after i do a 25% water change how long do i wait to test the ph and make corrections?

Answer 1

DanielleZ has the best advice here with controlling PH You should be happy with your water the way it is, or use bottled water. Changing the PH hurts more than it helps.

Also, Congrads MM for finally listening on proper PH advice!

Answer 2

I don't know what that first person was smoking, but you do NOT want to wait months before doing a water change. 25% is good for about once a week after your tank is all stable. As for me, I usually wait a couple hours after doing my water change, in order to give the filter and bubble wand enough time to circulate the old and new water, though I would be interested in seeing what some other people suggest like those top contributors. Hope this helps a little bit.

Answer 3

Making corrections to the PH is generally a bad idea, especially if you plan to use store bought additives to do so.

When people try to adjust their water parameters through easy quick-fix methods, it almost always leads to unstable water, especially when trying to bring it down. Unstable water is much, much more stressful to fish then if the PH is a little to high or low. Take into account that the recommended PH of fish is based on the parameters of their wild habitat, but it's been proven over and over that most aquarium fish are quite adaptable and tolerant of a wide PH range.

If your PH is extremely high (say, higher then 8.5) and you really need to bring it down, the wise method is to mix R/O or distilled water with your tap water in a ratio that gives you the end result you are looking for. This reduces the salt and mineral content of the water, naturally bringing it down, unlike additive chemicals or material like wood and peat, which simply try to force it down while the minerals still exist in the water to fight back and cause aggravation.

That said, I would wait a full 24 hours for the water to aerate and stabilize into what will be a more accurate PH reading then doing the test immediately after.

Answer 4

ANNUAL water change??? Nope, try weekly water change. I would suggest you wait about 2-3 hours before testing as this gives time for any major reactions in the water to have taken place and the temperature to have stabilized. However, that being said I would encourage you to look at this from another angle. Adjusting pH in an aquarium is very stressful to your fish. Most all fish will do just fine in a very wide range of pH. Unless your pH is very high (over 8.0 or so) or very low (below 6.2 or so) I would suggest you not try to alter the pH. Most over the counter pH adjusters do only a fiar job at best and allow the pH to continually "bounce" or shift back towards what it was. Tis rollercoaster ride if far worse on the fish than to have simply left the pH as it was to begin with. If you have fish that truely need to have the pH different than you tap pH (very rare) I would strongly suggest you should adjust the pH of your tap water to match the tank BEFORE you add the new water to the tank, preferably a full day in advance to allow it to properly settle to the final value. Changing pH should not be something undertaken lightly, it's rarely needed, not always easy to do, rarely easy to maintain and often traumatic to the fish.

In almost every case where you need to change pH, usually the more natural methods are best. Depending on your starting pH and what you desire for you tank defferent methods would apply. Water hardness and specifically carbonate hardness play a very major role in pH and stabilizing pH. If you would like to post your tap water values for these measurements and your desired out come, I will be glad to assist you in finding the best method to use.

MM

Answer 5

Well, you shouldn't be doing a 25% water change unless it's your annual water change. Especially if this is a new tank, you should wait at least two or three months before even considering doing a water change. Once a month a 5% water change should be plenty. If you're having problem with ammonia build-up then I'd suggest trying some live plants. To answer your question... I usually make PH corrections as I'm doing the water change, correcting it gradually until it's where it's supposed to be. I usually test my water before and after I make water changes, just to get a general idea of what I'm trying to accomplish and where my levels need to be. Good luck!

Answer 6

My first question is why are you adjusting your PH?

This is going to sound dumb but what kind of gravel do you have? Believe it or not certain types of gravel will keep your ph from increasing or increase it too much.

The property of water to resist changes in pH is known as buffering capacity. You can determine the capacity of your buffering system by measuring total hardness. A reading of 4-6 dH or higher is usually adequate to keep the buffering system in place and maintain a stable pH. A reading under 4 dH means there isn't enough of a buffering system and the pH is likely to drop. For higher pH levels, you will probably want to aim for 6-12 dH. Many hobbyists choose to measure only Carbonate Hardness (KH), which is a measure of the calcium carbonates in your water. This test is also effective in maintaining a proper buffer system. When testing for Carbonate Hardness, a reading of 75-100 mg/L is adequate for most aquariums, while a reading of 100-200 mg/L would be desired for higher pH levels. For the purpose of freshwater aquariums, measuring either total hardness or carbonate hardness is necessary, but measuring both independently would not be needed.

You need to know that anywhere in your aquarium where detritus (a fancy term for dirt) accumulates is a source of Phosphate production. As detritus accumulates in your gravel bed and on your filter pads, the Phosphate levels in your aquarium rise. Free Phosphate ions may bond with calcareous buffering material, precipitating calcium from your aquarium, and reducing your aquariums ability to keep pH stable. This is why it is so very important to clean your filter pads regularly and vacuum the aquarium gravel with each water change. In addition, your tap water contains buffering ions. Doing regular partial water changes will help to replenish the buffers which have been lost. This is important in all aquariums, because fish respiration and organic wastes alone will cause a gradual drop in the ability of your aquarium to buffer against pH swings.

Now the question becomes what to do if the fish you want to keep have very special pH requirements. If your fish prefer a pH level which is reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes at all. Unless you are keeping an extremely specialized fish your fish will be fine. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have work to do.

Let us consider methods of raising the pH of your tap water. There are many additives on the market today which claim to raise your pH. Most of the liquid products on the market today are a 50/50 success at best when used alone only to find the ph will soon return to the normal level of 6. You also need to use a product to increase the buffering ability of your aquarium. To maintain a stable pH in the upper levels of the pH scale for fishkeeping, I would recommend using a buffering substrate such as crushed coral. You can add crushed coral to your existing aquarium. You can place larger amounts of shells or chrushed coral beneath the substraight in the tank. I personally place the crushed coral in a mesh bag and place the bag in my filter. You will want about 1 kg of crushed coral per 40 liters of water to buffer the water to hold a pH around 7.6. This method does not allow for the use of large quantities of crushed coral, but can be effective if you only need to make small adjustments to your aquariums buffering ability. This is why ocean items such as shells and ocean sand should not be used in a fresh water aquarium. It does raise the PH level.

Be assured that attempting to control pH is the most frustrating experience for a fish hobbyist. I would guess that 50% of the problems encountered in new aquariums are a result of the aquarist attempting to change the pH level. Few fish keepers actually need to adjust their pH. For the majority of aquarists your tap water pH will be adequate. The dangers of adjusting the pH incorrectly far outweigh any benefit you may receive by moving your pH a few points on the scale.

Remember, when it comes to adjusting your pH, less is more! Stability is most important. Routine maintenance is the key to keeping your pH stable and your fish healthy!

Also, do not use baking soda in your tank. Over doing the ph plus adding additional salt is not going to do your tank any good. It will also revert back to 6 when the carbon filters pull the Soda out.
Hope this helps


If you have any questions on your PH please feel free to email me.