Technical Notes: A System for Increasing Water Hardness in Culture Water at a Soft-Water Striped Bass Production Facility

Abstract

A system for increasing culture water hardness at a soft‐water production facility for striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is described. This system increases the hardness of culture water from an ambient 35 mg/L to 200 mg/L CaCO3 equivalence. It has been used successfully for 4 years and has been reliable and inexpensive to construct and maintain.

Changes in Water Hardness Influence Colonization of Saprolegnia diclina

“…The pH of the various samples was measured using an Orion model 290A pH meter (Orion Research, Boston, Massachusetts) which was multipoint calibrated just prior to use. Although calcium chloride has been used to change hardness in production aquaculture facilities (Yeager 1994;Spade and Bristow 1999), the chemicals used in this study to change either hardness or pH were chosen because they had the same anion (sulfate). In addition, calcium carbonate was not used due to its near insolubility in water (Merck and Company 1996).…”

Effects of Increasing Water Hardness on Egg Diameter and Hatch Rates of Striped Bass Eggs

“…To divide the trough into two compartments for the experiments, a wooden partition was placed in the head trough of a 100-jar hatching battery. Water hardness was increased on one side by adding a calcium chloride solution to the well water as described by Yeager (1994). Calcium chloride was dissolved and then pumped to the treatment side with an electromagnetic dosage pump that was calibrated so that the total water hardness was increased by 150 mg/L from about 40 mg/L to the desired level of 190-200 mg\L.…”