Water Chemistry In Fish Farming

VERY IMPORTANCE OF WATER PH METER, TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLID METER (TDS) AND TEMPERATURE METER TO CATFISH FARMING

Catfish require the water they live in to be a certain pH level in order to be healthy. If the pH level is too low or too high, it can make fish sick, even kill them. A low pH means that the water is acidic; a high pH means that the water is alkaline.

What is pH?

The term pH describes how acidic or basic a substance is. The H refers to the amount of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions present in a liquid, such as your fish tank water.

The lower amount of hydrogen ions present, the more acidic the substance.

The higher amount of hydrogen ions, the more basic the substance.

The pH scale is a diagram that provides a visual guide for the different levels of pH.

Pure water has a neutral pH, or a pH level of 7. Milk has a pH level of 6.

The lower the number on the pH scale, the higher the amount of acid the substance has.

For instance, lemon juice has a pH of 2 and battery acid has a pH of 1. Levels higher than seven are more basic or alkaline. Baking soda has a pH of 9. Lye, a caustic alkaline substance that can give you a chemical burn when it touches your skin, has a pH of 14

Harmful pH Levels

Fish thrive when the tank water is the same pH as the water found in their natural environment.

Tank or fish pond water with a low pH is highly acidic and can burn a fish's skin. Tank or pond fish water with a high pH is highly basic or alkaline, and can chap or chemically burn a fish's skin. Young fish are more sensitive to higher acidic water.

Changing pH Levels

Use a pH fish tank water test kit to test your water. If your fish tank water pH levels are too low, the water is too acidic.

To raise the pH level up to 7 you can add limestone (calcium carbonate), For water less than pH 6, use solution of soda ash (sodium carbonate) or caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) into the pond.

This raises the sodium content of the water. For water between pH 4 and pH 6, use soda ash Feed this solution into the tank at a rate to raise the pH to near 7.

For water less than pH 4, use caustic soda to the water, aerate the tank water with an air pump to eliminate excess carbon dioxide that has formed in the low pH water, or use an alkaline buffer to neutralize the acid and make it a more nuetral pH.

If you live in an area with hard water, or water that has a high pH, lower it by adding an acid buffer, use a water softener or filter the water over peat moss.

Neutralize alkaline water (greater than pH 7) by feeding diluted sulfuric acid in the same manner as soda ash. Use caution in making solutions from strong acids.

Always add acid to water slowly. Never add water to acid: Use gloves and goggles when preparing solutions.

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TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS METER CHECK TOXIC METALS IN WATER THAT AFFECTS FISH METABOLIC PROCESS.

TDS is basically everything dissolved in the water: chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, phosphate, salt, hard minerals (GH), bicarbonates (KH), etc. And almost every substance added to the water will increase TDS water conditions etc.

High concentrations of TDS may reduce water clarity, contribute to a decrease in metabolic activities, combine with toxic compounds and heavy metals, and lead to an increase in water temperature and eventual death or poor growth of fish.

TDS outside the fish’s natural range will overwhelm the fish with excess water and overwork the kidneys, while a low osmotic pressure caused by TDS levels below those of the fish’s natural range will deprive the fish of the water needed for the kidney functions.

Under normal circumstances and right water TDS range, a fish suppose to excretes 3 times it’s body weight everyday. But the higher the TDS, the harder it is for the fish to do this, so the toxins remain longer in their bodies affecting their physiology, causing stress, and this will inevitably lead to a shorter lifespan. This may not be evident or latent or not visible to us until the fish just dies, for no “apparent” reason with 2023 waec gce runs.

Such fish actually become dehydrated, and most suffer kidney problems.

TDS also directly and significantly impact on osmoregulation occurring in the gills. When the TDS cause a change in the osmotic pressure, the red blood cells can change shape; a low osmotic pressure will deplete the red blood cells of water, causing them to collapse, and a high osmotic pressure will inundate them with water, causing the cells to expand. Both results will seriously impact respiration.