en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium
4 corrections found
Robert Warrington
The chemist's surname was Warington, not Warrington.
Full reasoning
This name is misspelled. Contemporary and reference sources identify the aquarium pioneer as Robert Warington (1807–1867), not “Robert Warrington.”
A biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography is titled “Warington, Robert” and says that in 1849 he began investigations on aquaria. The original 1851 Chemical Society paper on the aquarium principle is also authored by Robert Warington. These sources contradict the spelling used here.
2 sources
- Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Warington, Robert - Wikisource
WARINGTON, ROBERT (1807-1867), chemist ... In 1849 he began investigation on aquaria, and the means necessary to prevent the water therein from becoming stagnant.
- IX.—Notice of observations on the adjustment of the relations between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, by which the vital functions of both are permanently maintained - Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society of London
Robert Warington, F.C.S.
The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Water
Gosse's 1854 book was titled *The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea*, not *Deep Water*.
Full reasoning
The book title is given incorrectly here. The 1854 title page reads “The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea.” Multiple bibliographic records for the work use that exact title. That directly contradicts the phrase “Deep Water” in this sentence.
2 sources
- The Aquarium (Gosse) - Wikisource
THE AQUARIUM: AN UNVEILING OF THE WONDERS OF THE DEEP SEA. BY PHILIP HENRY GOSSE.
- The aquarium: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Title ... The aquarium: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea
William Stimson
The zoologist's surname was Stimpson, not Stimson.
Full reasoning
This person’s name is misspelled. Smithsonian sources identify the naturalist associated with early American aquariums as William Stimpson (1832–1872).
The Smithsonian’s article on the institution’s first aquarium is titled “William Stimpson and the Smithsonian’s First Aquarium” and repeatedly refers to him as William Stimpson. The Smithsonian Archives also have a biographical authority record for Stimpson, William, 1832–1872. That contradicts the spelling “Stimson” used here.
2 sources
- William Stimpson and the Smithsonian’s First Aquarium | Smithsonian Institution
Additonal clues appear in the lists of donations in the Smithsonian's Annual Reports: ... 'living marine animals for aquarium' from William Stimpson ... Stimpson was a marine zoologist and was associated with the Smithsonian.
- Stimpson, William, 1832-1872 | Smithsonian Institution Archives
Naturalist and zoologist, William Stimpson (1832-1872) spent four years as a naturalist with the North Pacific Exploring Expedition, 1852-1856.
convert ammonia to nitrate (removing nitrogen at the expense of aquatic plants)
Converting ammonia to nitrate is nitrification; it changes nitrogen's form but does not remove nitrogen from the water.
Full reasoning
This statement confuses nitrification with nitrogen removal.
Authoritative water-treatment sources explain that nitrification is the biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate. That process does not remove nitrogen from the system; the nitrogen is still present as nitrate. Actual biological nitrogen removal requires an additional step such as denitrification, which converts nitrate to nitrogen gas, or uptake into biomass such as plants.
NOAA’s aquarium-system description likewise says biological filtration converts toxic ammonia and nitrite to nitrate. So the article’s parenthetical claim that this conversion is “removing nitrogen” is incorrect.
3 sources
- EPA Technology Available for Licensing: Biological Filter for Oxidizing Ammonia in Drinking Water | US EPA
The oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, and then nitrate, is a biological process referred to as nitrification. ... Biological nitrification is a two-step, aerobic, microbiological process.
- Municipal Nutrient Removal Technologies | US EPA
The biological removal of nitrogen is carried out through a three-step process: ... nitrification; and (3) the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas ... Denitrification by denitrifying microorganisms...
- Experimental Aquarium at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center | NOAA Fisheries
The biological filtration is completed ... as the bead media is coated with ... nitrifying bacteria ... [that] convert toxic ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, respectively.