Sci.Int.

(Lahore),25(4),791-795,,2013

ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8

791

SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN TREATMENT OF

AQUACULTURE WASTEWATER: EFFECT OF MEDIA USED IN
NON-VEGETATED CONSTRUCTED WETLAND FOR REMOVAL
OF COD AND TOTAL SOLID FROM WASTEWATER OF CATFISH
TANK
Suryani Soetardjo, *Anis Tasnim M.Y., Thanabalan P., and Ahmad Md Noor
School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800 Malaysia
*Corresponding email: anistasnim@usm.my. Tel: +6046534573; Fax: +604 6576000
Abstract We report on our investigation on the effect of different sequence order of 4 media types used
in constructed wetlands for the treatment of catfish farming wastewater. Four sets of wetland unit, with
each set consisting of 4 laboratory-scaled units with dimension of 40 cm x 20 cm x 25 cm (length, width,
depth) consist of media namely oil palm shell, rice husk, granite, and gravel. The arrangement of the set
was in sequence order of media to fulfill a complete cycle for all media. Results show that medias
sequence order does not show significant difference in their treatment. For all sets, the overall removal of
COD and total suspended solid were around 99%, while the total dissolved solid was 71to 85%. pH of the
untreated wastewater was slightly acidic, 5.8 to 6.4 but change to natural 7.0 to 7.8 during the treatment
for all types of media in all sequence orders.
Keywords Catfish wastewater, constructed wetland, different types of media, sequence orders, treatment.

1. INTRODUCTION
Aquaculture is fast becoming an important industry
worldwide compared to any other animal food producing
sector [1]. In Malaysia, aquaculture industry in particular
either fresh water fish or salt water fish farming is
developing rapidly. This development is encouraging in not
only reducing the dependence of imported fish but also to
increase the income of the fish farmer involved in the
programme.
The static pond system aquaculture in general is widely used
in Malaysia. Based on the Malaysian Fisheries Development
Authority report, there are 10 high impact aquaculture
projects (HIP-ZIA) throughout Malaysia [2]. This project
requires a large quantity of water, land area and also pose on
environmental problem. This type of industry will generate
polluted effluents which causes the pollution. In addition,
the accumulation of feed residue and fish excreta during
cultivation often causes water quality deterioration in
fishponds, resulting in toxic effects to the fish. Aquaculture
farm discharged into receiving waters can further degrade
the water quality and cause a problem to aquatic life.
Therefore, an appropriate wastewater treatment process, in
particular a low cost system is helpful for sustaining
aquaculture development in Malaysia.
Water quality parameters that are most concerned are
inorganic solid suspension (ISS), total suspended solid
(TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen
(DO) and ammonia. In addition to total phosphorus (TP),
nitrate and pH of water discharged will cause health
problems to the habitat life around the receiving waters. A
number of studies had been carried out for the treatment of
wastewater [3]-[5]. Use of constructed wetlands for
aquaculture wastewater treatment is a continuous process
that should be given a high consideration. This is because it

is a green treatment system, the process is sustainable, has

moderate capital costs, low energy consumption and
maintenance requirements, and benefits of increased wildlife
habitat [6].
This study was conducted with the following objectives: (1)
to evaluate the performance of different constructed
wetlands media (biodegradable (oil palm shell, OPS, and
rice husk, RH) and non-biodegradable (granite, GN, and
gravel, GV) materials) in removing chemical oxygen
demand (COD), TSS, and total dissolved solid (TDS), and
(2) to investigate the effects of sequencing order of media in
the removal process.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Media preparation
Four types of media consisting of oil palm shell (obtained
from oil palm mill), raw rice husk (from rice mill), granite
(diameter 10 to 25 mm) and gravel (diameter 4 to 10 mm)
were used in this study. Prior to applying the media samples
into the reactors, all media were washed and soaked in tap
water overnight to remove oil, dirt and other impurities. The
process of soaking and washing was repeated until the
drained water became colourless and finally the media
samples dried under the sun.
Four sets, with each set consisting of 4 laboratory-scale
wetland reactor units, (totaling of 16 units) with equal
dimensions of 40 cm x 20 cm x 25 cm (length, width,
depth), made of PVC were used. Each container unit was
fixed with a plastic tap at the bottom of the units for
collection of effluent sample or for draining off sample
water. Every unit in each set was filled with a different type
of media. Scheme of media arrangements (sequence order)
of the wetland units with different media inside is shown in
Table 1. This arrangement was chosen in order to identify

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the removal performance through various sequence order of

4 different media.
Table 1
Sequence order and flow of wastewater filled reactor units.
Set\Sequence
R1
R2
R3
1
A1
B1
C1
2
B2
C2
D2
3
C3
D3
A3
4
D4
A4
B4

Sci.Int.(Lahore),25(4),791-795,,2013

non-biodegradable (granite and gravel) materials. Results

from some parameters analysed are shown in Table 2.
Table 2
Mediums pollutants analysis in distilled water.
Medium
pH
TSS (mg/L) TDS (mg/L)

R4
D1
A2
B3
C4

Notes: Unit A consist of oil palm shell (OPS); Unit B consist of rice husk
(RH); Unit C consist of granite (GN); Unit D consist of gravel (GV)

2.2 Fish pond wastewater

The wastewater sample was collected from a pond at the
Aquatic Research Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia. This
fish pond contains catfish with three different age
categories: 4 years (4 kg), 1-2 years (0.8-1.2 kg), and 7
months (0.6-08 kg), and the water has not changed for six
months. Commercials fish food was used to feed the fish
twice per day according to the body weight. The pond size is
3 m x 1.3 m x1.3 m (length, width, depth) made of
fiberglass. This pond was established by the centre for their
planed of studies.
The water sample was collected using a hand pump at a
depth of 1.5 m from the water surface. The sample water
was then filled into the first reactor unit for each set until the
water level reached the media surface about 20 cm and was
left it for 9 and 15 days retention time. A small amount of
sample water from each reactor was collected after 9 and 15
day interval, respectively, and analysed for pH, COD, TSS,
and TDS. After 15 days, the effluents from first series of
reactors were transferred to second reactors, and similar
analysis was carried out. On the same time, new wastewater
sample was then filled into first reactors. Further analysis
were carried out based on chosen of 15 days retention time
due to better performance was observed on this interval
period of time. These similar process was carried out for the
third and forth series of reactors, respectively, to complete
one trial. This process was carried out for three trials.
2.3 Analysis of parameter
The following analysis was carried out based on triplicate
samples. Chemical oxygen demand was determined
according to closed reflux, and titrimetric method based on
the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater [7]. pH of wastewater and effluent were
measured with a digital potable HANNA instruments pH
211 Microprocessor pH meter.
For TSS and TDS, the method used was based on filtration
process through glass fibres filter paper. The residue and
filtrate from the filtration was oven dried and the weight
obtained represented the amount of TSS and TDS in the
water sample analysed, respectively.

Oil palm shell

(OPS)
Rice husk (RH)
Granite (GN)
Gravel(GV)

4.6-4.7

0.68 0.02

2.33 0.17

COD
(mg/L)
1961 13

4.7-4.8
7.0-7.1
6.8-6.9

0.35 0.10
0.34 0.10
0.24 0.04

0.48 0.04
0.33 0.02
0.18 0.04

371 55
168 7
17 6

Biodegradable media shows acidic property and contain

higher COD, TDS, TSS while non-biodegradable materials
are neutral and lower for other parameter values. This high
content especially COD is expected due to high content of
water soluble extractives. This indicates that a strong
requirement for this type of media to be washed with water
thoroughly, prior to application in wastewater treatment.
Previous study [8] has shown that oil palm shell washed 12
times for 12 consecutive days with water shows a
tremendous drop in effluent COD. The smaller size of the
shell particles help to lower the COD concentration. Six to 8
washings reduced the COD concentration from 1236 mg/L
to less than 5 mg/L and pH remain as acidic
3.2. Chemical oxygen demand removal
Chemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen required
by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic matter in a
sample of wastewater. Results of COD performance for 3
trials in all sequence order are shown in Figure 1. It shows
that along the sequence 1 to 4, good removal performance is
observed with some fluctuation in values. This can be seen
from the tremendous drop in COD concentration for all
trials from 2562- 2684 mg/L to 98-279 mg/L at the first
reactors, to 160-26 mg/L at the last reactors in all sequences.
This is within the Malaysian Water Quality Index Class IV
(50-100) and V (>100) [9]. Although OPS and GN have
larger particle size compared to RH and GV which provide
bigger void space for aerobic but only GN shows high COD
removal efficiency followed by RH with OPS the lowest.
This is to suggest that aerobic situation not the only reason
for COD to be degraded but possible adsorption enhanced
the removal efficiency. RH as well understood to contain
high silica is a possible help to increase COD removal.
The overall COD removal performance is given in Table 3
with an average value 97% for all 4 sequences. While based
on media, OPS are the lowest. In general, all media
(biodegradable or non-biodegradable materials) and all
sequence orders consistently are capable to effectively to
remove COD.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Medias pollutants characterization
The media used in this study could be grouped into two
categories: biodegradable (oil palm shell and rice husk) and

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ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8

Table 3 Overall percentage removal of COD

3000
2685
2565

2627

Trial

2500

COD, mg/L

500
224
154

105

A1

B2

C3

D4

97

98

96

99

92

90

91

90

96

97

94

98

72

90

93

88

98

98

95

99

73

92

96

89

Average

97

98

95

99

79

91

93

89

171

154
75

23

85

95

69

56

66

0
Initial

A1

B1

C1

3.3. pH of the treated water

Wastewater samples in 3 trials were slightly acidic with pH
values ranging from 6.12 - 6.16, 5.78 - 5.82, and 6.34 - 6.38.
After treatment the pH of the effluents increased to almost
neutral or slightly basic. Table 4 shows the results of
effluent pH for each sequence cycle and trials. The increase
is due to possible chemical reactions between
microorganisms present in the media which generate
hydroxyl ions that consume acidity and increases the system
pH.

D1

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(a)
3000
2685
2565

2627

2500

2000

COD, mg/L

Media

1500

1000

1500

1000

500
273

253

223

210
122

95

121

82

33

76

46

56

0
Initial

B2

C2

D2

A2

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(b)
3000
2685
2565

2627

2500

2000

COD, mg/L

Sequence

2000

1500

1000

500
237

181
98

76

69

43

79

52

121

95

161

125

0
Initial

C3

D3

A3

B3

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(c)

3000
2685
2565

2627

2500

2000

COD, mg/L

793

1500

1000

500
279

302

289
210

204
59

85

23

259
26

46

26

0
Initial

D4

A4

B4

C4

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(d)
Figure.1 COD performance in sequences (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, and (d)
4, for different types of media

Table 4 : pH Performance in sequences (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, and (d) 4 for

different types of media
(a)
Trial
A1
B1
C1
D1
1
7.59 -7.62
7.26 -7.29
7.34 -7.36
7.04-7.06
2
6.80 -6.82
7.34-7.38
7.06 -7.10
7.06 -7.10
3
6.42-6.46
7.12-7.14
7.08-7.10
6.92-6.95
(b)
Trial
B2
C2
D2
A2
1
7.68 -7.69
7.27 -7.32
7.44 -7.46
7.12-7.14
2
6.58 -6.61
7.12-7.15
7.18 -7.20
7.18 -7.20
3
7.38-7.41
7.28-7.32
7.21-7.23
7.10 -7.13
(c)
Trial
C3
D3
A3
B3
1
7.62 -7.64
7.75 -7.78
7.67 -7.69
7.23-7.26
2
7.14 -7.15
7.80-7.82
7.14 -7.19
7.14 -7.19
3
7.20-7.22
7.23-7.26
7.23-7.25
7.10 -7.12
(d)
Trial
D4
A4
B4
C4
1
7.66 -7.69
7.64 -7.68
7.62 -7.63
7.11-7.14
2
7.34 -7.36
7.74-7.76
7.02 -7.10
7.02 -7.10
3
7.38-7.40
7.23-7.26
7.21-7.23
7.16 -7.20

3.4. Total suspended solids

Suspended solids in the fish pond wastewater are mainly
contributed by the uneaten feed. The wastewater samples
collected in 3 trials consist of TSS 131.9 mg/L, 113.8 mg/L
and 97.9 mg/L, respectively. Table 5 shows that in all
sequence order, effluent treatment by first reactors, TSS was
removed by up to 96%. Wastewater treatment was
continuing through to the following reactors shows that
TSS content was almost non-detectable. On average, the
results show that TSS removal performance efficiency is in
order of OPS > GN > RH > GV. This result is better than
that obtained by previous study by applying biofilter media
for treatment of eel (Anguilla japonica) wastewater [10].

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794

Table 5 Total suspended solid performance in sequences (a) 1, (b)

2, (c) 3, and (d) 4, for different types of media

Sci.Int.(Lahore),25(4),791-795,,2013

60

(a)

Trial
1
2
3

B2
0.95 (0.11)
0.97 (0.05)
1.11 (0.03)

Trial

C3

1.11 (0.08)

2
3

0.34 (0.01)
0.48 (0.01)

Trial
1
2
3

D4
1.33 (0.09)
1.61 (0.05)
0.87 (+0.02)

B1
0.031 (0.010)
(b)
C2
0.032 (0.014)
(c)
D3
0.0347(0.0162
)
(d)
A4
0.32 (0.08)
-

52.9

C1
-

D1
-

D2
-

A2
-

52

51.4

50

39.9
40
35
TDS, mg/L

A1
0.85 (0.13)
0.048 (0.016)
0.62 (0.04)

30
24.9

24.6
22.1

20.9

20

10
4.9

5.9
3.7

4.9

4.6

3.5

0
Initial

A1

B1

C1

D1

Media types

A3
-

B3
-

60

B4
-

C4
-

40

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(a)
52.7
48.7

50

TDS, m
g/L

Trial
1
2
3

39.4

30
24.6
22.1

20.9
19.4

20

19.4

10
5.9

5.5

5.6

5.4
3.7

3.5

0
Initial

B2

C2

D2

A2

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(b)
30

24.6

25
22.1

20.9
20

TDS, mg/L

3.5. Total dissolved solids

Wastewater samples for 3 trials before treatment consist of
relatively low TDS concentrations of 22.13, 20.86, 20.86
mg/L. Results after treatment with different media are
shown in Figure 2. Figures 2(a) and 2(b) show that TDS
levels in sequence 1 and 2 gave inconsistent results when the
treatment started with biodegradable materials. This
indicates a possibility dissolved solids from these materials
entered into the effluent or some of the TDS in the effluent
were adsorbed on the media surface. However, effluent
treatment started with wetland units with non-biodegradable
materials show a constant removal throughout the
sequences. Figures 2(c) and 2(d) show final removals of
TDS in complete sequences are in the range of 86 to 92%.

15

10

5.1

5.1

5.1

6.1

5.5

4.9
3.9

4.9

4.9

4.5

3.9

3.7

0
Initial

C3

D3

A3

B3

Media types

794

Trial 2

Trial 3

(c)
30

24.6

25
22.1

20.9
20

TDS, mg/L

4. CONCLUSION
Biodegradable (oil palm shell and rice husk) and nonbiodegradable (granite and gravel) materials used as media
for treatment of catfish pond wastewater proved to be
effective for the removal of COD, TSS, TDS and managed
to increase the effluent pH to a neutral condition. However,
rice husk is less effective on removal of the TDS. Effects of
sequence order do not apply for COD, TSS removal and pH
but has a selected effect to TDS. A combination of granite
with oil palm shell or rice husk, and gravel with oil palm
shell or rice husk are recommended to be effective pollutant
removal from fish pond wastewater.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study was supported by the Universiti Sains Malaysia
Short Term Grants No. 304/PJJAUH/6310091. The authors
would like to express their gratitude to Assoc. Prof.
Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Ibrahim for his valuable
comment and suggestion to this article.

Trial 1

15

10

6.2
5.4

5.3

5.4

4.9
3.3

3.7

5.8

5.7
3.1

0
Initial

D4

A4

B4

C4

Media types
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

(d)
Figure 2 Total dissolved solid performance in sequence (a) 1, (b)
2, (c) 3, and (d) 4 for different types of media.

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ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8

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