What is pH?

[10hekellogg]

What is Ph? Can someone tell me? I have read up on my fish and they keep on mentioning PH. Someone please explain.

Confused,
Hannah

[Fuzzy]

The "p" stands for "potenz" (this means the potential to be) and the "H" stands for Hydrogen.

The pH of distilled water is 7, this is neutral. Any solution with a pH below 7 (i.e. pH 1.0 to pH 6.9) is an acid and any solution with a pH above 7 (i.e. pH 7.1 to pH 14) is an alkali.

Acidic solutions have a pH between 1 and 6.9 === your stomach contains HCl it is pH2.

Alkaline solutions have a pH between 7.1 and 14. === your small intestine is pH 9.

Neutral solutions are neither acidic nor alkaline so their pH is 7.

The pH scale was invented a long time ago and sometime it seems a little silly that the more acid it is the lower the pH is. Really it is quite easy. Acids all produce Hydrogen ions (H+). Acids like Hydrochloric acid produce lots of Hydrogen ions; this is because when Hydrogen Chloride gas dissolves in water the molecules of Hydrogen Chloride dissociate into Hydrogen ions and Chloride ions.

Water also dissociates to produce ions, this time it is Hydrogen ions and Hydroxyl ions.


Sodium Hydroxide also dissociates to produce ions when it is dissolved in water, this time it is Sodium ions and Hydroxyl ions.

Now the simple answer..

So to recap if the pH is low, it means that there is a high concentration of Hydrogen ions and if the pH is high it means that there is very low concentration of Hydrogen ions or none at all. Water and other neutral solutions are in the middle at pH7.


The gentleman who invented the pH scale wanted to measure how acid his beer was.

Now ph (it is always in lower case) and KH, or the carbonite hardness of water are interrelated as well.

Hope this helps you understand ph. It is used alot in fish keeping, however, it is even more important in saltwater set ups, or in planted tanks. If your really stuck on a question on ph, just post it, someone here will know the answer.

[10hekellogg]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Fuzzy [/i]
[b]The "p" stands for "potenz" (this means the potential to be) and the "H" stands for Hydrogen.

The pH of distilled water is 7, this is neutral. Any solution with a pH below 7 (i.e. pH 1.0 to pH 6.9) is an acid and any solution with a pH above 7 (i.e. pH 7.1 to pH 14) is an alkali.

Acidic solutions have a pH between 1 and 6.9 === your stomach contains HCl it is pH2.

Alkaline solutions have a pH between 7.1 and 14. === your small intestine is pH 9.

Neutral solutions are neither acidic nor alkaline so their pH is 7.

The pH scale was invented a long time ago and sometime it seems a little silly that the more acid it is the lower the pH is. Really it is quite easy. Acids all produce Hydrogen ions (H+). Acids like Hydrochloric acid produce lots of Hydrogen ions; this is because when Hydrogen Chloride gas dissolves in water the molecules of Hydrogen Chloride dissociate into Hydrogen ions and Chloride ions.

Water also dissociates to produce ions, this time it is Hydrogen ions and Hydroxyl ions.


Sodium Hydroxide also dissociates to produce ions when it is dissolved in water, this time it is Sodium ions and Hydroxyl ions.

Now the simple answer..

So to recap if the pH is low, it means that there is a high concentration of Hydrogen ions and if the pH is high it means that there is very low concentration of Hydrogen ions or none at all. Water and other neutral solutions are in the middle at pH7.


The gentleman who invented the pH scale wanted to measure how acid his beer was.

Now ph (it is always in lower case) and KH, or the carbonite hardness of water are interrelated as well.

Hope this helps you understand ph. It is used alot in fish keeping, however, it is even more important in saltwater set ups, or in planted tanks. If your really stuck on a question on ph, just post it, someone here will know the answer. [/b][/quote]

Okay, so if my tank requires a high ph like 7.8-8.8 it is high consentration? How do control the ph?

Hannah

[Fuzzy]

I guess since you are looking at getting africans, and they require hard water, (ie high KH) this means that the ph, will also be high. I have never keep africans, so I don't really know of the "cheap" ways of creating the required water conditions. Some ppl are lucky and have hard water, it depends on where you are. You can buy an additive from the LFS/LPS to "condtion" your water for which ever type of african your do get.

[10hekellogg]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Fuzzy [/i]
[b]I guess since you are looking at getting africans, and they require hard water, (ie high KH) this means that the ph, will also be high. I have never keep africans, so I don't really know of the "cheap" ways of creating the required water conditions. Some ppl are lucky and have hard water, it depends on where you are. You can buy an additive from the LFS/LPS to "condtion" your water for which ever type of african your do get. [/b][/quote]
Okay. I also heard that you can put limestone in the tank to buffer the ph. Does that sound right to you?

[stilllearnin]

[quote]Okay. I also heard that you can put limestone in the tank to buffer the ph. Does that sound right to you?[/quote]

Limestone works but crushed coral is just as cheap , needs less to be effective and it's more stable.

[10hekellogg]

Crushed coral? I live in Kentucky. Do you think I could just buy it at my local petstore?

Hannah

[Deepseafisher]

Yeah, you ought to be able to get your coral at your pet store. If you can't get coral, base rock (which is used in salt water aquariums) works equally effectively. Just add a bit to your tank or your filter, and it should take care of you.

[quote]Some ppl are lucky and have hard water[/quote]
Hardly lucky, Fuzzy. My pH and Hardness are really high, and to breed just about anything [i]but[/i] africans I have to have around a 95% mix of rainwater to local water in my tanks. Adding a little coral beats catching rainwater any day.

[Deepseafisher]

Forgot to mention...excellent post Fuzzy. Might be a good one to move to the newcomers FAQ forum.

[Mark Stone]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Deepseafisher [/i]
[b]Forgot to mention...excellent post Fuzzy. Might be a good one to move to the newcomers FAQ forum. [/b][/quote] I agree!:D Consider it done! --Mark the Thread Mover Guy:cool: