When I was looking into whether or not you could put certain rocks into a freshwater tank, The Effect of limestone on a freshwater tank check that post out by clicking the link.
We spoke a little and I wrote about PH potential hydrogen and what the potential effects of limestone are but that got me thinking.
As to how we control our PH levels and stopping them from swinging out of control and or crashing. So in this post, we will be looking at all things PH.
What Is PH
PH is a balance between hydrogen irons & hydroxide irons the more hydrogen irons the more acidic the solution. A scale has been devised with numbers from one (1) to fourteen (14) with seven (7) being neutral anything below seven (7) is acidic hence anything above seven (7) is alkaline.
PH stands for potential hydrogen. The discovery of irons in diluted acid which results in the production of hydrogen gas was discovered by a fella called Henry Cavendish in 1766.
The concept of ph as we know it was first introduced by Soren Peder Lauritz Sorensen in 1909. This was revisited in 1924 giving us what we have today.
Now we know what PH stands for and what we are measuring. We are indeed measuring how acidic or alkaline the water is.
So why would you have a crash in PH levels?
The main reason for ph levels to drop and become acidic would be overfeeding overstocking and too much waste from pooping & uneaten food other reasons are dead fish carbon dioxide & temperature.
Awesome so we now know what PH is the amount of potential hydrogen which tells us how acidic or alkaline our water is.
We also know what can crash our PH levels overfeeding or overstocking too much poop by the way I’ve written extensively on fish poop and you should check them all out.
Here for the wonders of poop Do Fish Poop? What’s Hanging On My Fishes Behind? and of course How Fish Poop Is Made & How They Poop?
As well as Why Fish Poop & What Does It Tell Us About Our Fish? last but not least What Is Fish Poop Does It Have Any Uses?
Hope you enjoy the extra reading back to PH levels and what can crash Ph levels in our tanks. We looked at overfeeding and overstocking food waste from both uneaten food and from poop as well as the dreaded dead fish.
Other Things That Lower Ph Levels In Our Tanks
Water temperature is important if it gets too hot this has a knock-on effect of lowering ph. Too much ammonia in the water will lower ph levels.
Also plants while in the day they have photosynthesis happening and are breathing in dioxide but replacing it with oxygen.
Which helps maintain even raise ph. At night they go into respiration mode which happens to be the opposite so they breathe oxygen.
And they expel dioxide dramatically reducing ph levels.
Well, we’ve learned a fair bit about ph levels crashing but what if we actually need to lower them slightly as they’re starting to get too high?
Safely lowering PH Levels?
If indeed the ph levels do start claiming there are a few ways of safely lowering them. Mostly from releasing some tannins into the water.
This can be done in a number of ways. Driftwood is good and will leach tannin acid helping reduce the ph level. As well as Indian almond leaves and peat moss these also have the same effect by releasing tannins into the water.
Another good way of reducing levels in your tank is by using RO water reverse osmosis water. This water has all the impurities taken out of the water.
Not the cheapest option as will set you back a few quid but does the job and takes metals out of the water and purifies it hence lowering ph.
But Why Lower PH won’t It Crash?
Most freshwater fish like to be in and around six (6) to nine (9) on your PH scale. Severn is neutral and most fish don’t have any issues as low as six (6) may be slightly lower in some species.
The same can be said on the alkaline side of things. Nine (9) may be ten (10) is fine but if it goes beyond it can start to get toxic for fish.
Moreover, green algae will start to grow rapidly the more alkaline the water is and this can be a nightmare too.
If the PH is looking high over ten (10) then sure it may be time to lower slightly it shouldn’t crash just keep an eye on things and keep testing.
Some people want things perfect or what they consider perfect they have a set number say six (6). As soon as the ph rises bang there on it.
This can be a problem and the tank can indeed crash. There is no magic number fish will adapt slowly to the equilibrium of the tank as each tank is different.
Prevent A PH Crash Or Recover From A Crash
Some of the best ways are really simple and work fairly fast. One of the most common ways is to do a bigger water change.
A fifty (50) per cent water change is usually required as this will stabilise the conditions pretty fast. Another fast way is to add baking soda yep add one (1) teaspoon per five (5) gallons or (25) litres of water.
The salts will benefit the fish too. Another favourite is to add crushed shells Yes, crushed shells in the filter are best. Anything with carbonates in there (shells, cuttlebone, coral) will work even oysters.
Put them in the filter as we need a good flow of water to get those carbonates into the water. Also rocks yes rocks are good.
Crushed rocks such as limestone again into the filter for fast results. Placing a rock into the tank will take a while days or weeks to see the required result as limestone is not so soluble in water.
Although crushed and in the filter is going to speed things up considerably.
PH Crashes & Avoiding Them Conclusion
In Conclusion, most fish can adapt to a fairly large gap in PH conditions. Remember each tank is different and PH only measures how much acidity or alkalinity there is in the water.
Most crashes happen because the PH wasn’t that high and you wanted a so-called perfect level first allow the tank to even out then make tiny very small adjustments from there.
As long as you are above six (6) and below ten (10) nearly all species will adapt stay tuned for more posts have a look around.
Read some more let us know what you think thanks for reading.
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