Water Quality and Pond

Management

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• The main water quality parameters are
1. Temperature
2. Dissolve oxygen
3. Turbidity
4. pH
5. Plaktons

Management practices includes feeding,

fertilization, liming, predator and weed control.
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 Temperature
• Temperature
• Water temperatures in the ponds are related to solar radiation and
air temperatures. Water temperatures closely follow air
temperatures.
• The absorption of solar energy as light passes through water heats
the water. Light energy is absorbed exponentially with depth so
most heat is absorbed within the upper layer of water.
• This is particularly true in fish ponds because high concentrations of
dissolved organic matter and particulate matter greatly increases
the absorption of energy as compared to less turbid water.
• The transfer of heat from upper to lower layer of water depends
largely upon mixing by wind.

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 Thermal stratification
• Thermal stratification refers to the horizontal separation of
a relatively warmer surface layer of water from cooler
bottom waters. Stratification occurs when differentiation in
density of upper and lower strata become so great that the
two strata cannot be mixed by wind.

Fig: Thermal stratification of fish pond

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• The density of water is dependent upon water
temperature. Ponds and lakes may stratify thermally,
because heat is absorbed more rapidly near the surface
of water body and the warm upper waters are less
dense than cool lower waters.

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• The ordinary warm water fish pond
seldom has an average depth of
more than two meters and surface
area of more than few hectares.
However, marked thermal
stratification may develop even in
very shallow ponds because turbid
condition result in rapid heating of
surface water in the calm sunny
days.
• Stratification prolongs for a season
for large lakes while pond stratify
during daylight hours in warm
months and destratify at night when
the upper layer of water cool by
conduction.
• Heavy wind and disappearance of
heavy plankton bloom may cause
the destratification.
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Diel fluctuation of temperature

Temperature

Fig: Diel fluctuation of temperature in the pond

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Water temperature and fish growth
• Metabolism/biochemical reaction depends on
temperature. 10 0C increase in temperature
roughly doubles the metabolic rate until the
maximum value is achieved.
• The metabolic activity of fish, microorganism and
plants increased with increasing temperature
which demand for more feed and oxygen resulted
into faster growth and more production of CO2.
• Rapid temperature difference of >5 0C causes fish
death.
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Temperature management in fish ponds
– Maintain the pond water depth (not less than 1m)
– Provide the temporary shade during the hot
months
– Exchange the pond water whenever required

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 Dissolve Oxygen (DO)
• Dissolved oxygen is the most critical water
quality parameter in aquaculture.
• It is essential to most aquatic organisms for
their respiration.
• It is also necessary during the process of
decomposition.
• Growth rate and food conversion efficiency
will suffer and feed will be wasted if fish
suffered from DO deficiency.
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• Oxygen solubility in water depends on:
1. Temperature;
Oxygen solubility decrease with increasing water temperature.
100% Saturation Lavel

20 100% DO Saturation
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Temperature (C)

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2. Light intensity:
Oxygen solubility increase with increasing light
intensity.
Amount of Sunlight Reaching Plants

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3. Water depth:
Oxygen solubility increases with water depth
and volume.

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4. Atmospheric pressure:
Oxygen solubility increase with increasing
atmospheric pressure. The lower the
atmospheric pressure, the less oxygen can be
held.
Atmosphere

Oxygen diffuses out of Oxygen diffuses into water

water column column

Oxygen > 100% Saturation Oxygen < 100% Saturation

Water Column
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5. Salinity: Oxygen solubility decrease with
increasing salinity. The more saline the water, the
less oxygen it can hold.

6. Current Velocity: The faster water flows, the

more atmospheric oxygen is mixed into the water.

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Source and Sink of oxygen in the pond
• Sources
– Photosynthesis
– Diffusion
• Sinks
– Respiration
– Diffusion
– Decomposition

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• Photosynthesis
– Photosynthesis of phytoplankton is the major
contributor of DO during the day.

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• Diffusion:
Atmosphere
– Atmospheric oxygen crosses
the air-water boundary and
dissolves in the water
matrix. The only way that
oxygen can be introduced
from air to water is by
diffusion.
– In general, the rate of
diffusion of oxygen depends
primarily on the oxygen
deficit in water, the amount
of water surface exposed to
the air and the degree of Water
turbulence.
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 Sinks of oxygen in the pods
• Respiration
– Respiration by fish, plants, Decomposer organisms
(mainly bacteria) consume oxygen.
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy (in form of ATP)
{Carbohydrate + Oxygen  Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy}

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• Diffusion
– When the oxygen tension
in pond water exceed
(supersaturated) the
oxygen tension of
atmosphere, the oxygen
from the pond water
diffuse out to the
atmosphere.

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• Decomposition: Decomposition of organic
matters utilize oxygen.

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Diurnal Fluctuation of DO in the
Ponds

Fig: Diurnal fluctuation of DO in the pond 22

Fig: Diurnal fluctuation of DO in the fish pond during clear and
overcast days.

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 Stratification
• Epilimnion has higher DO concentration than
hypolimnion

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Fig: Temperature and DO stratification in tropical ponds
 Dissolve Oxygen requirement of the fish

• Cold water fish species has less capacity to

extract oxygen from water than warm water
species. So more DO ( 7 ppm) is needed for
cold water fish culture than warm water fish
culture (5 ppm).
• The DO requirement may differ according to
growth stage, season, heat status etc.

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 Dissolved Oxygen lacking conditions
in ponds
• If biochemical oxygen demand (B.O.D.) of the pond is
high, this is due to high organic load. Decaying plant
and animal matter consume substantial amounts of
oxygen in the decaying process.
• Cloudy day with little sunlight will reduce the
photosynthetic oxygen contribution to dissolved
oxygen resulting lacking DO in the pond.
• Unusually high temperatures will lower the solubility of
oxygen in water and hence low dissolved oxygen.
• If too much fishes are stocked.

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 Sign of low dissolve oxygen in the fish ponds
• Piping: Fish come to the water surface and
gulp air bubbles very frequently.
• Fish aggregate at the water inlet.
• Fish not feeding well of even stop feeding.

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 Maintaining DO in the pond
• Direct improvement of DO in pond
– Add oxygenated/ cool water
– Stirring of pond water; using mechanical aerator, boating etc.
– Use chemical like potassium permanganate @ 1-2 ppm.

• Increase photosynthesis
– Increase sun light availability

• Reduction of O2 requirements of fish,

– Thinning out of fishes
– Reducing/stop feeding

• Reduction decomposition
– Avoid over feeding
– Avoid over fertilization
– Liming
– Remove the pond bottom mud if it exceed above one feet.

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• Preventive measure
– Avoid planting large tree on dike
– Avoid overstocking
– Avoid overfeeding
– Stop feeding and fertilization in cloudy and rainy
days.

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 Turbidity
• Turbidity refers to the decreased ability of
water to transmit light caused by suspended
particulate matter in the water column of the
pond.

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 Types of Turbidity
• Plankton turbidity:
– Turbidity caused by plankton generally is desirable in fish ponds.
– Troublesome underwater weeds are eliminated by plankton
turbidity.
– Plankton blooms favor greater fish production by stimulating the
growth of fish food organisms.
– It improves water quality by producing dissolved oxygen and
removing potentially toxic compounds such as ammonia.
– Excessive plankton turbidity may cause shading effect in the
pond and oxygen failure.

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• Clay turbidity:
– On the other hand, turbidity caused by clay particles is generally
undesirable because it keeps light from penetrating the water,
and light is required for algal growth.
– At very high concentrations, clay particles can also clog fish gills
or smother fish eggs.
– Turbidity also may be objectionable to pond owners from an
aesthetic standpoint.
– May develop off-flavour in fish

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 Source of turbidity in the pondss
• External source: run-off, dike erosion, wind,
animals etc
• Internal source:
– Resumption of particle due to fish or water
movement
– Fecal material
– Feed, fertilization, lime etc.

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 Effects of turbidity
• Clay turbidity reduces the light penetration in the pond and
reduces photosynthesis causes low dissolve oxygen.
• Excessive plankton turbidity produce the shade on the
lower layer of pond producing dead zone which may cause
sudden oxygen depletion in pond during night or
cloudy/rainy day.
• Turbidity due to humic substances acidifies and sterilize the
water.
• Excessive turbidity may interfere gill function.
• Siltation reduces the pond depth.
• Clay turbidity reduces the light penetration in the fish pond
which favor the growth of BGA (blue green algae). Some
BGA are responsible for the off-flavour of fish.

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 Turbidity Management in fish pond
• Fertilization
– Low plankton- Increase fertilization
– High plankton- decrease/stop fertilization and feeding.
• Remove some of the pond’s turbid water and add new
clear water
• Use alum @ 15-25mgL-1 for clay turbidity. Turbidity less
than 12 cm use the lower dose while less than 15 cm,
use higher dose. The aluminum (Al3+) in the alum
attracts the negatively charged clay particle and
flocculate settle rapidly. In Low alkalinity pond add ½
part hydrated lime for every part of alum applied in
order to maintain proper pH.

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 Secchi disc visibility and estimation of
fertilization and oxygen situation
Secchi disc transparency (after 3-4 days of Interpretation
fertilization)

Less than 40 cm Too much plankton and fish are in danger

during the night when oxygen is not
produced by photosynthesis and when too
much oxygen is consumed by the respiration
of this plankton.

40 to 60 cm The fertilization and oxygen situation is best

Resulting ambient fish production

More than 60 cm There is too little plankton and fish do not

have enough natural food to eat.

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 pH
• the pH is defined as negative logarithm of
hydrogen ion concentration and indicate
whether water is acidic or alkaline in reaction
and is measured on a scale of 0-14.
• Pure water has 0.0000001 mole per liter of
free H+ and OH- ion.
• For any aqueous solution, the product
[H+][OH-] must equal to 10-14 at 25 oC.

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 pH is negative logarithm of H+,
Thus, +
H = 0.0000001 mole per liter
H+ = 10-7
Taking log on both sides,
Log (H+) = Log (10-7)
Taking –ve on both side,
-Log (H+) = - Log (10-7)

-Log (H+) = - ( -7)

-Log (H+) =7
According to the definition of pH,
pH =7
Thus the pH of normal water is 7 which is called neutral,
above and below this is alkaline and acidic respectively.
Most natural water have pH values between 5 and 10, with
the greatest frequency of values falling between 5 and 10,
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with the greatest frequency of values falling between 6.5 and 9.
Different factors affect the pH of pond
water
• CO2
– Although carbon dioxide (CO2) is highly soluble in
water. Carbon dioxide acts as an acid in water as
shown below:
H2O + CO2 = H2CO3
H2CO3 = H+ + HCO3
– It usually assumed that carbon dioxide cannot make
water more acid than pH 4.5. trace amount of carbon
dioxide is present above pH 8.3 and below which no
carbonate occurs.

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• Bicarbonate and carbonate
– Natural waters usually contain more bicarbonate. The
carbon dioxide in natural waters reacts with bases in the
rocks and soil to form bicarbonate, as illustrate for alkaline
earth carbonates, calcite (CaCo3).
CaCO3 +CO2 +H2O = Ca2+ + 2HCO3 –
HCO3- + H+ = H2O + CO2
• Water with pH less than 4.5 contains a strong mineral
acids like sulfuric, hydrochloric or nitric acid.

• Optimum range of pH for aquacuculture is 6.8-8.6.

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Dial fluctuation of pH in pond

Fig: Diel fluctuation in pH of pond water 43

 Averaging pH
pH 8 pH 7
From the definition of pH, pH 7 and pH 8 means,
H+ = 10-8 H+ = 10-7
H+ = 0.00000001 H+ = 0.0000001
H+
Averaging H+ = 0.00000001+0.0000001)/2

H+ = 0.000000055
-log (H+) = - log (0.000000055)
-log (H+) =7.259637311
From the definition of pH
pH =7.25
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Q= Calculate the average pH of pH 7.5 and pH 6.5.
 Effect of pH on fish

• Effect of low pH
– Reduce appetite
– Inhibit growth and reproduction
– Excessive production of mucus on the gills which interfere with
respiration
– More attack of parasites and disease
– Acid death (pH 4 and lower)

• Effect of high pH
– Damage cornea and lens of the eyes
– Disturb blood acid base balance
– Slow growth rate
– Alkaline death (pH 11 and higher)

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 pH management in the ponds
• Liming of acidic pond
• Use carbonic fertilizer (compost), nitrogenous
fertilizer (urea, ammonium sulphate), gypsum
(calcium sulphate) in alkaline ponds.

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