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pH: What is it and should I adjust it ?

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by Anthony, Feb 7, 2009.

  1. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    What Is pH ?

    pH is commonly referred to as a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, specifically the concentration of Hydrogen atoms. The pH scale runs from 0 (which is acidic) to 14 (which is alkaline) and a neutral pH of 7 in the middle. The pH scale is logarithmic, which means that a pH of 5 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 6.

    It is useful to know the pH of your water to determine what fish you can keep. Measure the pH after the water has been left open (in a glass or something similar) overnight. Doing this allows gasses to dissolve and the pH to stabilize.

    Changing Your pH

    Before attempting to change the pH of aquarium water you should be sure it's necessary. The pH range often given for a specific fish or group of fish may be based on their natural environment. Although it might be a good idea to mimic these conditions, the fish may be capable of thriving at your current pH. It is also worth considering that many fish acquired in the hobby may have been aquarium bred for many generations and already become accustomed to water conditions quite different to their natural habitat. Providing a stable pH is usually more important than the exact value, as long as extremes are avoided.

    There are of course some fish which do require specific conditions to thrive. You may also want to alter your water chemistry to improve success with breeding. Increasing pH is usually easier than lowering it and will usually involve raising hardness at the same time, in order to keep the pH stable. It can be achieved in the following ways:

    The use of decor containing buffering salts, such as limestone rock.
    The use of crushed coral in the filter or as a substrate.
    Commercial buffers and "pH-up/down" products.

    Lowering pH can be more difficult especially in hard water which has a good buffering capacity. The following methods are sometimes employed.

    Fill your filter(s) with peat. This will be more effective in water with a lower KH.
    Purchase "pH-down" products. These will not work effectively where there is a strong buffering capacity.

    Attempting to lower the pH of well buffered water with commercial chemicals or acid solutions is likely to result in a losing battle. The pH swings are likely to be harmful to fish. The solution is reduce KH first.

    Apart from the effect of pH itself, there are important effects on the toxicity of ammonia and nitrite with changing pH. Therefore you should be particularly wary of attempting to change pH when either of these waste products is detectable - in particular, during the cycle. It is safer to let the cycle finish before attempting to adjust pH - it may settle at a different value once the cycle is complete in any case.

    Always Remember A Stable pH Is Much More Beneficial To ANY Fish Than One That Is Always Changing.

     
    Anthony, Feb 7, 2009
    #1
  2. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    perfect anthony lol
     
    stevenrox, Apr 9, 2009
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  3. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    I assume steven is right since I aint gonna read that all :)
     
    Guidoman888, Apr 10, 2009
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  4. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    i never read it all lol
     
    stevenrox, Apr 10, 2009
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  5. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:02 pm
    might seem like a noob question but what is ph exacly and what for?
     
    stevenrox, Jul 13, 2009
    #5
  6. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:09 pm
    P stands for the German word for power which is potenz and the H is for hydrogen.
     
    Anthony, Jul 13, 2009
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  7. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:06 am
    PH is the Acidity/Alkalinity of the water. Here is a quick guide

    PH 5 - Very Acidic water (rain water) - not good for very many freshwater fish
    PH 6 - Slightly Acidic water - Angels, Discus and Tetras love water in the 6 range (around 6.5)
    PH 7 - Neutral water - Very good place to keep water as almost every fish can tolerate this level. Also the prefered PH for freshwater plants.
    PH 8 - Slightly Alkaline water - The high 7's and low 8's in PH are where many of your African Cichlids like to be in PH
    PH 9 - Very Alkaline water - Again another extreme and not many freshwater fish can live here either.

    Of course there are other levels in between (PH 6.5, 7.2 etc) and it is better to understand what your livestock likes and what your plants like so when you introduce them into your tank they are comfortable themselves. This is also why it is a REALLY bad idea to mix SA Cichlids with certain Africans because SA Cichlids tend to like more Acidic water and many Africans like it Alkaline. This can be false as home breeding and domestication of fish have skewed the tolerance of the fish. For example it was once thought that Discus MUST live in PH 6 water or less. Domestication now makes them tolerant from PH 5.2 - PH 7.8. Just because they are tolerant to that range does not mean it is a good idea to go to the extreme on either end.... so you should pick a happy medium and keep that to other living creatures preference when setting your PH.

    I keep plants and almost every plant will die in acidic water (except for a few SA plants like Swords) so I do keep my PH only very slightly acidic for the plants sake and also I can keep Ottos and Corys happy as they prefer neutral water.

    Changing PH can be unhealthy as you will burn your fishes gills if you move too far on the scale too fast killing the fish. Also PH settings along with your water temp do also set your Oxygen potential in the tank (high temp and low PH makes for VERY LITTLE oxygen) They are DIRECTLY related to one another.

    I encourage you to do more research with what you have and more on PH so you understand fully this VERY important water parameter!
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 13, 2009
    #7
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:22 am
    You should really start paying attention in science class :)
     
    Anonymous, Jul 13, 2009
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  9. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:32 am
    :) I was a nerd and paid WAY too much attention in Science and Math, meanwhile slept through English and Social Studies.

    Agreed though! ;)
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 13, 2009
    #9
  10. lostanime

    lostanime New Member

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    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:13 pm
    Every single # that PH changes actually impacts it 10x... going from PH 6 to PH 5 means the water is 10x more acidic, and going from PH 6 to PH 4 means the water is 100x more acidic!
     
    lostanime, Jul 13, 2009
    #10
  11. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:17 pm
    Thank you for that addition! I forgot to mention that! ;)
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 13, 2009
    #11
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:08 pm
    I did the exact same thing!
     
    Anonymous, Jul 13, 2009
    #12