| One of the trickier parts of keeping your | | | | your tank's pH? It can drop lower when plant and |
| freshwater aquarium healthy is maintaining the | | | | animal wastes start to decay in the tank, and |
| water chemistry. I should know, since some of | | | | once the pH gets below a certain point, all the |
| my early mistakes led to the sad death of fish I | | | | bacteria that break down the wastes start to die |
| had picked out and nurtured very carefully. Let | | | | or go dormant, so the fish start to choke on their |
| me teach you a little bit about pH and taking care | | | | own ammonium. Don't let this happen to your |
| of the water in your tank, so you don't make the | | | | babies! You can fix a low pH by changing out the |
| same mistakes! | | | | water (so that the buildup of wastes is removed |
| The acidity of your water is measured on the "pH | | | | or diluted), or by adding ordinary bicarbonate |
| scale", which ranges from 0 (very acid) to 14 | | | | (baking) soda. |
| (very alkaline). Neutral pH is right in the middle, | | | | On the other end of the scale, your pH might get |
| rated 7.0. Freshwater fish mostly like water that's | | | | too high if you have a lot of fish and plants, as |
| between 5.0 and 9.0, but you'll need to check with | | | | their exhaled carbon dioxide gets into the water. |
| your books and your fish store folks to tell you | | | | To lower the pH, get a pH-lowering chemical from |
| more about what YOUR fish need. | | | | your local pet/fish store – it's usually |
| How do you know what the pH of your aquarium | | | | included in the kit you use to measure the pH in |
| is? The most common test uses the chemical | | | | the first place. Do look at the ingredients though |
| called "bromothymol blue" (usually abbreviated | | | | – if the chemical includes phosphates, it |
| "BromoBlue"). You just fill a small vial halfway with | | | | might encourage algae growth in your tank. Also, |
| your tank's water, then add one or two drops of | | | | it's harder to alter the pH in hard water; if your |
| the BromoBlue. Depending on the pH, the water in | | | | tank seems to be resisting your changes, you |
| the vial will turn a shade of yellow, green, or blue. | | | | might need to look at methods for softening the |
| Compare the color to a chart, and you'll know | | | | water first. |
| exactly where you stand. You can also get | | | | Love your fishies and study your tank everyday, |
| pre-treated strips of paper that you dip into the | | | | getting used to how they normally look and act, |
| tank, or even a sophisticated pH meter, but the | | | | and you can often spot the symptoms of a |
| BromoBlue test is quick, simple, and inexpensive. | | | | problem like pH imbalance all on your own! |
| So why is it so important to keep a close eye on | | | | |