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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Development of monitoring techniques and validation of the

acidity level of biofloc pond water for optimizing tilapia
aquaculture

Jalu A. Prakosa*, Purwowibowo, Bambang Widiyatmoko, Suryadi, Andi Setiono,

Mefina Y. Rofianingrum, Tatik Maftukhah, Mohamad I. Afandi,
Iman Mulyanto and Hari Pratomo
Research Center for Physics, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
PUSPIPTEK, South Tangerang City, Indonesia

*E-mail: jalu.ahmad.prakosa@brin.go.id

Abstract. The water's acidity level will impact the water's suitability for fish survival. Fish waste
and food residue, on the other hand, can reduce the acidity of the water and produce toxic
ammonia, which is damaging to fish. Biofloc technology (BFT) can transform toxic ammonia
into floc protein, which can be used as an alternative diet. However, the acidity of the pond water
must be monitored to ensure that biofloc techniques are implemented successfully. Tilapia is a
popular fish among Indonesians, although it is difficult to farm using biofloc technology, which
is important for public food preservation. This research aims to build technology for monitoring
and validating waters acidity levels in tilapia biofloc ponds. Observing the quality of pool water
acidity is carried out automatically through a microcontroller. The pH powder calibrator provides
accurate validation of water acidity sensor measurements. The monitoring results of pH by
around 7.38±0.15 showed that the average level of acidity of the biofloc water was still following
the pH tolerance of Tilapia. This proposed monitoring method is highly beneficial for supporting
national food security through BFT fisheries, particularly to avoid the mass mortality of Tilapia
because of poor water acidity conditions.

Keywords: acidity measurement; biofloc water; calibration; monitoring; tilapia aquaculture;

waste management

1. Introduction
Water quality affects the survival of fish to live normally and breed well. The level of acidity (pH) is a
significant factor in shaping water quality in fish ponds [1,2]. Furthermore, fish can only live in a specific
pH range [3]. In addition, most fish vanish in bulk in excessively high conditions of water acidity. This
case often occurs due to food scraps and wastes forming ammonia which can poison fish [4]. Therefore,
observing the acidity of the water and treating waste are crucial in supporting the success of growing
fish. Although it is challenging to grow to utilize biofloc technology, which is vital for public food
preservation, tilapia is a popular fish among Indonesians. The consumption demands for tilapia range
from 520 to 8,148 tons, and the industry reached 19,998 to 313,295 tons in the 2017–2019 period to
meet the Indonesian people's food needs [5]. Tilapia meat is not only delicious, but it also has a high
nutritional value. Tilapia may be cultivated utilizing the biofloc pond method because of these factors.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Biofloc technology offers a solution for treating waste in fish ponds [6]. On the other hand, fish waste
can be toxic, similar to ammonia, and cause fish to die in massive quantities. As a result, the pool must
be cleaned regularly, particularly at the bottom, to prevent dirt from accumulating. Furthermore, food
residue can reduce the quality of pond water. [7].

Figure 1. Biofloc technology as waste treatment.

The biofloc technology, as shown in Figure 1, eliminates waste in the pond using microorganisms
such as beneficial bacteria. This method can be used with Effective Liquid Microorganisms (EM4) and
fermenting bacteria. In this process, the microorganisms convert the pond waste into protein clumps or
bioflocs and decompose the carbon-based into carbon dioxide gas (CO2). Nitrogen gas (N2) produce
when nitrogen-containing waste exists, notably the candidate for ammonia in the form of ammonium
(NH4) [8]. Fascinatingly, the floc can be utilized as an alternative feed to save costs.
Furthermore, this strategy provides additional advantages in terms of alternative nutrition. Helpful
bacteria can convert residual feed and fish waste that has the potential to be hazardous into protein
clumps known as bioflocs. Furthermore, water conservation can be accomplished by lowering water
depletion. It not only saves water but also enhances the density of fish stocking. [9]. However, BFT
requires additional aeration because microorganisms demand more dissolved oxygen levels and mix
them more homogeneously.
The performance of BFT depends on reliable pond water acidity monitoring. The production of flocs
can alter the acidity of the water. The biofloc technology's guarantee of fish life is based on monitoring
water pH. [10]. Tilapia was chosen as the research sample because it can be cultivated in Indonesia [11].
The hydrogen ion concentration sensor can measure the acidity of water, which can be validated by a
pH calibrator powder [12,13]. The work aimed to create a system for monitoring and confirming the
acidity of biofloc pond water to enable Tilapia cultivation. To ensure reliable pool water acidity
detection, the sensor signal's linearity and uncertainty are evaluated. To ensure the successful
implementation of this BFT activity, the results of monitoring the water pH would be compared to
Tilapia's acidity tolerance.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Acidity measurement and tilapia tolerance

The measurement of water's acidity level generally uses the principle of the power of hydrogen (pH) as
the sensor [14]. An electric type pH sensor (Figure 2) was used to monitor water's acidity level in a fish
pond with a biofloc system. The measurement results must be in the form of an electrical signal that can
be connected to the digital device.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Figure 2. Electrical pH sensor.

Electrical sensors are simple to process and store in digital format. The proposed approach for
measuring acidity levels in biofloc fish ponds is depicted in Figure 3. The pH sensor sends data about
water acidity via an analog voltage signal. The processor converts the signal to a digital voltage, then
manipulates it into data in the database. To ensure accurate water acidity test results, the researcher must
conduct validation operations utilizing a pH calibrator as a real value [15,16]. In order to achieve
appropriate measurement findings, the pH sensor's output signal in the form of an electric voltage (V)
must be evaluated for measurement uncertainty, linearity, and sensor sensitivity [11,17]. The
microcontroller served as a CPU and was coupled to the pH sensor in this activity. The PC acts as a
database for storing and displaying monitoring data. This project's database can also be accessed through
SD card and PC servers via the Internet of Things (IoT).
Figure 4 describes the position of pH sensor in Tilapia biofloc pond. The dimensions of the pool are
1 x 1 x 2 m which can accommodate a water volume of about 2 m3. There are five measuring points
with capital letters (A, B, C, D, and E) depicted in Figure 4. The purpose of this five-point measurement
was to keep track of the pond's pH distribution.

Figure 3. The monitoring techniques for the acidity level of biofloc pond water.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Figure 4. Position of pH sensor in Tilapia biofloc pond.

2.2. Measurement uncertainty, linearity, and sensor sensitivity

International standard usually applies measurement uncertainty calculation on measurement report to
evaluate stability and repeatability from experimental data [18]. The measured voltage sensor data would
be assessed its measurement uncertainty to investigate the quality of sensor accuracy following these
equations below:

x
x i

n (1)

 (x
2
 x)
s
i

n 1 (2)

 (x
2
i  x)

u i-n 
s
 n 1
n n (3)
pH
ci 
x (4)

uc  c
2 2
i .u i
(5)
Uex = k.uc (6)
Where x is measurement uncertainty data-i from repeatability; n is number of data; ui is standard
measurement uncertainty; ui-n is measurement uncertainty data-i from repeatability; xi is data of i-th
value; s is standard deviation; uc is combined uncertainty; ci is sensitivity coefficient; k is coverage
factor; Uex is expanded uncertainty.
The linearity of the sensor signal in Figure 2 can be modeled as formula (7) below. The output (y)
signal of the measured voltage is caused by the acidity of water as input (x), which a and b are constant.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

𝑦 = 𝑎 + 𝑏 ∗ 𝑥 => 𝑉 = 𝑎 + 𝑏 ∗ 𝑝𝐻 (7)
The coefficient of determination (R2) is implemented to assess the quality of signal linearity. R2 tells
how fit a linear function model (fi) on formula (8) to the experimental data. The value by 1 stated that
the signal has perfect linearity. On the other hand, the R-squared value has the worse linearity at 0.

 (y i  y) 2
R2  1 i

 (y i  fi )2
i (8)
The excellent linearity tends to have uniform sensitivity (ς) for every measuring point. The ratio
between output and input (Δy/Δx) indicates its sensor sensitivity.
V

p H (9)

3. Results and discussion

Several factors influence the pH of pond waters, such as the dimensions of the pool, temperature, and
the presence of anions and cations. Tilapia can handle a pH range of 5 to 11, however, the optimal pH
for growth and development is between 7 and 8. The most common form of nitrogen excretion by aquatic
organisms is ammonia. Organic substances in the form of feed wastes, fish feces, and plankton from
suspended organic matter are the primary sources of ammonia (NH3). Organic matter breakdown creates
ammonium (NH4+) and NH3 as well as a lot of protein. If the other decomposition process (nitrification)
occurs, NH3 can accumulate in harmful proportions for fish, making them poisonous [8]. Furthermore,
excessive ammonia in pool water will raise the pH value due to its alkaline nature. Furthermore, as
shown in Figure 1, the breakdown of waste by microbes can alter the pH of the water. As a result,
monitoring the acidity level of fish pond water is critical to ensuring the biofloc technology's successful
implementation.
The electrical pH sensor in Figure 2 was validated using a calibrator powder based on its acidity
value. To make a reference solution, distilled water was used to dissolve the calibrator powder [19]. The
pH sensor was immersed in the reference solution to examine the voltage output, which was delivered
serially to the Personal Computer (PC) in Figure 5 to be displayed and recorded. A liquid crystal display
(LCD) was used as an alternative display. At an ambient temperature of 27.8 °C and a relative humidity
of 61%, the thermometer humidity measured room conditions [20]. According to the calibrator powder,
the acidity reference solution was measured at pH values of 4.01, 6.86, and 9.18. To optimize the
coverage factor value in equation (6), sensor voltage data was measured at least 30 times for each
measuring point.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Figure 5. Validation of pH sensor through reference solutions.

The pH sensor's output value (electrical voltage) was automatically recorded on the PC and shown
in Figure 6 vertical axis. The pH calibrator's reference water acidity value was displayed on the
horizontal axis as a comparison. Table 1 also shows the results of the calculations of measurement
uncertainty, linearity, and sensor sensitivity from equations (1) to (9).

Figure 6. Results of sensor pH output to liquid reference.

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GREENVC 2021 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

Table 1. Calibration results of pH sensor.

pH V (Volt) Uex (Volt) ς (Volt/pH)
4.01 2.96 0.01 -0.19
6.86 2.42 0.02 -0.17
9.18 2.03 0.02

Despite the fact that the voltage and pH values had a disproportionate relationship in Figure 6, the
graph appeared to be almost perfectly linear. Furthermore, the link between the equations V= -
0.18*pH+3.681 and V= -0.18*pH+3.681 yielded a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.998, which was
close to 1. It demonstrated a high level of linearity. Table 1 showed that the relative uncertainty value
was quite low, around 1%. The measurement uncertainty tended to increase as the pH value increased.
The sensor sensitivity value in the average range of -0.18 was also an encouraging fact. On the other
hand, a negative sensitivity value showed an inverse association. Furthermore, to avoid incorrect
readings caused by dirt on the sensor, this type of pH sensor must be washed with distilled water
regularly before being used again. The pH sensor's validation results will be utilized as a reference for
determining the acidity level of BFT in tilapia water pond.

Table 2. Monitoring results of acidity level in tilapia biofloc pond.

A B C D E
7.57 7.11 7.43 7.38 7.43

At every corner and centre of the pond, the acidity quality of the tilapia biofloc pond water was
measured. Table 2 shows the results of the pH measurement. The average acidity of the pond water was
7.38±0.15, which was still within tilapia's pH tolerance of 5-11. Furthermore, it remained within the
ideal acidity range of 7 to 8. The biofloc technology system has been successfully applied in this pond,
according to the results of measuring the acidity level of the tilapia pond water. Other evidence
supported the monitoring findings, indicating that tilapia could move rapidly and develop healthily
without suffering from mass mortality. This monitoring technology can support the development of
national food security from BFT tilapia fisheries [21].

4. Conclusions
In tilapia aquaculture, a system for measuring the acidity level of biofloc pond water has been effectively
established. In addition, to assure the pH sensor's accuracy, the acidity measurement value has been
extensively confirmed with a solution calibrator. Furthermore, the pH sensor's linearity (R 2 = 0.998) is
very good, allowing easy data interpolation. With the results of monitoring the pond pH of 7.38±0.15,
which meets the optimal growth needs of tilapia, the process of floc production in BFT as a waste
treatment approach has been favourably used. This proposed monitoring technique is based on biofloc
technology and is recommended for tilapia farmers to prevent fish mass mortality due to low acidity in
pond water.

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the management of National Priority for Scientific Services (PN Jasil),
National Research and Innovation Agency of Republic Indonesia (BRIN), for supporting this study.

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IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1017 (2022) 012006 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1017/1/012006

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