TOPIC: Using Water Filter Machine to Clean the Water in Fish pond.

Members:

1. Nawaf A. Gumaga

2. Rifae A. Macalanga

3. Darelljohn T. Bansuan

Background of the study

 Since the middle of the 19th century, scientists here have been concerned about the depletion of

fishery resources as a result of pollution, improper forestry practices, stream obstruction, soil erosion, and

other causes. This concern led to the establishment of the U.S. Commission of the fish and fisheries 2 years

later. (Lloyd, 1952) A lack of beneficial bacteria or lack of water filtration may be a cause of excess

nutrients or harmful substances in the water, thus causing the fish pond to be murky and dirty, which leads to

a poor living environment for the fish that are living in it. This prevents the fish from living a healthy life; it

affects not only the fish, but also the fish pond farmers. 

The biggest problem that Maguindanaon fish farmers experience is murky, dirty water in their fish

ponds. The accumulated algae, unwanted dirt, and debris that could release harmful elements in the ponds

could cause the fish to get diseases or maybe even die. Once the fish acquire an illness, the consumers might

get sick, so in order to maintain a clean pond, our study is here to help the Maguindanaon fish farmers.

Helping our fellow Maguindanao farmers maintain a clean, healthy pond that may support a happy

and healthy life and a prosperous business is the goal of this topic. Fish will be healthier in clean ponds,

which is attainable with our equipment. Since this machine also benefits our crops and plants, in addition to

fish, it also benefits vegetation.

Objective

This study aims to maintain the cleanliness of the fish ponds in order to breed healthy fish.

Review of Related Literature (RRL)

Pond pollution and problems

A 1998 survey of 557 pond owners in Pennsylvania found that about 10 percent had experienced

water quality problems in their ponds, ranging from muddy water to fish kills. Unfortunately, most pond
owners have never tested their ponds, and water quality problems are usually only detected after they cause a

problem. (Water Quality Concerns for Ponds, 2022)

Common Causes of Murky Ponds

Bottom-feeding fish- Catfish, carp, and koi can all stir up the material on the pond floor when rooting up

plants.

Excessive runoff from rain - When it rains frequently in the summer, the soil around the pond can be carried

into the pond and become suspended in the water. Normally, it will settle within a couple of days or so.

Pond floor sediment - Sometimes, the material on the bottom of a pond naturally makes the water cloudy.

This is especially the case with ponds that have clay floors.

Weed overgrowth - When weeds are allowed to grow out of control, they can decay and form a slimy

material that is suspended in the water.

Algae - Algae blooms are responsible for turning your pond a sickly green color and can also reduce the

transparency of the water. With proper pond management, you can overcome these issues and achieve a

healthy body of water on your property. An aquatic management specialist will be able to diagnose the root

cause of your pond’s murkiness and can design a treatment plan to rectify the issue. (What Causes Murky

Ponds?, 2019)

Without an efficient filter, there is a high chance for blue-algae to take a foothold in the pond. Water

flow is essential to prevent sediment from building up and inhibits beneficial aerobic bacteria. Each pond

will require a certain flow in order to allow the filtration to work effectively. Phosphorus is one of those

chemicals that can creep up within a fish pond. It doesn't seem to affect fish health, and if you have a good

filter, the water will still be clear. Sources of phosphates include fish food, leaves, detritus, and even tap

water. Lack of adequate aeration can lead to an increase in anaerobic bacteria activity in fish ponds. A good

way to control this is to keep the pond oxygenated with an air pump or by using an air freshener. Check

phosphate levels monthly so that they are close to zero at all times.(Algae in Fish Ponds and How to Get Rid

of It, n.d.)

Water quality conditions in a pond are controlled by both natural processes and human influences.

Natural factors such as the source of the pond water and the types of rock and soil in the pond watershed will
influence some water quality characteristics. Most serious water quality problems originate from land uses or

other activities near or inside the pond. (Water Quality Concerns for Ponds, 2022)

The spread of disease caused by the presence of bacteria, algae, protozoa, and fungi in a fish pond

can cause biological pollution and reduce fish product production. Water can quickly lose its ability to

support life, reproduction, waste excretion, growth, and feed the fish in fish ponds. The needs of the fish, the

water quality, and factors for managing the water quality should be understood by those wishing to be

successful fish farmers.(Fish Pond Water Quality, 2022)

Mosquitos and other unwanted bugs can breed and multiply in stagnant water. A stagnant pond can

also result in the spread of diseases like West Nile virus, encephalitis, swamp fever, and heartworms to your

dogs and horses. These animals may also cause property damage while making nests and searching for food.

A stagnant bottom on a pond or dugout can be a deadly hazard for children who may get bogged down in the

mud and drown. Aquatic die-off of fish, amphibians, beneficial insects, water creatures, and aquatic plants

can create layers of organic matter at the bottom of the stagnant water. Stagnant ponds can accidentally kill

pets and livestock. A. (2022, August 9)

Most of the industrial pollutants contains heavy metals & colouring matters in it. The high colour in

pond will not allow the sun light to pass through and in the absence of sunlight no photosynthesis will

happen. This ultimately eliminates all primary producers in the pond and the food chain will break.

Unbalance food chain destroys the entire ecosystem. Toxic heavy metal contamination present in the

wastewater will directly harm all living organisms and ultimately the good pond will convert as a toxic water

body with no survival possible in it. (Kumar, 2017)

Pollution is a major factor posing significant danger to hygiene issue for fish population inhabiting

in pond water. Its major role is contribution to reduce the fish density and act as barrier against the

commercial fish production. Different kinds of pollution like atmospheric pollution, biological pollution,

eutrophication and chemical pollution such as acidic rain (acidification) effect pond fish production.

Although commercial fish production is intensively managed but there are many hurdles that reduce the

yield. This review covers the effect of different kinds of pollution on fish which are produced commercially

in ponds. (Liaqat et al., 2017)

 When nutrients wash into waterways through storm runoff, they deplete oxygen in the water that fish

need to survive. Nitrogen and phosphorus typically enter streams and lakes from fertilizers, dog waste, and

other sources. Over time, these nutrients build up in the water and promote algae and water plant growth,

and as they decay, they lower oxygen levels in the water. Algae blooms can be harmful to fish as they feed

upon algae, toxins accumulate within the fish, and when a predator fish consumes that fish, they too are

consuming higher toxin levels. Pesticides and heavy metals that enter waterways can also harm or kill fish.

Synthetic pesticides used for weed and bug control are toxic in even small amounts. Heavy metals created

when fossil fuels are burned enter the atmosphere, eventually making their way into bodies of water.

Exposure to heavy metals can impair a fish’s ability to smell, disrupting its ability to locate food and protect

itself from predatory animals and fish. W. (2017, July 23)

Water quality is very important part of environmental management. When water quality is poor, it

affects not only aquatic life but the surrounding ecosystem. For this reason, the use of the environment

requires choosing the optimal technology that will allow the highest possible efficiency with the least

adverse impact on waters. (Sidoruk & Cymes, 2018)

Water pollution from fish farms takes a variety of forms, from feed-derived wastes to therapeutics,

pesticides and other chemicals to pathogens/parasites and escaped fish. (Bergheim et al., 2019)

Mechanical filtration in ponds

In mechanical filtration, untreated water passes through a mesh filter or cartridge that traps suspended

particles on the surface or within the filter.Mechanical water filters mostly remove larger suspended material

from water, including sand, silt, clay, loose scale, and organic matter.These filtration systems do not remove

dissolved chemicals or very small particles.When used in combination with other water treatment equipment

(as is often the case), they can be helpful in removing dissolved or very fine particles. For example, they can

remove iron, manganese, or hydrogen sulfide after they are converted from dissolved to particulate states by

a separate oxidation treatment water system installed before the mechanical filtration unit. (Household Water

Treatment: Mechanical Filtration Methods and Devices, 2014)

Pond filters are useful in ponds that have a large population of fish, because they remove waste products

from fish and any plant debris, helping keep the water clear. This, in turn ensures a balanced ecosystem.

(Pond Filters / RHS Gardening, n.d.)

Mechanical Filtration. The purpose of mechanical filtration is to remove organic and

inorganic matter suspended in pond/ aquarium water that causes turbidity and nitrate build-up once

decomposed in water. Examples of materials which are used as mechanical filtration are the

following: 

Micron Cartridges. Cartridge filtration units generally operate most effectively and economically

on applications having contamination levels of less than 100 ppm. For heavier contamination

applications, cartridges are normally used as final polishing filters. Poly Filter Pads. Poly Filter is

for filtering and purifying both fresh and saltwater aquariums. It is a formulation of a special

patented material bonded to a synthetic matrix that can absorb and adsorb contaminants and other

toxic materials. Poly Filter is nontoxic and harmless to biological filtration because it allows a

sufficient amount of ammonia to reach the biological filter to sustain the bacteria culture. Provides

a supplemental means of removing ammonia when the biological filter is unable to break down the

excess ammonia(Palao et al., 2020) The use of filters in aquaculture with recirculation system plays an

important role to improve water quality in fish ponds. The filter used is a mechanical filter using materials

such as zeolites, confirmed by Purtie8 which states that zeolites and activated charcoal as absorbent in

filtration can reduce ammonia concentration of 85.40%. The effectiveness of filtration using a mechanical

filter is related to the filter design used, as Collins9 states that water filters with down-flow and up-flow

water flow systems can maximize the filtering process. (Hasan & Andriani, 2018)

Mechanical filters (MFs) play a vital role in recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) by removing

the solids that are suspended in the water as it moves through the system.  Concentrating these solids in the

MF makes it easy to remove them from the system completely by automated and manual flushing, and this

in turn enables the RAS to operate more efficiently.  These solids are typically fish faeces but also include

some bacterial wastes, and are thus mostly generated in the fish tanks.  As the water in a RAS is pumped

continuously into the fish tanks, it overflows, carrying the solid wastes with it.  Faeces are light and therefore

easily carried by the flowing water as it exits the fish tank, but they also break up easily.  As larger particles
are easier for the MF to remove them from the water, we allow the water to gravity feed from the fish tanks

to the MF, as pumping at this stage breaks up the particles, reducing their size and making it more difficult

for the MF to remove them.  (Mechanical Filters | Blogs | Aquaculture Innovations, 2020)

Biological filtration in ponds

Recycle the water through an external unit ("biofilter") that treats and purifies the water. The

use of external biofilters has been practiced for years in hatcheries, nurseries, culturing of

ornamental fish, and to some extent, in culturing of commodity fish.

These systems are operative, well-tested, proven, and can be obtained commercially. (Avnimelech,

2005)

One of the main uses for biological filtration is to convert harmful ammonia, which is toxic

to fish and bad for a pond ecosystem, into nitrates. Ammonia is naturally produced from fish waste

and other decaying matter in a pond. This is why a pond skimmer is so important—a skimmer will

trap floating debris before it has a chance to sink to the bottom and decay. After ammonia is

converted into nitrates, we have a much more manageable situation on our hands. Nitrates are

harmless to fish in reasonable quantities and are actually a plant nutrient, acting as a source of

food for plants in the pond.(Water Garden Ponds - Everything-Ponds.com, n.d.)

This study reports on the efficiency of slow sand filtration in removing algae from high-rate pond

effluents. When agricultural sandy soil with an effective grain size of 0.08 mm was used as the filter

medium, an average filtration rate of about 1.3 m3/m2 .d was obtained. If filtration was preceded by

sedimentation, the duration of a filtration run was about 100 h. At the end of each run, the filter was cleaned

by scraping off the top few centimeters of the filter bed. The filtered effluent consistently had a biochemical

oxygen demand (BOD) value less than 20 mg/L and undetectable fecal coliforms. The filter media, being

rich in organic matter and having moisture-retaining properties, can be used as a soil conditioner. (Esen et

al., 2003)

Biological water filtration is a process by which toxic compounds are removed from water using

organisms. A well-sized biological filter is extremely important as part of a recirculating aquaculture system
for fish farming. Biological water filtration equipment in aquaculture recycling systems is a technological set

that restores the vital qualities of wastewater from fish ponds, thus allowing its reuse. (Laza et al., 2021)

Biological filters are the most important type of filtration for any pond of any size. They provide

filtration of contaminated in the water caused by decaying leaves and debris, bacteria and nitrates. Biological

filters are necessary for any pond that contains fish. Since debris can cause ammonia levels to rise in your

pond, biological filtration is necessary to keep the ammonia levels stabilized to ensure the health of your

fish. Biological filters also. (What You Need to Know About Pond Filtration Systems, 2012)

Research Infographic
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other inhabitants.