ALKALINITY - Does it really affect PH

[silver]

I got a PH and Alkalinity test kit today and I have a question here..........

My Alkalinity is 80.....my PH is 7.6.

My tap water tests look like this:
Alkalinity is 120 and PH is 8.0

The test kit says that you MUST HAVE alkalinity of 120 to 250ppms to get an acurate PH reading...........is this true?? Well, if they say it is I will just assume it is.

The test kit also says that if your alkalinity is below 120 that may allow your PH to fluctuate......Horrible for fish I know!! Is this true? Again, if they say it is then I should except that as truth?

Anyhow....to raise my alkalinity I will have to buy Buffer Up which I read also raises PH.......is this true?? Does it raise ph

If so, how can I raise the alkalinity of my tank without changing the PH......

Also, could it be that my piece of dritwood is lowering the alkalinity and the PH?? The PH being 7.6 is perfect, but the other isn't.......

 

[rollntider]

I used to clean swimming pools and the health department would allow a minimum of 80 for total Alkalinity. the PH reading as far as I know is acurate at any alkalinity level. it just isnt stable below 80 from what i learned. yeah Bicarb will raise the PH but not that much and i believe it becomes saturated and wont go above 8.2 i think. I have been out of the swimming pool bussiness for several years i worked there as a tech to learn how to repair spas while in college, and i got stuck cleaning pools. Little did i know those health dept. seminars would pay off. Anyways i digress, 7.6 and 80 ppm unless you have a species that requires a higher PH I would say you are pretty stable. It probably wouldnt hurt to raise the KH a little more, and it shouldnt flucuate the PH that much. A lot of what i learned also had to do with Chlorine and Chloramine and the affect PH had to do with it, but I hope that little hugget helps some. Maybe someone who has studied or read up on it more recently can answer that for ya.

 

[silver]

Well then perhaps I will buy some of that Buffer Up stuff and put it in the tank little bits at a time. I will watch for any major PH increases. Even if it goes to 8.0 that would be okay wouldn't it??

What does little hugget mean ??

Thanks for the reply.............I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get one!!

 

[rollntider]

oops, nugget(of information) sorry )

 

[silver]

I get it.......... I was thinking * hugget, what the heck is a hugget * !!!!

 

[juliethegr8t]

Heya silver! I actually would suggest not putting any of the pH upper stuff in. It's just risky to mess with your pH, and I really doubt it fluctuates enough now to worry about it. I'd be more worried using chemicals to mess with the pH than just dealing with your normal changes (if any). The best route would probably be to just measure your pH once a week or so for the next few weeks, just to see if it really does fluctuate. For example, measure before a water change, and then after.. also in the middle of the week. I'm in the same situation as you, but have found my pH really doesn't change much (it's at 7.4 most of the time). Also, I tried to use pH Down, and it did jack crap. I know it is much easier to raise pH, but realize that is literally adding acid to the water (as a higher ph means acidic)... Just MHO!

 

[CFC]

I know it is much easier to raise pH, but realize that is literally adding acid to the water (as a higher ph means acidic)... Just MHO!

Errm no, the higher the pH the more ALKELINE the water is, the pH scale reads from 1 to 12 (it may even go higher) with 1 being very acidic, 12 being very alkeline and 7 being neutral, a PH below 5 or above 9 will kill most fish. Generally the harder the water is the more alkeline it becomes and vice versa, in areas where the water is filtered through mineral deposits or chalk hill sides the water will carry more natural buffers which prevent the pH from dropping into the acidic range, in areas which have a lot of marsh and bog land the water will be soft and acidic. It is easier to raise the pH and hardness of water because you are simply adding more buffer to the water, when trying to drop the pH and hardness of water you have to break the natural buffers which is much more difficult.

 

[pete28]

hey silver i would have to agree with julie if youdo not have to add any chemicals to your tank dont. if you have not noticed any signs of stress in your fish and they are living happily in their current conditions dont mess with sucess. now as far as your ph levels go once again i agree with julie on checking your ph weekly. the buffer up you described is exactly that its a premix of an acid and a base to create a certain ph level so you would be able to use the insturcions on the bottle to get a general idea of how much to add to your tank but you would have to keep adding until you get the right levels. have you tried any natural buffers? Certain rocks or other substances can be added to eihter increase or decrease the ph levels naturally while adding decoration and a place of refuge in your tank. i hope this helps one last thought a higher ph level example 7-12 is basic , below 7 is acidic

 

[Fish Buddy]

And to answer your question about the driftwood, yes it does affect your water chemistry. It will lower your pH (More acidic and create soft water).
And If I were you, I wouldn't add any pH chemicals- cause more harm than good...

 

[tstenback]

Yes alkalinity(KH) does affect PH if the KH goes up so to does the PH and vice versa. Also the higher your KH the harder it is to change your PH as KH is a measure of the buffering capacity of your water (the ability to keep some conditions the same while other things change). So with a KH of 80 you should be quite stable. Actually i have found anything over 60+ is quite stable in a freshwater tank. HTH

Here is a link

 

[silver]

Thanks you guys............really good info. here!

I suppose I will NOT add any buffer up as I thought it would just raise the alk. and not the PH. I do NOT want my PH any higher than it is.......in fact, I wish it were a little lower!!!

Thanks for that link......I just read it and it's.Awesome!!!