MEASURING THE AQUARIUM pH

Welcome to our Online Blogger Community! 

Hello everyone,

 

We hope you enjoy our online blogs. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime 24/7.

Measuring the Aquarium pH

The pH scale records the acidity or alkalinity of water. The scale is logarithmic, so that each unity change in pH (from 7 to 8 for example) is a ten times change. A change from 7 to 9 is a hundred times change.

You probably already know that a water molecule is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. What happens to change the waters pH is you either have too many single positive hydrogen ions, or too many negative hydroxyl ions (made up of one hydrogen and one oxygen atom).

A dramatic change in pH is very stressful and harmful for your fish. Test your aquarium water regularly with a pH test kit or pH tester. In a reef aquarium it should remain fairly constant.  Most tests involve adding a chemical to a measured sample and comparing the color change to a printed chart. When you compare the sample color against the card, follow the directions that come with your kit, as not all tests are exactly the same.

For a detailed look at setting up your own nano reef aquarium, check out our "how to" article.

In our next blog, we'll talk about Temperature Difference.

Thank you. Sincerely, Team OCReef.com