How to test pH exactly

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

brendan

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Messages
125
Location
Winnipeg CAN
I'm new to this forum thing and what I keep noticing is that people report there pH, GH, KH, etc. levels with exact numbers ie 6.8. Now as one who has recently started up a small aquarium I went up and purchased a pH test kit, however the kit only gives value ranges for the different colors. How is it that people are able to give exact numbers for there pH level? Do they use digital pH readers? Is it in my interest to get one?

Any advice would be great

Brendan
 
honestly it would be great to have one digital PH reader reader, but they can be expensive and they really ae\rent a necessity. The ways that they get exact readings is by placing the test tube on some white surface and determining between what colors the reading is telling them that the water is.
 
go to ebay and get a digital tester, they're about $20-30

those color gradiation test are only a best guess on PH, most cheap digital testors are accurated to +/- 0.1 PH, which is a lot better than a cardboard card and a little vial of colored water ;)
 
I though that the digital tester might be the way to go. I noticed a few of them on ebay but I wasn't sure if that was the way to go.

Thanks for the help
 
Some people get very into having very precise readings of their tank parameters, and invest quite a bit of money into test kits, electronic pH meters, and digital thermometers.

Some people (like me), kinda aim for general values. I don't measure the hardness of my water, and generally only test the pH, ammonia, nitrites, if I notice a change in the appearance or smell of my tank, or its inhabitants. In my experience, my fish are the best barometer of my water quality. Although I haven't had my tank that long, I'm proud to report that I've never had an illness or fish death, and I think that says so much more than a lab report.

Having measurements of your water hardness or pH can be useful if you're trying to troubleshoot a problem in your tank, otherwise, its just personal preference.
 
Go to www.aquabid.com. Under test kits, there is someone selling digital ph monitors for $25 plus $4 shipping. It is accurate to .1.

However, I'm in total agreement with sweets here. Unless you are breeding, or your tap water is extreme in either direction, there is really no need to shoot for an ideal ph value.

I just test for overall stability.
 
You could always do a titration to find Hydrogen Ion concentration then:
pH=-log [h+] :mrgreen:

That would get it accurate! But a lot of work and lab. equipment. 8O
 
Well, I use r/o water, and anything added will profoundly effect the pH of my water. I add 1 mL of Electro-right to every gallon of water for my water changes in my Amazon tank. This keeps the water very soft with a pH of about 6.2. In my African tank I use 1 tsp. of sea salt, 1 tsp. of epson salt, and 1 tsp. of proper pH 8.2(not the stuff for zits alli :lol: ) in my tank, which gives the water a bit of hardness and brings the pH to 8.2. The pH color chart reflects this. So far, the fishies are happy and thriving.

Many people will tell you that the exact pH matters less than keep the pH steady. Regular water changes from the same water source will go a long way to keep your fish happy.
 
An electronic tester that can test forever* without any sort of refill, would pay for itself pretty quickly at ~$25. Faster if Ph is something you test for often.

I would pay a chunk of cash for a probe that would do all the tests for me and never needed a refill! If I could plug it into my mac, I would pay even more :lol:

* Things fall apart
 
To my knowledge there aren't any electronic pH testers that 'can test forever'. Electronic pH meters have a glass probe filled with a chemical solution that must be replenished every so often...the solution usually doesn't last more than 12 months. In addition, pH meters require fairly frequent calibration in order to remain accurate.
 
Back
Top Bottom