Water Quality Management

Water quality
management
Physical parameters – Temperature and Turbidity
Chemical parameters - DO and pH
Biological parameters – Plankton
Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU

2
Introduction
• Water
• Primary requisite for the existence and growth of aquatic animals
• For successful aquaculture

• Maintenance of a healthy aquatic environment
• Production of sufficient fish food organisms
• Nutrient status of pond water and soil- key importance

• Nutrient in water- governs the production of plankton
organisms- primary production
• Nutrient in soil- storage and release for different processes
2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

3
Introduction…
• Water quality parameters studied under
• Physical parameters
• Chemical parameters and
• Biological parameters
• Interrelated and affects each other

• Physical parameters
• Depth
• Temperature
• Light
• Turbidity

4
Temperature
• Temperature- quantitative hotness or coldness of water
• Water temperature depends on a number of factors
• Solar radiation
• Climatic condition
• Depth
• Temperature in turn have effect on biological

productivity.
• Determinant factor for the species selection in
aquaculture.

5
Temperature…
• Water temperature- closely follows the air
temperature
• Follows the pattern of seasonal air temperature.
40
Air Water
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

6
Temperature…
• Specific heat capacity of water- unity
• 1 cal/g°C or 4.186 J/g °C
• Main source of energy- solar radiation

• Solar radiation- affected by a number of factors
• Light energy absorbed exponentially with depth
• Most of the heat absorbed by the upper layer
• High concentration of dissolved and particulate

matter greatly increases the absorption energy

7
Temperature…
• Density of water
• Temperature dependent
• Highest at 4°C
Temperature (°C) Density (g/cm3)
0 0.999867
4 1.000000
10 0.9997277
15 0.9991265
20 0.9982323
25 0.9970739
30 0.9956756

8
Thermal stratification
• Horizontal separation of water column based on
temperature
• Formation of different layers (strata) based on water
temperature
• Relatively warmer surface layer and cooler bottom
waters
• Warmer water- less dense-floats on the top of cooler denser
water
• Generally, mixing of water in ponds is done by wind.

9
Thermal stratification…
• When density difference of upper and lower strata
becomes so great that the two strata can not be
mixed by wind
• Stratification occurs
• Generally occurs in deep ponds, lakes and

reservoirs.
• Occurs when temperature rises and effect of wind
is weakened.

10
Epilimnion
Metalimnion
Hypolimnion

11
• Epilimnion
• High temperature
• Low density
• More or less same temperature
• Metalimnion
• Moderate temperature
• Moderate density
• Change in temperature with depth
• Hypolimnion
• Low temperature
• High density
• More or less same temperature
• Temperature decreases gradually per unit depth.

12
• When there is abrupt fall in temperature per unit
depth in metalimnion- Thermocline
• Change in temperature by 1°C/ m depth

13
• The reverse process of stratification-
destratification
• Mixing of different layers of water
• Also termed as overturn
• Factors
• Cooling down of surface water
• Heavy rainfall
• Heavy wind action etc.

14
Diel fluctuation
• Temperature in fish ponds vary with the time during
day.
• Generally, lowest during morning hours
• After sunrise, water is heated and temperature increases
gradually
• Reaches its maximum in the afternoon
• After evening, the heat is lost to atmosphere gradually and
• Become minimum at morning
• The fluctuation is relatively less pronounced with

increasing depth.
15
Water temperature and fish growth
• Fish- poikilothermic
• Body temperature- generally about 1°C above that of
the environment
• Changes with the change in environment
• Rate of biochemical processes in fish- temperature

dependent
• O2 consumption increases with the increase in
temperature
• But solubility of O2 decreases with increase in temperature

16
• With an increase of 10°C in temperature, the
metabolic rate doubles
• Till its reaches its maximum
• Within the tolerable range
• Great variability in the tolerance to temperature

• The tolerance range may be wide but optimum
range for maximum growth might be narrower.
• E.g.: a fish may tolerate temperature of 5-42°C, but the
range for maximum growth might be from 25-30°C.
17
• Based on temperature tolerance the fishes can be:
• Cold water fishes: Optimum temperature range is 10-
20°C
• E.g.: Rainbow trout, Snow trout etc.
• Warm water fishes: Optimum temperature range is 20-
32°C
• E.g.: IMC and Chinese major carps, catfishes, tilapia etc.
• Warm water fish decrease feeding when the
temperature drops below 20°C and may die below 12°C.

18
Temperature mgmt. in fishponds
• Maintain the pond water depth (>1 m).
• Provide temporary shade to the ponds in hot
months.
• Avoid shading in cold months.
• Avoid fish handling during very high and low
temperature.
• Exchange pond water whenever required.

19
Turbidity
• Decreased ability of water to transmit light caused by
suspended/ particulate matter in the water column of
the pond.
1
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∝
𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦
• Causes of turbidity
• Planktons:- generally desirable in fish ponds
• Suspended particles of silts and clay:- generally undesirable in
fish ponds
• High concentration of humus substances:- may be desirable
or undesirable for fish ponds.

20
Turbidity…
Sources
External Internal
Surface Resuspension • Fish movements

runoffs of particles • Water movements
• Construction
• Livestock
• Rainfall Fecal matter
• Dike erosion
• Wind etc.
• Feed
Pond inputs • Fertilizer
• Lime etc.

21
Turbidity…
• Effects
• Reduce light penetration- may reduce the
photosynthesis and thus the productivity of water mass
• Little direct effect on fish, but excessive may interfere
with gill function causing respiration problem.
• Siltation- reduces the pond depth
• Absorbs and adsorbs the nutrients of pond water
• Affects vision of fish
• Humus turbidity may acidify and sterilize the water.

22
Turbidity measurement
• Secchi disk visibility method
• Weighed disk, 20 cm diameter
• Desirable range- 25 to 40 cm
• Suspended solids measurement method

• Water filtered through GFC and calculated
• Desirable range- 25-80 mg/L
• Nephelometric method
• Ideal method
• Instrument measures the scattered light
• Unit is Nephelometer Turbidity Unit (NTU).

23
Turbidity measurement…
Secchi disk
Nephelometer

24
Turbidity management
• Periodic fertilization- to maintain the plankton turbidity
• Increase/ decrease/ even stop as per requirement
• Water exchange with new clear water to reduce all

types of turbidity
• Use of ‘+ve’ charged electrolytes to reduce silt and clay
turbidity
• Alum (Aluminum sulphate)- 5-10 mg/L
• Cupper sulphate- 0.5 mg/L
• Calcium sulphate- 500 kg/ha

25
Turbidity management…
• Liming- to prevent acidic condition due to humic
substances
• De-siltation of water in siltation tank before use in
fish ponds
• Use of hay bales- 15-22/ ha to reduce clay turbidity
• Use of 3:1 mixture of cotton seed meal and
superphosphate @ 110 kg/ha.

26
Dissolved oxygen (DO)
• Most essential WQ parameter in aquaculture.
• Essential for respiration as well as decomposition
• Level of DO- most important factors in water
quality
• If not sufficient- aquatic animals will be
• Stressed
• Vulnerable to diseases and parasites
• May die

27
DO…
• DO depletion may lead to refusal of food by fish
• Lower growth rate
• Higher FCR
• Atmosphere is vast reservoir of O2, but slightly soluble

in water.
• The solubility depends on
• Temperature- with increase in temperature, solubility
decreases
• Atmospheric pressure- increases with increase
• Salinity- More saline water holds less oxygen

28
DO…
Sources Sinks
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Diffusion to air
Diffusion from
air Decomposition

29
DO…
• Stratification
• Corresponds closely to thermal stratification
• Oxygen evolution by phytoplanktons- highest near
surface
• Decreases with depth- self-shading
• Lowest at bottom- low abundance of phytoplanktons and less
light availability
• More oxygen consumed at bottom- decomposition
along with respiration
• Epilimnion contains more O2 than hypolimnion

30
DO…
• Diel fluctuation
• Marked fluctuation during 24 hours
• Lowest concentration in early morning, at or just after
sunrise
• Increases with the sunrise and daylight
• Reaches maximum during late afternoon
• Decreases during night
• During daylight
• Oxygen produced >>> Oxygen consumed by respiration
by animals and plants

31
DO…
• Net result
• Increase in oxygen during day
• At night,
• Photosynthesis stops
• Respiration and decomposition continues
• Magnitude of fluctuation greatest in ponds with

heavy plankton blooms.
• Least in ponds with low plankton abundance

32
DO requirement to fish
• Varies and depends upon
• Species,
• Size of fish
• Food intake
• Activity of fish
• Water temperature
• DO concentrations etc.
• 5 mg/L accepted as minimum concentration

• Might be too low for coldwater species

33
DO requirements…
• Many species can survive at DO <5 mg/L
• Prolonged exposure to low DO affect the fish by
• Decreasing immunity against disease
• Decreasing fecundity
• Inhibiting growth
• Increase to other susceptibility to unfavorable
conditions
• Warm water fish die if exposed for few hours to less

than 0.3 mg/L (Swingle, 1969)
34
DO requirements…
• 1.0 mg/L- minimum to support fish at rest for
several hours
• For better growth
• Warm water fish: >5 mg/L
• Cold water fish: >8 mg/L

35
DO requirements…

36
Causes for low DO conditions
• High stocking of fishes
• Cloudy weather
• Excessive decomposition of organic matter
• Phytoplanktonic bloom and die-off
• High water temperature

37
Signs of low DO in fish ponds
• Fish comes to surface and gulp air frequently-
piping
• Fish aggregate near water inlet.
• Fish does not feed well or may stop feeding.

38
DO management
• Direct improvement
• Adding cool and well-oxygenated water
• Stirring the pond water by boating, swimming, or using
aerators
• Using chemicals like KMnO4 @1-2 ppm
• Increased photosynthesis
• Increasing sunlight availability
• Fertilizing pond periodically

39
DO management

40
DO management
• Reduction of oxygen requirement of fish
• Thinning out fish
• Reducing or even stopping supplementary feeding
(especially on cloudy days)
• Reducing decomposition
• Avoiding overfeeding and fertilizing
• Liming @ 500 kg/ha
• Removing pond bottom mud if >30 cm

41
Preventing low DO
• Avoid planting trees at pond dike
• Avoid overstocking
• Avoid overfeeding
• Maintain water depth
• Maintain planktonic density to optimum
• Stop feeding and fertilization on cloudy days

42
DO measurement
• Chemical method
• Winkler’s method- Iodometric titration
• Instrumental method
• DO meter
• Careful calibration
• Careful use

43
DO measurement
• Field kit

44
pH
• Negative logarithm of hydrogen ion activity
• Indicates whether water is acidic or alkaline
• Measured in scale of 0-14
𝑝𝐻 = − log 𝐻 +
• pH value of water at 25°C is 7.0
• pH of water is the result of soil and chemicals in
water

45
pH…
• Major factor in fish ponds is CO2
• pH decreases with the increase in CO2
• CO2 dissolves in water to make H2CO3
• Diel fluctuation of CO2 leads to diel fluctuation of pH
• Most acidic- early morning
• Most alkaline- mid afternoon
• As photosynthesis uses up CO2 from water, pH
increases
• CO2 can not make water more acidic than pH 4.5 and
negligible CO2 is present in water above pH 8.3

46
pH…
11
10 cm 50 cm 100 cm 150 cm
10
9
pH
6
6:00 AM 12:00 AM 6:00 PM 12:00 PM 6:00 AM
Time

47
pH…
𝐻𝐶𝑂3 → 𝐶𝑂2 + 𝑂𝐻 − (occurring at daytime)
𝐻2 𝑂 + 𝐶𝑂2 → 𝐻2 𝐶𝑂3 + 𝐻 + (occurring at night)
• Optimum range of pH for fish culture- 6.8 to 8.6
• Fluctuation higher in poor buffered water
• Moderate alkalinity- beneficial for aquaculture as
well as maintaining the pH

48
Optimum pH range
• Optimum range for fish
culture 6.8 to 8.6

49
pH measurement

50
Average calculation (pH)
• Convert given pH to H+ concentrations
• Average the H+ concentrations
• Reconvert to pH
pH H+ Conc.
6 1.00E-06
8 1.00E-08
7 1.00E-07
9 1.00E-09
2.778E-07
Direct average= 7.5
Average with H+ concentration= 6.6
SD/ SE value not provided with average of pH

51
Effect of low pH
• Reduces appetite
• Inhibits fish growth and ceases reproduction
• Reduces tolerance to toxic substances and diseases
• Excessive mucus production on gills- interference
with respiration
• Increase toxicity of metals like Al, and H2S, CH4 etc.
• Acid death

52
Effect of high pH
• Damage to cornea and lens of eyes
• Damage gill filaments
• Disturb the blood acid-base balance
• Slow growth rate
• Alkaline death

53
pH management
• Low pH
• Liming: 500-1000 kg/ha/yr
• Base on the soil pH
• High pH
• Use fertilizers
• Carbonic fertilizers (compost)
• Nitrogenous fertilizers (urea, ammonium sulphate) etc.

54
Planktons
• Greek adjective- “planktos”, meaning wanderer or
drifter
• Diverse collection of organisms in a water body that are
unable swim against the water current.
• Crucial source of food for many aquatic organisms
• Classified on different bases:
• Nutritional requirement/ trophic level
• Size
• Life as plankton
• Salinity etc.

55
Planktons…
• Based on their trophic mode
• Phytoplankton
• Zooplankton
• Phytoplankton- plant origin- autotrophs- able to

photosynthesize
• Zooplankton- animal origin- heterotrophs- feed on
other planktons
• Phytoplanktons are base of food web
• Fish production directly related to phytoplankton abundance

56
Phytoplanktons
• Blue-green algae • Green algae • Euglenoids algae • Golden algae
• Nostoc • Chlamydomonas • Euglena • Danobryon
• Anabaena • Pandoria • Phacus • Mallomonas
• Oscillatoria • Volvox • Leptocinclis • Synura
• Chlorella
Cyanophyta Chlorophyta Euglenophyta Chrysophyta
• Yellow algae • Diatoms • Dinoflagelletes

• Heterococcus • Fragillaria • Ceratium
• Vaucheria • Navicula • Dinophysis
• Tribonema • Diatoma • Peridinium
Xanthophyta Bacillariophyta Pyrrophyta

57
Zooplanktons
• Unicellular • Wheel animalcules • Water fleas
• Flagella/ Cillia/ • Complicated feeding and • 5-6 pairs leaf like limbs
Pseudopodia locomotory organ • Daphnia
• Colonial • Rotaria • Moina
• Amoeba • Philodina • Bosnia
• Arcella • Brachionus • Sida
• Paramecium • Keratella
Protozoa Rotifera Cladocera
• Small crustaceans • Bean shaped crustacean • Insect larvae and nymphs

• Cyclops • Possesses bivalved shell • Midges and mosquito
• Megacyclops • Cypris • Eggs and larvae of
• Eucyclops • Cypridina insects
• Acartia • Larvae of fishes etc.
Copepoda Ostracoda Worms

58
Role of planktons
• Phytoplankton
• Base of the food for food web in fish pond
• Major food for phytoplankton feeder
• Major source of DO in water
• Makes water turbid and thus prevents the growth of
undesirable aquatic weeds
• Zooplankton
• Major food for zooplankton feeder
• Major food item for larvae of most fish species

59
Plankton control
• Algicides
• Copper sulphate: 1-2 mg/L (Photosynthesis and respiration inhibition)
• Simazine: 0.2 mg/L (Photosynthesis inhibition)
• Plankton feeding fish
• Silver carp, Nile tilapia etc.
• Macrophytes
• Nutrient utilization
• Shading effect
• Dyes
• Reduce light penetration
• Water exchange
• 5-10% daily

60
Plankton estimation
• Plankton abundance
• Predicting the changes in DO at night
• Need for water exchange
• Phytoplankton estimation
• Secchi disk visibility
• Chlorophyll-a determination
• Primary productivity
• Direct enumeration
• Zooplankton estimation
• Direct estimation

61
Thank You
End of Unit 3
Lecture 5
Upcoming
Pond Management

Water Quality Management

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Water quality

Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU

• For successful aquaculture

• Nutrient status of pond water and soil- key importance

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Interrelated and affects each other

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Temperature in turn have effect on biological

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Main source of energy- solar radiation

• High concentration of dissolved and particulate

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Generally, mixing of water in ponds is done by wind.

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Generally occurs in deep ponds, lakes and

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Temperature decreases gradually per unit depth.

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• The fluctuation is relatively less pronounced with

• Rate of biochemical processes in fish- temperature

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Great variability in the tolerance to temperature

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

Surface Resuspension • Fish movements

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Suspended solids measurement method

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Water exchange with new clear water to reduce all

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Atmosphere is vast reservoir of O2, but slightly soluble

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Magnitude of fluctuation greatest in ponds with

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• 5 mg/L accepted as minimum concentration

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

• Warm water fish die if exposed for few hours to less

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan

2/3/2023 Fisheries Program, FAVF, AFU © Rahul Ranjan