# How Important Is pH?



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

What The Damage done If pH Is too High For My RBP's? It's Always Been Like 7.4-7.6 And It Comes Outta My Faucet At 7.2 I've Tested It All. But I Don't Understand What pH Is Exactly Or What It Does?!?


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

as long as your pH is stable, you have little to worry about. My pH stays at 7.8, and i have had no problems. The problems occur when people try to alter their pH, but cant keep it at a stable number.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Ps are very hardy fish and will be fine at that Ph as long as you dont change it up and down. Fluctuation in the Ph will kill your fish.


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

ph is fine just dont do something like get ph down or anything


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Besides pH stability, you also have to be cautious of ammonia at high pH since it is more toxic (even in trace levels).


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

DonH said:


> Besides pH stability, you also have to be cautious of ammonia at high pH since it is more toxic (even in trace levels).
> [snapback]880740[/snapback]​


Interesting, I didnt know that.


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## Supa Samoan (Jan 13, 2005)

Atlanta Braves Baby! said:


> DonH said:
> 
> 
> > Besides pH stability, you also have to be cautious of ammonia at high pH since it is more toxic (even in trace levels).
> ...


me neither Do you know why??


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## icedizzle (Feb 3, 2005)

"I Don't Understand What pH Is Exactly"

This is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The initials pH stand for "Potential of Hydrogen." Acids have pH values under 7, and alkalis have pH values over 7. If a substance has a pH value of 7, it is neutral-neither acidic or alkaline.

Basiclly things suchs as minerals in your water will affect where it is on the ph scale


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Supa Samoan said:


> Atlanta Braves Baby! said:
> 
> 
> > DonH said:
> ...


Ammonia, when present in water, are in two forms: Free ammonia (very toxic to fish) and ammonium (ionized ammonia - less toxic to fish). TOTAL ammonia is the sum of these two and remains constant but the RATIO between free and ionized ammonia is pH dependent. Higher the pH, the higher the ratio of free ammonia to ammonium and vice versa. So the higher you go on the pH scale, more and more free ammonia is present.

On the flip side, low pH (below 4.5) will also kill fish. Not due to ammonia burn but pH or acid burn.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

So Don, does the same concept hold true for Ph levels say in the low 6s? Will that also effect the ratio of free ammonia to ammonium on the same scale as higher Ph? Or is it less dramatic in these levels?


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

I'm not sure what you are asking...

I guess you can view total ammonia as a balance scale with free ammonia on one side and ammonium on the other. If we assume that at a nuetral pH the the scale is balanced (50/50 ammonia to ammonium), then any shift in pH will move the scale one way or the other. So in the very low pH range, all ammonia could be in the ammonium form (that's why you hear that ammonia is less toxic a low pH), and vice versa, in the high pH range above 8, almost all of it is in the form of free ammonia (thus even small ammonia readings can kill fish).

Ammonia toxicity is also temp dependent. There are formulas to calculate free ammonia concentration when ammonia, temp and pH is known. You can also find charts that will do the same thing.


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## joefish219 (Feb 8, 2005)

icedizzle said:


> "I Don't Understand What pH Is Exactly"
> 
> This is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The initials pH stand for "Potential of Hydrogen." Acids have pH values under 7, and alkalis have pH values over 7. If a substance has a pH value of 7, it is neutral-neither acidic or alkaline.
> 
> ...


this man is 100% right on this ph. ph in simpler terms is acids and bases. acidic water, is 0-6.9999999... and basic water is 7.0-14. what has worked for me is keep it acid slightly, for basic water will sometimes kill your feeder fish and instead of having 40 live and chasable fish you have 40 dead bodies. also if you have a pleco esp good ones, they are said to be happiest in a ph of about 7.0 I have sat there enough chemistry classes at college to have some idea of what i am talking about. and i have rasied p's for some time now i gained some knowledge. my newest knowledge was the operation of this site. and so far you guys got your stuff together.


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## jiaguy (Jan 28, 2005)

I read that P's in a certain river in brazil can stand pH's as low as 5.0 or so, but keep in mind that a one point change in pH means 10 times the amount of free ions


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

Hey DonH, how low can the pH drop before it starts to affect the nitrifying bacteria? There has been some discussion on this but is there a definite answer.


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

I learned something in this thread


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## homebrewed (Feb 25, 2003)

I found out this is the reason for canada having alot of dead lakes, being that they are lined with limestone.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

smithgrind_who said:


> Hey DonH, how low can the pH drop before it starts to affect the nitrifying bacteria? There has been some discussion on this but is there a definite answer.
> [snapback]884518[/snapback]​


There's no definite answer because there are other factors that affect the performance of nitrifiers (such as temp and dissolved oxygen). Generally, nitrifiers are more comfortable at a nuetral or slightly higher pH. It's when pH starts to drop below 5 that trouble starts to show up like cloudy eye, body slime and frayed fins on fish. Below 4.5 (I forgot where I've read this), you will start to see massive die off of fish and potentially a pH crash that will assuredly kill off both fish and nitrifiers.


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