Well this depends on the source of tanker water; if it is treated then it is likely to cause a problem for your fish. If it is from a contaminated source, the pond will definitely be contaminated and will then pose a problem for your fish. So, determining whether a tanker water will cause problem on your fish pond or not depends largely on the source of the water.

In water, the term pH is a mathematical transformation of the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration; it conveniently expresses the acidity or basicity of water. The lowercase letter “p” refers to “power” or exponent, and pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration.

Each change of one pH unit represents a ten-fold change in hydrogen ion concentration. The pH scale is usually represented as ranging from 0 to 14, but pH can extend beyond those values.

At 25 °C, pH 7.0 describes the neutral point of water at which the concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions (OH^–) are equal (each at 10^-7 moles/L). Conditions become more acidic as pH decreases and more basic as pH increases.

Fish diseases may cause severe losses on fish farms through:

reduced fish growth and production;
increased feeding cost caused by lack of appetite and waste of uneaten feed;
increased vulnerability to predation;
increased susceptibility to low water quality;
death of fish.

Main Causes of Disease in Farm Fish Pond

There are several causes of disease that may affect the fish directly or may continue to cause disease problems. Basically, any factor which causes stress or difficulty to the fish decreases its resistance to disease and increases the chance of disease problems occurring.

The three main causes of disease are:

Improper feeding;
Stress through extreme or toxic condition;
Attack by disease organisms.

a. Fish are not fed properly: nutritional diseases become more frequent as the culture system becomes more intensive and the fish obtain less of their nutrients from natural food organisms.

b. Fish are stressed by being exposed to an extreme or a toxic condition: in the previous chapters, you have already learned about such factors as:

Rough and/or excessive handling, for example when harvesting or sorting/grading;
Overcrowding and/or behavioral stresses, for example in storage or transport;
Unsuitable water temperature;
Lack of dissolved oxygen;
Changes in pH towards extreme values;
Presence of toxic gases such as ammonia or hydrogen sulphide;
Toxic factors in artificial food such as particular chemicals in certain plant foodstuffs (saponin, gossypol, etc.), fungal toxins in stored foods, and pesticide residues;
Pollution of the water by agricultural or industrial chemicals, sewage effluents, heavy silt loads.

c. Fish are attacked by successful disease organisms, either externally on the skin, gills or fins, or internally in the blood, digestive tract, nervous system, etc.

How to Measure or Test Pond Oxygen Levels in a Fish Pond

Will Tanker Water Cause Harm on your Fish Pond? Find out

It’s important to test oxygen concentrations to ensure you have healthy pond oxygen levels for fish to thrive, stress and disease free. While there are common signs that might indicate your pond having insufficient oxygen levels, we highly recommend using a specific dissolved oxygen test kit.

Follow the test kit’s precise instructions for accurate measurement of oxygen concentrations. Accurate measurements are important because if you remember, even a small drop in dissolved oxygen from 3ppm to 2ppm is there a difference between dangerous or deadly pond oxygen levels.

How to Increase Dissolved Oxygen Levels in a Fish Pond

Fortunately, there are various straightforward ways to either combat the depletion of or introduce more oxygen into a pond and prevent low oxygen levels. First, it’s important to understand how oxygen becomes dissolved in water.

Oxygen particles dissolve into the water simply by coming into contact with it. Therefore, to introduce more oxygen into a pond, there needs to be more water coming into contact with the oxygen in the atmosphere. The surface of pond water is always in contact with the atmosphere and will, therefore, have the highest oxygen concentration.

This explains why fish swim near the surface of a pond in times of oxygen shortage. However, this also means that the majority of the water deeper within the pond does not have access to oxygen particles.

In order to increase the oxygen levels throughout the volume of pond water, you will need to increase the surface area that comes into contact with oxygen.

There are three main ways this can be achieved:

1. Increase Water Movement

Create movement in your pond by adding or turning on a water fountain or waterfall. Movement within a pond increases the surface area of water that comes into contact with oxygen. Thus, more oxygen particles can dissolve into and concentrate the pond water.

Ideally, the water fountain or waterfall would be at a good height to allow enough time for enough oxygen to be absorbed into the water as it falls into the pond. Furthermore, the deeper the water splashes into a pond, the higher the droplets will bounce back. Giving the pond water even more opportunity to be exposed.

2. Add a Pond Air Pump

Another simple way to oxygenate pond water is to add a pond air pump. Air pumps help to introduce oxygen deep within the water. Pond keepers often mistake the bubbles generated from air pumps as the oxygen content themselves. Rather the bubbles work to aerate the pond by encouraging movement and increased surface area exposed to oxygen.

3. Add Pond Oxygen Stones

Similar to and used alongside air pumps, pond oxygen stones also work by supplying air bubble into the water. Again, this increases pond water movement and surface area. Maximising the potential for oxygen particles to dissolve into the water.

Tips to Maintain Healthy Fish Pond Oxygen Levels

– While aquatic pond plants are useful for adding more oxygen into your pond, we advise not to rely solely on aquatic plants as they cannot provide enough oxygen alone. Instead, use aquatic plants in combination with any of the above suggested methods.

– When testing your pond oxygen levels, make sure you test deep within the water. Water closer to the surface of your pond naturally had a higher oxygen concentration level to water less exposed to the atmosphere.

– Remember that weather contributes greatly to the oxygen levels within a pond. Avoid the biggest cause of pond fish deaths in summer by monitoring your oxygen levels regularly. Also, note that oxygen levels might vary at different times of day (depending on the temperature).

Fish Kills: Their Causes and Prevention

Fish die as a result of a wide variety of natural and unnatural causes. Fish may die of old age, starvation, body injury, stress, suffocation, water pollution, diseases, parasites, predation, toxic algae, severe weather, and other reasons.

A few dead fish floating on the surface of a pond or lake is not necessarily cause for alarm. Expect some fish to die of old age, injury, winter starvation, or even post-spawning stress in the springtime. However, when large numbers of fish of all sizes are found dead and dying over a long period of time, it is necessary to investigate and determine the cause.

Sudden, large fish kills in fish ponds are often the result of fish suffocation caused by nighttime oxygen depletion in the summer. Fish kills from oxygen depletion usually occur in the early morning hours (at dawn) in very rich (green water) ponds following:

1. The die-off of a large algae bloom.

2. The decay of water weeds after treatment with a herbicide.

3. The turnover of oxygen-poor bottom waters following a thunderstorm.

4. The runoff of livestock waste and other organics after a heavy rain.

Symptoms of oxygen depletion may include an abnormal distribution of fish gulping at the water surface or at the pond inlet or edges. Large fish may die first, but all sizes of fish are usually affected.

The color and clarity of pond water may change and a foul odor may be released. Fish kills from pesticides, chlorine, gasoline, fuel oil, ammonia fertilizer, acids, and other toxic chemicals are not as common in private ponds, but can occur.

In order to prevent fish suffocation in fertile fish ponds: