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