Aerobic and chemical treatment of fish pond water for irrigation purposes

Abstract

In this study, fish pond water was collected from the artificial pond in the Department of Fisheries, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. The pond water was analyzed for some physicochemical parameters such as: temperature (T), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), turbidity (Turb), chemical oxygen demand (COD), hardness (Hard), alkalinity (Alk) and bacteria count (BC). Biological treatment by mechanical aeration and chemical treatment with calcium hydroxide were carried out on the pond water. The treated pond water was characterized to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments. Results obtained revealed increase in pH and dissolved oxygen after treatment but decrease in other parameters. The biological and chemical treatments were effective in reducing the concentration of most of the parameters. The treated pond water can be reused for irrigation but must undergo recarbonation to reduce pH and increase alkalinity.