Abstract
Preeminent water treatment plans are essential to preserve the water quality of aquatic biotopes. Previous studies have not been sufficient to provide cost-effective maintenance method since they focused only on the purification of deteriorated water that requires a continuous supply of clean water. This study proposes an economical method of water quality maintenance using water treatment media block constructed vertically using porous ceramics, zeolite, and river pebble. The water treatment media block does not require a separate purification area because it functions as a purifier within the ecological pond which can maximize the biotope area. To evaluate the performance of the water treatment media block, we longitudinally tracked the change of water quality indicators (pH, TDS, COND, DO, T-P, T-N, COD) suggested by Water Environment Standards, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea. We compared the water quality of one control (A: general ecological pond composition method of the laminated structure) and two experimental groups (B: a combination of aquatic plants and a water treatment media block, C: a water treatment media block only). As a result, we confirmed that the water treatment media block is an efficient and economical method to maintaining the water quality of the ecological pond for a long time. The water treatment media block will be a great help in providing a better aquatic biotope space for aquatic insects and fishes living in clear water.
