Full Version: Ph Question
Hi. After what Stormysgrandma has been through this last month, I am really doubting my test kit. I noticed that since I treated my bottom sitting fish (with slight fin rot) with Maracyn I and II and my cycle bumped that although my PH is testing at 7.8 one of my healthy fish has recently started to hang out at the top of the water..she looks like a fish would look when they are cruising the top looking for non soaked flake food - I remember reading that this could be a sign of high PH, but none of my other fishies are doing it - what do you guys think I should do - maybe buy a new test kit? Does anyone have one they can recommend?
Ihave been particularly frustrated with pH tests for years now. My tank's water seems hover between the "high pH" test and the "low pH" test kit, so I end up having to test it with both kits and compare and average the readings.
I started using the dip strips - both Jungle Labs and Aquar. Pharm, and cannot, for the life of me, determine the differences in the various colors they provid. The pH can be as different as 7.0 to 8.6 and I could not tell the difference!
I have toyed with the idea of purchasing a pH meter to digitally read the pH of the tanks, but this requires calabration and calebration solutions, etc. That is rather picky and fairly expensive - so I have not done that yet.
I found a new product on the market the other day: Mardel has a new "Live pH" test - it hangs in the tank and constantly reads pH. You need to replace the cartridge about every 4-6 weeks it says. It would run about $3.50 a month to run or so. It has gross pH readings - being only set for 5.2, 6.2, 6.6, 7.0, 7.4, 7.8, 8.2, 8.6. I bought one, mainly to test it and so I could let people here know how it worked and whether it worked. It has only been in a tank for 24 hours or so, so the jury is still out on that thing.
The most accurate, cheap, and easy to read test that I have found - and what I am probably going to stick with is a pool pH tester. You can buy a little plastic pool test kit for pH (and chlorine
) that you fill with water and add a few drops of Phenol Red indicator and it will read between 6.8 - 8.4 pH. It seems to be quite accurate. The colors are easy to read. The bottle of Phenol Red costs about $1.50 and lasts for about 4 months for all my tanks! It is cheap, accurate and easy. I am pleased with the thing. I wish they made a smaller one for fish tanks.
I started using the dip strips - both Jungle Labs and Aquar. Pharm, and cannot, for the life of me, determine the differences in the various colors they provid. The pH can be as different as 7.0 to 8.6 and I could not tell the difference!
I have toyed with the idea of purchasing a pH meter to digitally read the pH of the tanks, but this requires calabration and calebration solutions, etc. That is rather picky and fairly expensive - so I have not done that yet.
I found a new product on the market the other day: Mardel has a new "Live pH" test - it hangs in the tank and constantly reads pH. You need to replace the cartridge about every 4-6 weeks it says. It would run about $3.50 a month to run or so. It has gross pH readings - being only set for 5.2, 6.2, 6.6, 7.0, 7.4, 7.8, 8.2, 8.6. I bought one, mainly to test it and so I could let people here know how it worked and whether it worked. It has only been in a tank for 24 hours or so, so the jury is still out on that thing.
The most accurate, cheap, and easy to read test that I have found - and what I am probably going to stick with is a pool pH tester. You can buy a little plastic pool test kit for pH (and chlorine
) that you fill with water and add a few drops of Phenol Red indicator and it will read between 6.8 - 8.4 pH. It seems to be quite accurate. The colors are easy to read. The bottle of Phenol Red costs about $1.50 and lasts for about 4 months for all my tanks! It is cheap, accurate and easy. I am pleased with the thing. I wish they made a smaller one for fish tanks.
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