# pH meter



## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

Hi

I am setting up my tropical tank and went to the shop today to buy plants. I took a sample of water and they said the pH was way too high at 8.5. They sold me some 'pH down' solution which I have now added. They also told me that the strips I use to test pH are not very accurate (I tested the pH and it looked OK).

I am now wondering whether to get a pH meter or whether to buy some liquid test solution. Is it worth investing in a pH meter for about £20?

Thanks.


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

That depends on how often you are going to use it. £20 is only about 3 liquid test kits so it's not that expensive


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

hawksport said:


> That depends on how often you are going to use it. £20 is only about 3 liquid test kits so it's not that expensive


Thanks I think I am leaning towards a meter.

My concerns are that liquid test kits seem to only operate within a narrow range and meters operate in the full range. Also are liquid test kits more accurate than strips? A liquid kit would last a long time.


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## Lawrence22 (Apr 14, 2010)

I have a ph meter and I would advise against it. They are continually having to be recalibrated and the liquid tests are accurate enough for your needs. By the way I wouldn't bother with the ph down product it is pretty useless. Your fish are more effected by water hardness which is reflected in ph than they are by the actual ph, adding chemicals will not help. The best way to reduce your ph and at the same time soften your water is to cut it with RO water. Your other option is to buy fish that will thrive in you water conditions. Some of the African cichlids for example will do quite well in harder water.


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks for your replies. I ordered a cheap liquid test kit to see how I get on. The calibration issue sounds like it will end up costing more money in the long run.

I already used the pH down so there's nothing I can do about that now.


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## Lawrence22 (Apr 14, 2010)

Your ph will rebound back to what it was very shortly. To have a long term drop in the ph you have to reduce the kh of the water, and the best way to do this is cut with RO as I said before.


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## holly1 (Aug 10, 2010)

How about keeping fish suited to your ph?Lake malawi cichlids love a high ph.
Fish bred locally will be used to it.Depends on availabilty.
Start titting about with ph is a losing battle Not to mention £££££
A ph test is something you will hardly use,once the tank is established.A liquid one is fine


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

I put the pH down in on Sunday and the pH is staying down at around the 7 mark (according to my test strips). I am waiting on the liquid kit to arrive.

How long would it usually take to 'bounce back'?


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

holly1 said:


> How about keeping fish suited to your ph?Lake malawi cichlids love a high ph.
> Fish bred locally will be used to it.Depends on availabilty.
> Start titting about with ph is a losing battle Not to mention £££££
> A ph test is something you will hardly use,once the tank is established.A liquid one is fine


I am thinking about what fish to get so this is definitely a possibility. What puzzles me is that the pH in my other tank is neutral (and it is the same tap water).


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## holly1 (Aug 10, 2010)

I would wait until your test kits comes.The shops test could be wrong,what is your tap water ph? Use the strips, then test the other tanks too. (test tap water at room temperature)
When did you set the tank up.what size is it,what substrate do you have,and any rockwork?
Also,when you do a water change,you will need to keep adding this stuff,so it will work out expensive.Here is my lake malawi tank,sadly the minimum tank size for these is 3 ft


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

The tap water pH is 7.3 according to my strips.

The tank is 100litre, with substrate (a white gravel type). Heater and filter but nothing else.


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## holly1 (Aug 10, 2010)

I found the ph does go up in the tank,for some reason
Mine is less from the tap too! But 8 in the tank


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

I just checked with my water supplier and the pH is really 7.3 so my strips seem accurate on that. The only explanation I can think of is that the substrate is alkaline and raises the pH.


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

holly1 said:


> I would wait until your test kits comes.The shops test could be wrong,what is your tap water ph? Use the strips, then test the other tanks too. (test tap water at room temperature)
> When did you set the tank up.what size is it,what substrate do you have,and any rockwork?
> Also,when you do a water change,you will need to keep adding this stuff,so it will work out expensive.Here is my lake malawi tank,sadly the minimum tank size for these is 3 ft


Nice Malwawi tank. Are they breeding yet?


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## Lawrence22 (Apr 14, 2010)

If the Ph in the tank is higher than your tap water then there is something in your aquarium that is effecting it. It could well be your substrate.


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## holly1 (Aug 10, 2010)

I expect mine to be high,with using ocean rock:thumbup:
My malawis are breeding,the same as my tanks..I have 2 baby tanks running too!


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## Lawrence22 (Apr 14, 2010)

I mentioned in an earlier post that Ph is not as important as water hardness in your aquarium. Below is an explanation I have taken from another forum, explained much better than I could manage. Useful to read I think.

You have to have a certain PH value
Fish are entirely unaffected by Ph within the range 5.5 to 9.0. In fact the range could well be wider than that, but filter bacteria efficiency reduces as the PH drops and the filter bacteria go dormant and start to die off before the fish start having any problems due to PH. 
Fishkeepers who have considerable planting and CO2 injections systems often report changes in PH by over 1.0 within a few seconds of the CO injection system operating with no ill effects to the fish, thus proving that fish are able to cope with very large changes to PH several times every day. 
Of considerably more importance to the fish is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in your water. TDS is usually related to hardness and hardness is often indicated by PH, but they do not always have to correlate. Fish that are traditionally known as soft water low PH fish are in fact intolerant of high TDS, and conversely fish that are known as hard water high PH fish are actually intolerant of low TDS. Whilst it is possible to purchase a TDS meter, this is generally considered unnecessary as the PH and water hardness relationships are usually true, and therefore a safe estimation of TDS can be made from measuring PH, GH and KH.
The use of the PH up / down / all around type products is not recommended and can cause more problems that they attempt to solve. Whilst the Ph is unimportant, adding unnecessary chemicals to your tank is never a good idea.


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## CletePurcel (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks. That's really useful.


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