eutech-instruments ecoscan do 6 do meter User Manual

Page of 76
Instruction Manual 
DO 6 
 
 
66
 
   
14.1.4 Air 
Calibration 
 
Understanding the principle of air calibration is easy, once you know that it is 
partial pressure that the probe is responding to.  When the probe is in air, it is 
measuring the partial pressure of oxygen in air.  If water is air saturated, then 
the partial pressure of oxygen in the water will be the same as it is in air.  
Therefore, all you need to know is the temperature of the air in which the probe 
is placed.  By consulting solubility tables for oxygen at the particular barometric 
pressure and salinity of the water being measured, the corresponding 
concentration (mg/L or ppm) can be found for air saturated water at the air 
calibration temperature, and the meter can be set accordingly.  Because most 
meters are temperature compensated, they will still give correct readings in 
mg/L even though the actual water temperature may be different to the air 
calibration temperature.  
Note:  The closer the air calibration temperature to the water temperature, the 
more accurate is the calibration.  
14.1.5 Applications 
Oxygen is essential for fish, invertebrate, plant, and aerobic bacteria respiration.  
DO levels below 3 ppm are stressful to most aquatic organisms.  Levels below 2 
or 1 ppm will not support fish.  Fish growth and activity usually require 5 to 6 
ppm of DO, an important consideration for Aqua-culture industry.  
Low DO indicates a demand on the oxygen of the system. Natural organic 
material such as leaves accumulate in the stream and create an oxygen 
demand as it is decomposed. Organic materials from human activities also 
create an oxygen demand in the system.  Micro-organisms consume oxygen as 
they decompose sewage, urban and agricultural run-off, and discharge from 
food-processing plants, meat-packing plants and diaries.   There is an optimum 
DO level for this process and if DO level falls too low, the micro-organisms die 
and the decomposition ceases.  If DO level is too high, more power is used than 
necessary for aeration and the process becomes costly.