What exactly is PH, Nitrate and Nitrites
- Thread starter abigman67
- Start date
pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.
A pH of 7 is neutral.
A pH above 7 is alkaline.
A pH below 7 is acidic.
Here is a beginners guide on water chemistry
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-chem.html
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Nitrites are the product of biological bacteria in your filtration system that consume ammonia from your fish and other waste. You have two types of bacteria in your aquarium and filters. One consumes ammonia and produces nitrites. The other consumes those nitrites and converts them into nitrAtes which are less toxic to your fish than ammonia or nitrites. Nitrates are usually removed by doing water changes, though healthy plants and certain chemical medias will also absorb nitrates.
Both ammonia and nitrites will damage your fishes gills and other organs even in fairly small amounts which is why they need to be eliminated from your system. In a healthy aquarium ammonia and nitrites should remain at 0. Nitrates can have a similar effect, but at much higher levels, which is why you must eliminate nitrates by doing partial water changes. It is recommended to keep nitrates below 40 parts per million.
A pH of 7 is neutral.
A pH above 7 is alkaline.
A pH below 7 is acidic.
Here is a beginners guide on water chemistry
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-chem.html
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Nitrites are the product of biological bacteria in your filtration system that consume ammonia from your fish and other waste. You have two types of bacteria in your aquarium and filters. One consumes ammonia and produces nitrites. The other consumes those nitrites and converts them into nitrAtes which are less toxic to your fish than ammonia or nitrites. Nitrates are usually removed by doing water changes, though healthy plants and certain chemical medias will also absorb nitrates.
Both ammonia and nitrites will damage your fishes gills and other organs even in fairly small amounts which is why they need to be eliminated from your system. In a healthy aquarium ammonia and nitrites should remain at 0. Nitrates can have a similar effect, but at much higher levels, which is why you must eliminate nitrates by doing partial water changes. It is recommended to keep nitrates below 40 parts per million.
PH = Power of the concentration of the Hydrogen ion
pure water has a value of 7 it is Neutral PH
Battery Acid has a PH of 0 thus lower than 7 PH water is Acidic water
the opposite end of the spectrum is 14, Toilet Bowl cleaners. Ocean water has a PH of 8 PH above 7 is called alkaline.
Fish for the most part aren't very picky about PH unless your trying to breed. That doesn't mean there aren't fish out there that are not sensitive to PH.
Nitrite and Nitrate are what you get when when Bacteria break down Ammonia. So Ammonia (NH3) gets broken down by Nitrosomonas bacteria to Nitrite (N02-) and nitrite get broken down by Nitrobacter bacteria into Nitrate (NO3-). Ammonia and Nitrite are poisonous to fish. But Nitrate in high levels are also bad for fish.
LOL woops sorry SB you type faster than I do!
pure water has a value of 7 it is Neutral PH
Battery Acid has a PH of 0 thus lower than 7 PH water is Acidic water
the opposite end of the spectrum is 14, Toilet Bowl cleaners. Ocean water has a PH of 8 PH above 7 is called alkaline.
Fish for the most part aren't very picky about PH unless your trying to breed. That doesn't mean there aren't fish out there that are not sensitive to PH.
Nitrite and Nitrate are what you get when when Bacteria break down Ammonia. So Ammonia (NH3) gets broken down by Nitrosomonas bacteria to Nitrite (N02-) and nitrite get broken down by Nitrobacter bacteria into Nitrate (NO3-). Ammonia and Nitrite are poisonous to fish. But Nitrate in high levels are also bad for fish.
LOL woops sorry SB you type faster than I do!
ShadowBass;1437728; said:
ph is a measure of how acid or base a chemical is...a ph of 7 is neutral
alkalinity is a measure of buffering capacity...easily confused with the word alkaline / alkali or base ....
johnptc;1437763; said:
Didn't know that. I've read a lot of information that used the word alkalinity just as I had, and have even heard teachers use it before, but now that I look it up directly you're correct. I knew it was also a measure of buffering capacity but figured maybe the word was just used in more than one context or something.
I guess that goes to show how much erroneous info is out there, especially on the net.
If you look at wiki even (not trying to say wiki is a highly reputable source or anything
) whoever wrote that up used the word alkalinity also.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph
Would basicity be the correct term, or no?
If you want a true education on filtration, check out these 4 articles:
Filtration basics, part 1- mechanical
Filtration basics, part 2- chemical
Filtration basics, part 3- biofiltration
Filtration basics, part 4- implementation
Filtration basics, part 1- mechanical
Filtration basics, part 2- chemical
Filtration basics, part 3- biofiltration
Filtration basics, part 4- implementation
Keep in mind that the measure of pH is based on a logarithmic scale, so a reading of 4 will be 10 times as acidic as a reading of 5, and 100 times as acidic as a reading of 6.