Aquacultural Engineering 3 (1984) 91-I 02

Total Gas Pressure and Oxygen and Nitrogen Saturation in Warmwater Ponds Aerated with Airlift Pumps Nick C. Parker, Mary Anna Suttle and Karen Fitzmayer

US Fish and Wildlife Service,Southeastern Fish Cultural Laboratory, Marion, Alabama 36756, USA

ABSTRA CT Gas bubble disease and improper #zflation of swim bladders in larval striped bass Morone saxatilis have been recently related in laboratory studies to very low levels o f gas supersaturation. In other species, kills resulting from gas supersaturation have been reported in natural waters as large as Galveston Bay. We monitored warmwater ponds during spring to determine the extent o f naturally occurring gas supersaturation and compared these levels wRh levels o f gas saturation in ponds equipped with airlift pumps. Total gas pressure averaged 110% in the morning at the surface o f non-aerated ponds and in the afternoon in ponds with airlift pumps. A t other times o f the day total gas pressure averaged 106-107% at the surface and bottom, morning and afternoon, in both aerated and nonaerated ponds. No evidence o f gas bubble disease was found in 15-day-old striped bass fry cultured for 42 days in either aerated or non-aerated ponds.

INTRODUCTION Gas bubble disease (GBD) in fish was first associated with pressure in 1899 (Gorham, 1899) and then with supersaturation of nitrogen gas in 1905 (Marsh and Gorham, 1905). By 1913 the disease had been experimentally induced in fish maintained under laboratory conditions (Shelford and Alice, 1913). Most incidences of GBD were associated with alterations in the aquatic environment caused by leaking water intake lines (Marsh and Gorham, 1905), cavitation of pumps (Westgard, 91

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l~: C Parker, M.A. Suttle, K. Fitzmayer

1964), air entrainment in plunge pools below dams (Ebel et al., 1974) and supersaturation of thermal effluents (DeMont and Miller, 1971). Gas supersaturation has also been reported under some natural conditions, including periods of intensive photosynthetic activity of algal blooms (Woodbury, 1941; Renfro, 1963). Various investigators (Weitkamp and Katz, 1980) have reported the percent saturation of the component gases associated with supersaturation and GBD. Typically, nitrogen has been considered unsafe above 110% saturation, whereas oxygen has been considered safe up to about 250-300% saturation. Total gas pressure has been recommended as being a more meaningful measurement than the percent saturation of nitrogen and oxygen (Colt and Westers, 1982; Colt, 1983). The US Environmental Protection Agency (1976) specified 110% saturation as the maximum safe level of total gas pressure for fish. Recent research has indicated that the safe level of total gas pressure in the hatchery environment may be much lower than 110%. Aerators have been commonly used in aquaculture to increase the oxygen content of the water; however, Colt and Westers (1982) found aerators, that were highly efficient for oxygen transfer, also produced gas supersaturation. Cornacchia and Colt (1984) reported that under laboratory conditions GBD could be induced in larval striped bass Morone saxatilis exposed to total gas pressures as low as 102.9%. They used airlift pumps to produce gas supersaturation in their experimental system. Airlift pumps have been used to reduce stratification and increase fish production in warmwater ponds (Parker, 1979a), including ponds in which 5-day-old striped bass had been stocked (Parker, 1979b). Gas bubble disease has not been observed in striped bass reared in ponds equipped with airlift pumps. The survival of fish in adjacent ponds without pumps has ranged from 0 to nearly 100% and averaged about 40% (Geiger and Parker, 1984). The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of airlift pumps on total gas pressure in warmwater ponds and to observe striped bass for the presence o f GBD.

METHODS Airlift pumps Six 0.04-ha earthen striped bass rearing ponds were used in this study;

Total gas pressure and 02 and t ~ saturation in aerared ponds

93

,,

Fig. 1. Detailed sketch of airlift pump and support structure. A steel pipe (1) cemented into a concrete block (2) anchored the pump. A sliding collar (3) and flotation material (4) held the discharge at the water surface. The airlift pump was constructed from a 7-6 cm diameter PVC pipe (5), a 90 elbow (6) and ballast (7). Air (open arrows) was injected into the side of the vertical riser through a tube (8) 1.3 cm in diameter at a depth of 61 cm (a) and water (solid arrows) was pumped from a depth of 1 m (b) and discharged at the surface.

t h r e e p o n d s were e q u i p p e d with airlift p u m p s ( t r e a t m e n t p o n d s ) and t h r e e (the c o n t r o l s ) were not. Water in the t r e a t m e n t p o n d s was cont i n u o u s l y circulated b y the p u m p s which discharged at t h e surface o f the p o n d . T h e p u m p s were c o n s t r u c t e d o f p o l y v i n y l chloride (PVC) pipe 7-6 cm in diameter. T h e vertical riser in each airlift was 1 m long and w a t e r was discharged t h r o u g h a 90 elbow (Fig. 1). Air at 85 liters min -t and 6 . 2 - 6 . 9 kPa was injected into the side o f a vertical riser 61 cm b e l o w t h e surface o f the water. Air was released d i r e c t l y into the vertical riser f r o m an airline 1.3 cm in d i a m e t e r ; no air diffusers or spargers were used. T h e w a t e r flow was 1 5 0 - 1 8 0 liters min -t f r o m each airlift p u m p .

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N.C. Parker, M.A. Suttle, K. Fitzmayer

Gasometers

Total gas pressure was measured at the surface and bottom of six of the ponds used to culture striped bass; three of the six ponds were equipped with airlift pumps (treatment ponds) and three were unaerated control ponds. Twelve (six in the treatment group and six in the control group) gasometers (Bouck, 1982) were used in the study. Two gasometers were connected in parallel to each pump (Little Giant Pump, model 3E-12N, Little Giant Pump Co., Oklahoma City)* and operated as a unit to provide replicate readings at each of two depths. The duplicate readings were taken on water from the 'surface' (10-15 cm below the surface) and ' b o t t o m ' (about 1.8 m below the surface) of one treatment pond and one control pond. Non-replicated readings were taken from the surface and bottom of two other treatment ponds and two other control ponds. Pumps supplying water (9 liters min -~ at 35 kPa; 5-8 liters min -~ at 40kPa) to the gasometers were operated continuously from 21 April until 6 June 1983. Water flow in the gasometers ranged from a low of 3 liters min -~ when two gasometers were connected in parallel to one pump, to a high of 9 liters min -t when only one gasometer was connected to a pump. Gasometer readings, water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and barometric pressure were recorded daily in the morning (08.0009.00h) and afternoon (15.00-16.00h). The temperature and DO measurements were made at the surface and bottom of each pond. Gas pressure was monitored throughout a 42-day period of striped bass culture. Total gas pressure, reported as percent saturation (TGP%), and the percentages of nitrogen and oxygen saturation were calculated according to Bouck (1982). Pond management Striped bass, received from South Carolina as 2-day-old fry, were stocked into the ponds 13 days later on 26 April 1983 at an estimated density of 375 000 fry ha -t. Supplemental feeding was begun 11 days after the fish were stocked. Ten fish were collected weekly from each * Reference to a trade name does not imply endorsement of commercialproducts by the US Government.

Total gas pressure and Oz and N, saturation in aerated ponds

95

pond, weighed and measured, and grossly examined tbr evidence of GBD. All fish were harvested 42 days after stocking in the ponds. All ponds were fertilized with cottonseed meal (1702 kg ha -L total), liquid ammonium nitrate (32% N of NH4NO3; 165 liters ha -~ total), and liquid phosphoric acid (54% active P2Os; 196 liters ha -l total). Cottonseed meal was applied to the ponds two or three times each week, but the liquid inorganics only after the second week of culture and only when chlorophyll a levels were below 20/.tg liter-t. Water samples were collected weekly from each pond and analyzed tbr pH, alkalinity (as CaCO3), ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N), nitritenitrogen (NO2-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), total filterable phosphate (PO4-P), and chlorophyll a by standard methods (APHA et al., 1975). Emergency aeration was provided by 0.22-kW surface agitators whenever DO fell below 3 mg liter -l. Two of the three control ponds were treated with Aquazine (1.6 mg liter -l) during weeks 3 and 4 when a prolific growth of the net alga H y d r o d i c t y o n covered the entire surface of the ponds. Data analysis Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison test (Duncan multiple range test) between variables. Statements of significance refer to P ~< 0.05.

RESULTS Although dissolved gas pressure was successfully monitored, the gasometers required daily maintenance. When the gasometers were operated continuously, the Silastic tubing (Dow Coming Corporation, Midland, Michigan) which serves as the gas transfer membrane, was frequently punctured or broken. Snail shells and other detrital particles continually abraded the Silastic tubing as water flowed through the gasometer. Gasometer failure rates increased as the water flow rate increased. Inoperative gasometers could be easily identified when two units were operated in parallel, but readings from a single unit could sometimes be erroneous. If the Silastic tubing was broken, the pressure on the manometer equaled the water pressure in the gasometer. Such readings were not included in our data analyses.

0",

TABLE 1

Total Gas Pressure, Oxygen Saturation, Nitrogen Saturation, Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature Measured at the Surface and Bottom, Morning and Afternoon, in Three Ponds Equipped with Airlift Pumps (Treatment) and Three Non-Aerated Ponds (Control)

Samp/c Ioca7"oral gas pressure Oxygen saturation Nitrogen saturation Dissolw'd oxygctl Temperature lion, time o f {% saturation) (%) (%) (rag liter- J) (0(.7 day and category o]" Meatt Standard No. o f Mean Standard No. o f Mean Standard No. o f Mean Standard No. o f Mean Standard No. o f pond deviation samples deviatioJt samples de~,iation samples deviation samples deviation SUmldes

Surface 37.1 38.5 (52) (42) 112.1"* 14-4 122.3 20-9 (52) (42) 7-7 6-9 3.1 3.5

Inorning
(38) (37) 21-7 21.5 2.5 2.3 (38) (37)

3.8 5.9

(51) (39)

89-2 74.8

'l'reatnlent 106.4"* Control 109-9 Surface 54-5 55-5 (44) (32) 105.2 106.6 11.8 18.9 (44) (32) 11.6 9.4 4.6 4-6

a t ' t e r q o o n

110.1" 106-2

8.5 4.9

(44) (32)

136-1 115.1

(31) (29)

24-0 24-7

2.5 2.6

(31) (291

106-7"* 111.3

5.6 5.4

(51) (43)

85-5* 65-7

37.3 35.2

(52) (43)

113-7"* 14-2 123-0 14.6

(52) (43)

7.6 6-1

3-1 3.3

(38) (37)

21-7 21-3

2-5 2.6

(38) (37)

Treatment Control Bottom morning Treatment Control Bottom afternoon Treatment ('onlrol 61.7 52.(I (44) (33) 101.3"* 114.1 15.3 16.6 (44) (33)

106-3 106.6

5.6 4-7

(45) (35)

128-6" 80.6

I1.1"* 7.4

5.2 4-5

(31) (29)

22-9 22.0

2.6 2.4

(31) (29)

* Treatment means significantly different from control means at P < 0-05. ** Treatment means significantly different from control means at P ~ 0.01.

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97

Dissolved gases
Comparisons between treatment and control ponds indicated that continuously operated airlift pumps altered TGP%, DO, oxygen saturation and nitrogen gas saturation (Table 1). Airlift pumps significantly decreased TGP% at the surface and bottom of the ponds during the morning and increased it at the surface during the afternoon. Individual TGP% readings ranged from 100 to 149 in the control ponds, and from 100 to 143 in the ponds with airlift pumps (Fig. 2). A diel change in TGP% occurred at the bottom in control ponds, but not in the treatment ponds. Nitrogen gas saturation in treatment ponds decreased at the surface and bottom during the morning and at the surface during the afternoon. In treatment ponds, oxygen saturation at the bottom increased in both the morning and afternoon and DO increased at the bottom during the afternoon. In ponds with airlift pumps, dissolved gas and temperature varied with the time of day and with the depth from which the measurements

Treatment

Control 160
Surface

160
Surface

140 120 e = e a e o. 100

140 120 .- ....

.,." :.

::

. 'l,

~:~'.'

,., "'"

* "' ...

.....

..,

10(3 " ""

160[ 8oltom 140 t 1201

i,.,

160 140

IIQttom

1 2 0 I~ "~'l .. *e.
May

.'."

..,.... 100 i. April

!.:,

,.

...; %',

'..

100i '
April

'"

"'"
May June

June

Time

Fig. 2. Total gas pressure from ponds with (treatment) and without (control) airlift pumps. Data presented were collected in the morning and afternoon from three treatment and three control ponds.

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iV. C. Parker, M.A. Surtle, K. Fitzmayer

were taken. Levels of TGP at the surface of treatment ponds were higher in the afternoon (110.1%) than in the morning (106-4%). At the b o t t o m of treatment ponds, DO fluctuated daily as did oxygen saturation. Thermal stratification (24.0C, surface; 22-9C bottom) did not occur in ponds with airlift pumps. Nitrogen saturation was higher in the morning at both surface (112.1%) and bottom (113.7%) locations than it was in the afternoon (105.2% and 101.3%, respectively). Dissolved gas and temperature in control ponds also varied with the time of day and depth. Levels of TGP at the surface of control ponds were slightly higher in the morning (109.9%) than in the afternoon (106-2%). Dissolved oxygen and oxygen saturation did not fluctuate daily at the b o t t o m of control ponds. The control ponds were thermally stratified (24-7C, surface; 22-0C, bottom) during the afternoon. Nitrogen saturation at the surface was higher during the morning (122.3%) than in the afternoon (106-6%), and in control ponds was higher at the bottom in the afternoon (122.0%) than in the morning (106.6%). Fish production Striped bass fingerlings were harvested from the ponds 42 days after stocking. The survival and production of fish did not differ significantly between treatment and control ponds (Table 2). Fish from the treatment ponds weighed an average of 1.2 g while those from the control ponds averaged 1.8 g. No signs of GBD were detected in any of the fish collected during the weekly samples. As judged by the weekly analyses, changes in water quality did not affect growth or survival of the fish. A heavy growth of the net alga Hydrodictyon occurred in all ponds within 2 weeks after the fish were stocked.

DISCUSSION Airlift pumps eliminated thermal stratification and increased DO at the bottom of the ponds. The release of 85 liters min -~ air into each 0-04-ha pond did not raise the level of TGP% above the diel range found in control ponds. Diel ranges of TGP% and oxygen saturation in treatment and control ponds were normally within the levels reported safe for

Total gas pressure and 02 and N,. saturation in aerated ponds

99

TABLE 2 Summary of Striped Bass Harvesting Data after 42 Days of Culture in 0.04-ha Ponds Stocked with 15-day-old Fry from South Carolina at a Rate of 375 000 fry ha -1. (An Airlift Pump was Operated Continuously in Each Treatment Pond, But No Pumps Were Used in Control Ponds) Category, pond number Density Number ha -l Treatment kg ha -l Weight (g ) Survival (7o)

1 2 3 Mean
Control

75 325 104 500 58 475 79 433 116 325 72 150 122 350 103 608

82.3 78.5 38-6 66-5 63.7 36.9 80. t 60.2

0-9 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.8 2-0 1.5 1.8

20.1 27.9 15.6 21.2 31.0 19,2 32.6 27-6

4a 5a 6 Mean

a Indicates ponds which were treated with 1-6 mg liter -t Aquazine during the study.

most fish. Levels of nitrogen saturation in control ponds, however, were slightly above recommended safe levels. The average and diel ranges of dissolved gases in our study were greater than those reported for a 0- 1-ha mariculture pond (Parker et al., 1976). These differences may be partly due to the instruments used in the two studies. Bouck (1982) reported that the formation of bubbles on the Silastic tubing o f a Weiss saturometer, which was used by Parker et al., could produce erroneously low estimates of gas pressure. Bouck designed the gasometer to overcome this problem and readings taken from the two different types of instruments may not be directly comparable. The transitory increases in TGP% noted were probably compensated for by fish diving (sounding) to the b o t t o m o f the pond. Fish were typically seen near the surface during the morning and when the auto-

100

N. C. Parker, M.A. Suttle, K. Fitzmayer

matic feeders were activated, but were in deeper water at other times. Since 1 m depth provides a 10% compensation for gas pressure, fish in water with 110% TGP at a depth of 1 m have a relative exposure of only 100% TGP. In our ponds (1.8-2.0 m deep) fish could sound to the bottom to compensate for transitory high levels of TGP%. Knittel et al. (1980) reported that when juvenile steelhead trout Salmo gairdneri were allowed to sound during high levels of gas supersaturation, there was some physiological conditioning. Fish that were acclimated to gas supersaturation at a depth of 300 cm were more resistant to lethal conditions when they were later returned to the surface. In laboratory studies Chamberlain et al. (1980) found that juvenile Atlantic croakers Micropogon undulatus sounded almost immediately in response to supersaturation of oxygen and sounded after 2-4 h exposure to nitrogen supersaturation. Crunkilton et al. (1980) reported that mortality of bottom-dwelling fishes in a midwestern lake with surface TGP of 135-139% was insignificant compared with that of pelagic and nearshore species. Fish examined shortly after death had the classic signs of GBD and, in some species, larger fish were more susceptible to GBD than were smaller ones. Since the fish in the present study were not examined histologically, we cannot state that GBD did not occur. However, no gross signs of GBD were detected in fish collected and examined weekly; therefore, we do not consider GBD to have been a major problem. Mortalities were attributed to the presence of the net alga Hydrodictyon. Fourweek-old striped bass were 'gill netted' and trapped by the Hydrodictyon that developed in all ponds early in this study. However, in five other ponds (0-02-ha) equipped with airlift pumps and stocked with fish from the same lot, net algae developed later, when the fish were 6 weeks old. These larger fish were able to avoid entanglement in the net algae and survival was 53%. On the basis of a survey of hatchery managers in the southeastern US, Geiger and Parker (1984), found that striped bass survival averaged about 40% and usually ranged from 0 to 49%. Extrapolation from conditions as reported in this study and from previous laboratory studies to other field conditions should only be done with caution. When Cornacchia and Colt (1984) used airlift pumps to induce GBD in larval striped bass exposed to TGP of 102.9%, their fish were confined in laboratory tanks 0.4 m deep. Bouck (1976) found that TGP values of 107-110% did not induce GBD in fish in a

Total gas pressure and 02 and ?~ saturation in aerated ponds

101

natural stream; whereas 105% was sufficient to cause the disease under hatchery conditions. Continuously operated airlift pumps did not increase TGP% above levels found in ponds without airlift pumps. Consequently, we believe that airlift pumps can be safely used in warmwater ponds in spring to increase DO concentrations and reduce thermal stratification.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank J. E. Colt, K. B. Davis and B. A. Simco for their critical review o f the manuscript.

REFERENCES APHA (American Public Health Association), American Water Works Association & Water Pollution Control Federation (1975). Standard Methods for the Examination o f Water and Wastewater, 14th edn, American Public Health Association, Washington DC. Bouck, G. R. (1976). Supersaturation and tishery observations in selected alpine Oregon streams, eds D. H. Fickeisen and M. J. Schneider, CONF-741033, ERDA Technical Information Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, pp. 37-40. Bouck, G. R. (1982). Gasometer: an inexpensive device for continuous monitoring of dissolved gases and supersaturation. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 111,505-16. Chamberlain, G. W., Neill, W. H., Romanowsky, P. A. & Strawn, K. (1980). Vertical responses of Atlantic croaker to gas supersaturation and temperature change. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 109,737-50. Colt, J. E. (1983). The computation and reporting of dissolved gas levels. Water Research, 17, 841-9. Colt, J. E. & Westers, H. (1982). Production of gas supersaturation by aeration. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 111,342-60. Cornacchia, J. W. & Colt, J. E. (1984). The effects of dissolved gas supersaturation on larval striped bassMorone saxatilis (Walbaum). J. Fish Dis., 7, 15-27. Crunkilton, R. L., Czarnezki, J. M. & Trail, L. (1980). Severe gas bubble disease in a warmwater fishery in the midwestern United States. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 109,725-33. DeMont, D. J. & Miller, R. W. (t971). First reported incidence of gas bubble disease in the heated effluent of a steam generating station. Proc. Southeastern Assoc. Game and Fish Comm.. 25,392-9.

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N. C. Parker, M.A. Suttle, K. Fitzmayer

Ebel, W. J., Raymond, H. L., Monan, G. E., Farr. W. E. & Tanonaka, G. K. (1974). Effect of atmospheric gas supersaturations caused by dams on salmon and steelhead trout of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Northwest Fisheries Center Processed Report, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle. Geiger, J. G. & Parker, N. C. (1984). Survey of striped bass hatcher5' management in the southeastern United States, Progressive Fish Culturist, in press. Gorham, F. P. (1899). The gas bubble disease of fish and its cause. Bull. United States Fish. Comm., 19, 33-7. Knittel, M. D., Chapman, G. A. & Garton, R. R. (1980). Effects of hydrostatic pressure on steelhead survival in air-supersaturated water. Trans. Arr~ Fish. Soc., 109,755-9. Marsh, M. C. & Gorham, F. P. (1905). The gas disease in fishes. Report United States Bureau of Fisheries for 1904, pp. 343-76. Parker, N. C., Strawn, K. & Kaehler, T. (1976). Hydrological parameters and gas bubble disease in a mariculture pond and flow-through aquaria receiving heated effluent. Proc. Southeastern Assoc. Game and Fish Comm.. 30, 179-9 I. Parker, N. C. (1979a). Channel catfish production in continuously aerated ponds, Proc. Texas Fish Farming Conf. and Ann. Convention of Catfish Farmers Texas, Texas A & M University, College Station, pp. 39-52. Parker, N. C. (1979b). Striped bass culture in continuously aerated ponds. Proc. Southeastern Assoc. Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 33,353-60. Renfro, W. C. (1963). Gas-bubble mortality of fishes in Galveston Bay, Texas. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 92,320-2. Shelford, V. E. & Allee, W. C. (1913). The reactions of fishes to gradients of dissolved atmospheric gases. J. Exp. Zool.. 14, 207-66. US Environmental Protection Agency (19761. Quality Criteria for lfater, United States Government Printing Office, Washington DC. Weitkamp, D. E. & Katz, M. (1980). A review of dissolved gas supersaturation literature. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 109, 659-702. Westgard, R. L. (1964). Physical and biological aspects of gas-bubble disease in impounded adult chinook salmon at McNary Spawning Channel. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 93,306-9. Woodbury, L. A. (1941). A sudden mortality of fishes accompanying a supersaturation of oxygen in lake Waubesa, Wisconsin. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 71, 112-17.