A & D Aquatics of Warloy having passed their Water Quality Certificates

When you're running a busy aquatic shop, it's probably impossible for either yourself or your staff to find the time to take a course at college. Indeed, even if you can, there may not be anything suitable in your area.

With this in mind, OATA has developed a distance learning course in aquatics. There are two volumes available: Water Quality and Filtration and Fish Biology and Fish Health.

Keith Davenport of OATA said: "Even when I was working at Sparsholt, which was quite some time ago now, people used to phone to see if there were courses that they could do at home. Our course is ideal for all those who, in the past have sought training but due to work constraints and geographical problems have found the right courses difficult to come by."

Water Quality and Filtration deals with the physical characteristics of water such as temperature, density, conductivity, pH and hardness and there's also a section on salinity. Pollutants, such as ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all covered in detail, along with phosphates and metals, as are dissolved gases and there's a chapter devoted to tapwater, which includes information on RO.

The second part of the manual, which deals with the filtration side of things covers mechanical, biological and chemical filtration, all explained in depth and there's a separate section on sterilizing filters like ozone and UV.

Fish Biology and Fish Health looks at fish identification, anatomy, control systems, such as circulation and excretion, metabolism, feeding, reproduction and the environment. A chapter on the trade in ornamental fish includes collection from the wild and a look at some of hazardous aquatic animals and how they should be handled (or not - as the case may be!). Part two of the manual, which concentrates on fish health includes chapters on disease and its causes and treatments, along with stress and the immune system.

Both the manuals come in a ringbinder format and are written in such a way that event the more scientific subjects are very easy to understand. This is helped by a large number of black and white line diagrams which are scattered throughout the text.

So how much does the course cost? Well, OATA members can get the volumes for just £55 each; non-members pay £72 for each volume. The exams cost a further £55 (£72 for non-members) and these will be awarded to 'students' who have passed both a written and telephone examination.

Members of OATA who purchase both volumes and exams together will receive a 10% discount.