Saltwater Aquarium Care
Achieving the Ideal PH for a Saltwater Aquarium
There is a lot more to having an aquarium than just filling a tank with water and dropping some fish into their new home. The PH of the water is one of the most overlooked yet most important factors for keeping your fish healthy and happy. But, how do you get the proper PH in your saltwater aquarium. PH stands for ìpower of Hydrogenî and it is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the water. A PH of 7 is considered neutral and that is the PH of distilled water. Saltwater tends toward the acidic range.
Start by getting a PH testing kit. There are ways to achieve a good PH without doing constant testing, but if you really want to be accurate and create the best possible conditions for your fish, a testing kit is absolutely mandatory. Even just a set of testing strips will treat you well.
If your water starts to get too acidic there are a few simple measures that you can take to prevent or fix this problem.
An efficient and clean filtration an aeration unit will help to prevent the acidity that comes from excess CO2 in the water. The normal respiration of fish and other microbes in the water will consume the O2 and produce CO2, which should not be a surprise.
Add a doser to your system to administer buffers to the water along with necessary trace elements like iodine and calcium. Buffers include things like bicarbonate and borate which will counteract the acidity of the water.
If the PH in your salt water aquarium gets too high, you can use one of the old fixes like adding vinegar to the water. It is not as ideal as using isolated additions or setting up a self-checking ecosystem but it will fix the problem.
Partial water replacement is a technique that many people make use of and can help to normalize a wonky PH without putting your fish or other living organisms under too much stress. Itís a simple technique. Pump out a fraction of the water and replace it with properly balanced water. This is to be done in increments and on a regular basis to help prevent shocking your pets.
