When you are using Ph to go from basic to MORE acidic, is it adding Ph or taking it away?

Answer 1

It is lowering the pH reading on the scale, but not taking away pH. You could look at it as adding acid to the tank, because that is exactly what you are doing when you add a pH down chemical.

What you really need to ask yourself though why are you adjusting your pH? If it's because a book or website says the best pH for that fish is more acidic than your water you need to stop and think about how well your fish is doing in your water as it is. Usually fish will adjust to a wide range of pH and you really don't need to adjust your pH unless you are keeping very delicate fish such as Discus or Chocolate Gourami.

Also think about this... when you change your pH and the store it still like your old tap water pH, what are you going to do when you buy more fish? You can't add them to your pH adjusted tank without MAJOR effort and adjustment time.

Changing the pH is rarely needed and is always a pain, but if you for some reason really NEED to alter your pH, feel free to drop me an email with the details of your tank and water conditions and I'll be glad to help you put together a plan to handle the pH and adjust it properly.

MM

Answer 2

Ph is like a scale and i believe it is taking the ph level down because to make it more acidic it would be going to a lower number on the scale and then when it is more basic it has a higher number i learned about ph levels recently in biology in school so i think that's how it works

Answer 3

It's adding chemical to counter the affects of the waters normal minerals to try to bring it down - it's not so much a matter of adding or taking away, as changing.

Unfortunately, because this additive is fighting the elements in your water and not removing them, the water does tend to rise back up, and the resulting unstable ph is unhealthy for the fish. It's best to avoid these simple solutions and leave the water alone, or do it properly by mixing R/O or distilled water with your tap water to achieve the desired results.

Answer 4

When it comes to PH, what it is is what it is. Most fish can live in a varied range of PH and having a stable PH is better than having one that flux's. Since adding chemicals to control the ph will have to be monitored daily to keep a stable PH it is always best to find other solutions.

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