As part of our preparations to return to full-scale catfish hatching and breeding after several years of taking a break, solving our water problem was one of the key goals we identified about three years ago.
During this period, my brother took the time to learn about the construction and installation of water treatment plants, which would help us permanently address our water challenges.
Our borehole at home is quite deep, an industrial-standard borehole of approximately 140 meters, yet we discovered that the iron, nitrite, and pH levels in the water were abnormally high. This imbalance made the water unsuitable for catfish breeding and was one of the reasons we suffered heavy losses about three years back.
In one of my earlier posts about this catfish hatching journey,
@wewarriors-28/the-long-break-is-over
I mentioned some of the key things we needed to address to get it right this time, and water quality was at the top of that list. A water treatment plant became the only viable solution.
** What Is a Water Treatment Plant?**
A water treatment plant is a system or process that purifies water by removing dirt, harmful microorganisms, chemicals, and other impurities to make water safe for human and agricultural consumption, depending on the need.
In our case, we needed to eliminate excess iron, nitrite, and unbalanced pH levels, as these invisible particles tend to block the gills of tiny fish fries during production, causing difficulty in breathing and often leading to death.
** The First Installation**
Around mid-August, my brother installed our first water treatment plant using a locally fabricated stainless-steel cylinder that housed the filtering materials, including white sand, carbon, and other purification components.
The system also featured air valves to control pressure, and we utilised standard rigid PVC pipes and fittings for the installation.
Unfortunately, we soon noticed leakages around the welded parts of the cylinders, which affected water pressure and overall efficiency. After several failed repair attempts, we decided to upgrade to imported glass-fibre cylinders, more expensive (about twice the cost) but airtight and leak-free.
** The Unexpected Happens**
The new installation process appeared to be more straightforward and faster. We emptied the purification materials from the old unit into the new glass-fibre cylinders, connected our PVC pipes and fittings, and everything looked perfect.
But when we switched on the pumping machine, disaster struck.
The pressure from the machine burst half of the PVC pipes we had just installed.
We replaced the damaged pipes, thinking the height of the layout was the problem, but again, the pipes burst a second and third time. That was when we knew we had to go back to the drawing board.
Correction and Lessons Learned
We soon realised that, unlike the stainless cylinders, the glass-fibre ones were completely airtight; they had no air valves to release pressure. The trapped pressure caused the repeated pipe bursts.
After some consultations with experienced colleagues, we discovered that we had also used the wrong type of pipes. We were supposed to use high-pressure PPR pipes and fittings, not hard PVC.
These PPR fittings require a special heating tool and installation expertise, which we initially didn’t have but later outsourced.
It turns out that most local water treatment plants use stainless-steel fabricated cylinders because they’re more affordable, so few people encounter the pressure issues we faced with glass-fibre types.
After a day of wasted effort, we finally hired a professional plumber with the right tools and skills. In about five hours, the installation and fittings were completed perfectly.
Final Test and Success
The final moment was a nerve-wracking time to test-run the system.
After seeing the pipes burst three times the day before, I couldn’t help but feel anxious. But to our relief, everything went smoothly.
The pressure pipes held firmly, and the water treatment plant worked efficiently.
After two long days of hard work and troubleshooting, we finally got it right.
We’re now just a few steps away from beginning our full-scale catfish breeding once again.
Thank you for following our journey. See you in my next post. Cheers