Stupid question....easy 2 pts lol?

Question

Thanks for the info on the water guys. Now I have a really dumb question lol. Most of my aquariums are like large fish bowls as I have betta's in them. So I simply do the water changes on schedule, and most of my betta's have lived well into 2-3 even 4 years this way.

But out of curiousity, how do you test water for ph levels? How do you know what to look for (how much of good/bad levels) are in your paticular tank? Do all fish respond bad to certain chemicals or do some chemicals (or ph levels...whatever you call it) affect some fish worse then others? Does someone with 2-5 gal. "fish bowls" need to still check the ph levels???? Thanks!

Answer 1

Honestly, don't worry about it. The fish are tolerant of a wide range of levels and to start messing with it tends to complicate and cause instabilities that you don't want. Those who turn their tanks into science experiments tend to have more problems then those who keep it simple. Bowl or tank, for most common fish it just doesn't matter.

You can buy test kits at the fish store. If you feel the urge to start messing around, don't use those drops they sell at the store - they don't work and only cause issues. You need to change it by learning about dependable methods and about what you are actually doing to the water.

But again I stress - don't worry!

Answer 2

Most of your testing kit's if you get like a master testing kit, includes a PH tester and it's just like ammonia, and nitrite and nitrate, where you have a liquid reagent that turns a color to give you a reading and you match that color to the number chart. Ph testers basically have a high end and low end tester. Most fish species do respond different to certain compounds that show up in the water, the primary ones being the compounds produced from the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Fish like White Clouds and Betta's are very hardy fish and if these compounds begin to show up in your water, they generally have a better ability to tolerate that then something like a neon tetra which is extremely sensative to changes in your water chemistry.

Do you need to know your ph? Sure, you need to know what it is, because the ammonia compound is much more lethal to fish at higher ph's then lower. Do you need to play around with it? Not for the most part no. You might see a data sheet that says a fish does best in ph range of 7.2-7.7 and your Ph is 8.1. You don't need to change that really. When you get new fish and putting them in your tanks, you just adjust them slowly to the water in there by adding a cup full of the tank water to the bag every 20-30 minutes so they adjust not only to the temp of your tank water, but your tank water chemistry as well. But overall, unless you ph is in the extreme end range of what is reccomended, most fish will take to ph's that are slightly out of range.

You can get full service help at the forum on my profile or you can google fishless cycling.com, full staff online to handle any of your questions.

JV

Answer 3

You can purchase test kits from a pet store. They have chemicals that you add to a water sample. The chemicals change the color of the sample. The color indicates the result of the test. They aren't too expensive. pH is usually stable in my bettas tanks. You want it to be around 6.0 to 7.0. Most municipal water is in this range anyway. Just make sure to use a dechlorinator to remove chlorine and heavy metals from the water. What you need to worry about is ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. They are the waste products your fish makes and they are what ruins your water quality.

Answer 4

Im gonna agree with ghappy as far as dont go messing with the ph of the water. you know the old saying if it aint broke dont fix it. so if your fish have been happy for years then why mess with it now. If you want to test you can buy a test kit that comes with a color chart you take a 5 ml sample in a test tube and follow the directions for which ever parameter your testing. basically youll be adding drops of chemicals to the test tubes and the water will change colors. the test kit will come with color charts and you match your sample to the color chart and viola you got your reading.

Answer 5

You can buy pH test kits at most pet stores. Most fish are tolerant of a wide range of pH levels, except for some cichlids, saltwater fish, and discus. Some fish will respond to certain pH levels, and some won't. 2 - 5 gallon bowls don't really need to be checked for pH levels, but if you're really concerned about it, you can.

~ZTM

Answer 6

i have got an electronic ph controller which constantly shows me the current ph level and if it gets too high it adds co2 until the ph level is again at the level i have set.

the only chemical i use in my fish tank is the fertilizer.

the ph levels you should maintain depend on the fish you keep. african cichlids and livebearers prefer hard alkaline water (although livebearers also thrive in neutral and slightly acidic water).

many other fishes prefer slightly (or even not so slightly) acidic water.

here is my main fish tank, you can see the ph controller hanging on the wall.
http://img363.imageshack.us/my.php?image=becken18qk0.jpg

and yes, i do have some plants growing free from my tank.

Answer 7

This is part two and continuing with the information you provided in your previous question. There are more kinds of tests for water than you can shake a test strip at. They have test strips, but choose drops if you can as they are more accurate, to test ph and you can find them at any fish store, online and even the chains. The instructions on these test kits will tell you, based on colors, where your water stands. Yes, someone with bowls needs to check for water quality, not really ph, more ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. They are the really important ones. Most fish are not really affected by ph. There are some particular ones, but not many. If you must try to correct the ph, as I said before, don't use drops. Choose something more permanent like logs to bring down your ph. But, all fish are affected by high ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The smaller a water container, the worst water quality you are going to get. That's why a larger aquarium is easier to take care of than a small one.

Answer 8

If your betta lived between 2-4 years, then there is nothing wrong with the ph, so don't worry about it.

Answer 9

There are lots of different pH test kits out there,but if you do weekly water changes and keep the "stuff" siphoned out of the bowls,the pH should remain constant and that's what's really the important parameter.

Answer 10

yes, the pH is lowered whenever the fish poops and the poop begins to break down really low pH (acidic water) is bad for almost any fish, but slightly higher ones are ok for a lot of wild caught amazonian fish but the pH for tropical FW fish should be around (or as close to as possible) 7, ecsept for african cichlids which should be at around 8.
SW fish need much higher pH than FW fish do around 8.3.

there are test kits that fish stores sell, i prefer the liquid test kits to the paper strip kind, they are more accurate, and don't need to be replaced as often.
make sure you buy a test kit for FW as they are NOT interchangable