subject: Check Your Freshwater Aquarium pH [print this page] Check Your Freshwater Aquarium pH Check Your Freshwater Aquarium pH
Why are pH levels in your freshwater aquarium significant? pH is at the root of your waters chemistry and can be one of the most volatile elements of all.
Healthy water in your aquarium will keep your fish alive a lot longer. Think of it this way, could you be healthy if your living room were forever filled with wood smoke? Or you were working in a closed garage with the truck running?
The first issue you encounter when going to pay money for a test kit for pH, ammonia, or anything for that matter, is that there are literally hundreds of brands, flavors, styles and what not to pick from. Picking the right test kits will keep your fish alive and may save you some money.
Every freshwater aquarium setup will have its own lot of particular problems to struggle with; still there are several rudimentary foundations that will get you started along the correct path.
A Log of Your Readings Is Critical!
Documenting your readings is a vital step to understanding your specific freshwater aquarium setup; start a log book of the test results, noting date and time of day the readings were taken. Particular elements you are checking for, and pH is one of them, change throughout the course of the day; conducting your test at the same time each day will establish a normal range for your setup.
As part of your daily regimen, look at your fish for indications of injury or illness and check that all your equipment is functioning correctly. Fish can resist all manner of ailments in a stress free environment - expose them to stress from toxic buildups, pH fluxuations and so on, and they will quickly fall prey to parasites, infections, injury and more.
The Impact of pH
pH is unquestionably your worst enemy and the most precarious component of your water; it is also the principal inducer of fish stress which can be the precursor to fish death! All water has a pH level, ranging from acidic (low pH) to alkaline (high pH).
Almost all freshwater fish inhabit water in a very narrow pH band, ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 and a change of even 1/2 point can place your fish in peril. It is valuable for you to know the pH requirements of the fish species you mean to keep and try to match those levels as closely as possible for all your fish.
pH will fluctuate within a given range as part of the daily cycle, this is absolutely normal. Other factors that will affect your pH is adding water that has a different pH makeup, excessive fish waste and overfeeding.
Your testing for a reason! Determining a standard for your specific freshwater aquarium setup will assist you in identifying abnormalities as they can cause permanent damage.
You Must Test For Ammonia!
Ammonia to a fish is like chlorine in a swimming pool to people, it burns! Uneaten food and fish waste converts to ammonia as it rots and being heavier than water, you will find the highest concentrations at the bottom of your tank, so be sure to draw your test water from there.
Other Water Testing
When starting a new setup or increasing your fish load, testing for nitrite becomes an absolute necessity; nitrate, phosphate and water hardness will help you in understanding your tanks peculiarities better. Understanding your water quality directly affects your fish; the more you test, the more you are aware of, the healthier your aquarium will be.
If you avoid overstocking, overfeeding, keep your filters clean and change your water consistently, you ought to be able to keep a healthy aquarium with little trouble.
