Thought tank cycled but nitrite up slightly

[modernhamlet]

So am i right in saying that the level of PH is not as important as the levels of NO2 and NO3, PH becomes important depending on the f ish you want to keep?

Am I also right in saying that NO2 and NO3 levels should = 0 ? Anything else is harmful.

thanks,

[snapback]922902[/snapback]​

I'll agree with skifletch's comments with the following addition.

While most fish will readily adapt to most standard pH ranges, the danger of pH actually comes into play in ammonia toxicity. At high pH levels (8.0 and higher), even the slightest bit of ammonia becomes very very deadly to fish. This is because at these high pH levels, most of the ammonia is in its non-ionized form NH3 (as opposed to NH4+, ammonium). Unionized ammonia is far more toxic to fish than ammonium.

Here's a better explanation: http/www.thekrib.com/Chemistry/ammonia-toxicity.html

So if you have high pH tapwater, keeping the ammonia down is even more important than if you have slightly acidic water.

Hope that helps...

 

[SkiFletch]

good point. Looks like those old chemistry courses actually did teach me something useful