wildlife and management will look to monitor some key water quality parameters to ensure these valuable assets are of the best quality. The key parameters of interest are dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, conductivity, ammonia and nitrates.

Correct monitoring of these will allow an Aquaculture business to be sustainable, with the benefit of being compliant with both industry and government regulations. By using water quality instrumentation, management will be able to keep a close eye on the water quality, its relation to feeding habits and therefore optimum growth conditions.

What solutions are available at Bell Environmental?

Ponsel Digisens sensor

  1. Digisens water quality probes

    Our Aqualabo Digisens water quality probes can provide readings for pH, Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen and Turbidity. All our sensors use a Modbus protocol which means the sensor can be integrated directly into a local PLC / control system that can accept this form of communication.

  2. Point Colour remote data collection

    Our remote data systems allow you to collect data from directly from the sensors, without the need for a display. Data from the sensors can be provided to a web based platform via GSM/GPRS.

  3. Ethernet Data Collection

    Our Ethernet based data collection systems provide data directly from your sensors in the field to a web based portal. These units are typically mains powered and provide a good solution if wireless connectivity is not required.

  4. Test Kits for Aquatic Farming / Fish Farming.

  5. Odeon Photopod

    The Photopod simply connects onto our Ponsel Odeon handheld water quality meter and allows for the measurement of over 50 additional parameters such as ammonia and nitrates.

  6. S200 stationary display

    The S200 stationary display provides a local readout for all of our Ponsel Digisens sensors. The device also allows for calibration and provides external outputs for integration into a local data management system or telemetry device.

  7. Module 4001

    If utilising more than one Digisens sensor, the Module 4001 can be used to connect up to 5 sensors, providing a central location where power can be provided and calibration undertaken.

  8. Spectrophotometer for laboratory water quality analysis.

What are the advantages of these systems?

Remote Data Recording

Our remote data logging systems ensure that you can receive and view data wherever a web browser is available, whether this is on a PC, tablet or smart phone. These systems provide you with a remote view of the water quality conditions and mean you can monitor and be reactive to sudden changes. Our systems also allow for the configuration of alarms either via SMS or email. This can mean if a particular condition is met by one of the sensors then an email or SMS would be sent to a pre-defined mobile number or email address, for example an alarm can be set on the device if the pH exceeds 9.

Smart Sensors

All of Bell Environmental’s Digisens sensors utilise on-board smart processing, and can work with both our handheld Odeon device and our S200 displays. The sensors can also work as a standalone product allowing for integration into third party systems and data loggers. This means that the systems can save you money, as you can either look to utilise existing equipment or you can reduce the number of instruments required. As an example if you had a third party compatible data control system on site, and were looking to monitor pH and dissolved oxygen, a traditional system would require you to have a sensor and a display at each location. With the Digisens range you can simply connect the sensors directly to the control system, saving you money.

Real Values in Real Time

Bell Environmental’s Digisens sensors will provide quick / responsive readings, which are highly accurate and reliable, to ensure your process is performing correctly. The sensors can also be calibrated locally using the Odeon display, or using the local S200 display. Procedures for this are simple to follow and allow systems to be calibrated and returned back to operation quickly.

For further information on our Ponsel and Aqualabo monitoring systems please call us on 01280 817304 or e-mail our sales team directly at mail@bellenviro.co.uk.

Please visit our website https://www.bellenviro.co.uk/water-quality-monitoring/ for more information.

Choosing a Dissolved Oxygen Sensor

What is Dissolved oxygen?

Dissolved oxygen is a reference for the amount of free oxygen found in water. Dissolved oxygen is a very important parameter when looking at water quality as it can have a large influence on the organisms living in a body of water. Typically, dissolved oxygen provides a good indication of the condition of water, therefore understanding these levels can help a good deal when looking to improve or maintain good water quality.

Dissolved Oxygen Sensor

How does dissolved oxygen enter the water?

The dissolved oxygen enters the water through the surrounding air, or as a result of plant life via photosynthesis. Air carrying oxygen can enter across the water surface, or can be introduced by processes such as aeration (occurring naturally or via man made solutions). Dissolved oxygen can also be introduced as a waste product from the process of photosynthesis from plant life such as algae, sea weed and other aquatic plants.

How can I measure dissolved oxygen

For the measurement of dissolved oxygen you will typically require a sensor and in most cases a meter or controller to interpret the information provided by the sensor. A dissolved oxygen sensor commonly comprises one of the following technologies –

♦ Clark electrode
♦ Optical dissolved oxygen sensor

Deciding which sensor is best will depend on the budget you have available and the time you have to undertake maintenance and calibration. In recent time’s optical dissolved oxygen sensors have been favoured over the traditional Clark electrode technology. The main reason for this change is due to the low maintenance / low drift characteristics of the optical sensor. This makes the sensor ideal for use on long term applications and those where reducing costs associated with maintenance is key. Optical dissolved oxygen sensors have no dependence on flow, therefore they are also ideal for applications where “still” water is present. A Clark electrode in comparison will require maintenance to ensure it provides accurate and reliable data, as the filling solution within the sensors can dry out over time. They are also dependent on flow to perform correctly, so will require some form of stirring or flow depending on the application.

Aquaread AquaPlus portable Optical DO / EC Meter Package

What type of dissolved oxygen meters are available and which is best for me?

Typically dissolved oxygen meters are found in 3 products types –

♦ Sensor only, with an analogue or digital output
♦ Sensor with handheld display / data logger
♦ Sensor with a permanent controller

Your selection will be decided by your application. If for example you already have an existing SCADA or data collection system you may decide that you can integrate a dissolved oxygen sensor into your system directly. This will of course mean that to perform calibration on the sensor you will most likely need a handheld device or PC software with communication cable. If however you would like a permanent display for readings / data logging or calibration then a permanent controller may be your best option. If a portable meter is needed for spot measurement or for carrying out short term monitoring or deployments, then use with a battery powered display or data logger may be the best option available to you.

To ensure you select the appropriate device for your application please feel free to contact us mail@bellenviro.co.uk or call our technical sales team 01280 817304