Potential heavy metals remediation test on chaetoceros calcitrans

The level of heavy metals in the aquatic environment is currently increasing due to human activities in various fields. Types of heavy metals often found in aquatic environments are Cd and Cu heavy metals. Both of these heavy metals are known to cause toxic effects at high concentrations. In this study the microalgae Chaetoceros calcitrans will be tested using Cd and Cu heavy metals with control concentration, 0.7, 1.3, and 1.9 ppm with 3 replications and exposed for 96 hours. The results show that exposure to heavy metals can significantly reduce the density of microalgae. The growth of microalgae has decreased with increasing concentration of heavy metals. The final density of microalgae shows that Cu is more toxic than Cd. This can be seen from the IC₅₀ value of Cu heavy metals which is lower than Cd, which are 0.384 and 0.409 ppm, respectively.