1) What is
PH? What affects it, and what does it affect?
PH, is the scale used to represent how acidic or alkaline something is. 7.0 is neutral, Less than 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline.
PH is effected by many things in the tank, excess
CO2 depresses
PH, temperature affects
PH, biological acids in the water affect
PH. The
PH of the water will effect every living thing in the tank. They have evolved to live in a specific
ph range, sudden changes in
ph are very stressfull to everything in the tank as well.
2) What is DkH, and what does it have to do with
PH, if anything?
DKH is a measre that expresses the Alkalinity of the water. Alkalinity, simply put is the ability of the water to maintain it's
ph, also called buffering capacity.
Check out
this article for more on alkalinity.
3) Are there iodine tests? What aquarium inhabitants need iodine besides molting inverts?
Yes there are iodine tests, although even the best iodine tests are not that good.
IMO, there are no aquarium inhabitants that require iodine, not even molting inverts. Iodine (at levels greater than
NSW) will not aid in molting it causes molting. Iodine is a poison and should not be maintained above
NSW levels. (I should warn you, the use of iodine is a very hotly debated topic, if you want to dose, make sure you are testing and do not exceed
NSW levels for Iodine .06
ppm).
4) What is alkalinity? What affects it, and what does it affect?
See above
