If you need water testing supplies check out this Amazon affiliate link! amzn.to/36uPBD7 Here is more information about water parameters. Definitely worth a look if you are trying to learn all you can about the subject! What exactly is the nitrogen cycle? th-cam.com/video/dFpN4wXgmfI/w-d-xo.html What is Water Hardness? th-cam.com/video/xRYdtvakfv0/w-d-xo.html How to lower Nitrites: th-cam.com/video/3t8yq-ydOaE/w-d-xo.html How to Lower Ammonia (This stuff is dangerous too) th-cam.com/video/5l-POiCc0dI/w-d-xo.html How to Lower Nitrates: th-cam.com/video/rTdjjZRBIDU/w-d-xo.html What Does Water Quality Really Mean? th-cam.com/video/TkPwQGG1LMQ/w-d-xo.html If you want to see more behind the scenes stuff, exclusive videos and support the channel consider becoming a member! th-cam.com/channels/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTA.htmljoin Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics
When I was in biology class in Florida it was actually marine biology, we worked in pairs and got to pick the fish we wanted to care for, Then we all started our own tanks.
Thanks for all the information about pH. Be careful with dehumidifier water. The byproduct of condensing water on aluminum pipes is amonia. About a week ago I measured the amonia level in the dehumidifier water from my furnace/AC, because I wanted to use it to lower the pH in my aquarium. It matched the highest level shown on my API test chart!
Great detail and clarification on this issue.And you really made the case of having to work with the water you get instead of chemically making radial parameter changes. Jason, good job. You've greatly increased my appreciation of this hobby.
To be honest, i was hesitant to learn about PH because i was afraid it would be too involved, and i wouldn't understand it. This video put all those fears to rest, and i walked away knowing more than i did before. Thank you for the video!
This video was awesome! I really appreciate the depth you went into to give us a better understanding of what is actually going on within our fishtanks in terms of PH! It's also super cool to hear, as a new view, that you're highly educated in biotech and chemistry! I can honestly say that your experience in the aquatic livestock trade and your extensive knowledge you've attained through your master's degrees make me trust you to the nth degree! Kudos for making such a badass life for yourself, bro! You've not only made me smarter, but you've inspired me! I'll be binge watching your vids in my free time for sure!
Your videos are sooooo incredibly helpful; thank you so much. As a newbie in the hobby trying to set up my new tank (cycling with danios in), your videos have been monumental! I’m wanting to get the pH down from 8.2 (tank will eventually house corys, a pleco, danios and maybe guppies), and this video made everything clear! God bless you, and thank you again for sharing your knowledge 💙
You are an excellent and generous teacher. This blew apart the nebulous world of pH that I was vague about. Thanks so much and greetings from northern Australia.
This video was outstanding. I may have watched this before I was ready to absorb it all but I believe this round I have it. Just well done and not common to find this well done an explanation
Thank you for the advice😊 . I just dosed my tank with Api ph down , as the ph is high in london and in my Aquarium at around 8 . I wish i hadn’t done it now after watching your video. Thanks for the warning to be careful with these products . Great video . I never did chemistry at school . You are an amazing teacher i will explore more gradual natural methods
Just using fluval stratum as my substrate brings my ph from an 7.8 to a 6. Had to add a little bit of crushed coral to balance. Would’ve left it alone but my mystery snails shells were starting to show signs of erosion. So far it’s helped and no chemicals necessary
Thank you so much for your time and the education you have given us.. i really appreciate this.. after this video I feel like I've become a ph grand wizard
Fantastic! There are a lot of simplified biochem videos available which is great, a lot of people only want/need that, but I am really glad that you have this elaborate explanation. I'd love to see a playlist full of various aquarium chemistry "lectures." Being an academic, I'm probably in the minority, but I'm really thankful there's at least one channel laying it all out!
Awesome review of my Bio class! I loved how you put this knowledge into perspective! I certainly hope to see more videos like this from this channel 👍🙂
Thankyou for making this vid. I really didn't understand pH as much as I thought I did, so you made a big difference to my knowledge of it - many thanks! It actually surprised me that you could make something that I thought really complex, into something I could almost understand properly - well, enough to make sure that my fish get the pH they need to be healthy and happy, anyway! Lol
Great info on pH and simplistic enough for the layman to understand! Well done 😃 I am really enjoying the info you are providing on the science behind our aquariums, thank you!
that was an awesome explanation. I've had 3 years of college level chemistry a million years ago and this was a brain cobweb buster. Thank you. We have a well and I'm dealing with pH close to 9, and soft water related to built in softener. I have a 180 gal Oscar tank, a 125 gal Barb tank with a 14" Pleco and a 20 gal tank with a couple loaches and a chinese algae eater. I'm trying to get the water stabilized to put some small fish, type yet to be determined, in the little tank, probably more Barbs. I'm pretty new at fish keeping, but I'm all in..... definitely learning a lot.
I already understood a lot of what you went over, but being led to embrace my tap water is a great idea! I also love the idea of using dehumidifier water. I'll try it very carefully. Our water is very high. Off the charts... literally. I've been trying hard to lower it, and keep it stable. My fish do seem happy, but it's been a multiple times a day effort. Thank you. :)
So glad I clicked on this video. Very educational. Learned a lot. I’ve been out of the fish keeping hobby for a while now and this video is going to make getting back into it much easier. Heck, there wasn’t any internet last tank I had.
I love watching your videos . Never went to college bc I had no interest in any of the usual careers but I always loved learning about biology or any type of science for the most part . Watching your videos is inspiring me to give it a shot 👍🏽 .
Gosh you are so good at explaining that... I have studied all these things but I used to hate chemistry and bio chemistry and I kind of have forgotten most of it .... I wish I had appreciated them more when I was a student ...
Off topic but given your background maybe a subject you would consider doing a future video on is to what degree do water conditioners such as Prime and Ultimate neutralize micro nutrients contained in fertilizers used for planted tanks? Both of these conditioners claim to ( Detoxify heavy metals ) and while there is some discussion on the web I have not found any actual data identifying the nutrients that are affected and to the extent the concentrations are reduced. Maybe it cannot be determined without knowing the chemical formulation of these conditioners but this has always piqued my interest.
Wow great video. Had a bunch of questions going into this video and now have all them answered by the End. You are a great teacher. Very Clear and understandable while still being very deep with all the Science.
Hi Jason! Wow, that was something else to take in. Thanks for presenting that material and giving us a visual about pH. Makes me wonder if I have the wrong fish in my new 75 gallon. I have one EBA, five Panda Corys, three Ottos, a single green peppered cory, and three yoyo loaches. I'm running a 40-gallon sponge filter from aquarium co-op and an aqua clear 70 with all three stages of media that it came with in the package. Where should my pH and water perameters be? It's been a week, and some of them seem a bit stressed now, despite the large upgrade from a 29-gallon.
Professor, you probably don’t have time, but I think you should create a fish keeping course with all this info. I would pay for that. So appreciative of your expertise.
Way to go brother! You just took me to school! Basic is a new term and better understanding. I always said Alkaline, but that just means buffer capacity etc but in actuality the higher (Basic)
Great video. But... what are my options for keeping a stable PH in an 8g planted tank? I just started tank. Mopani wood did bring buffer PH a small amount. From around 8 from tap, to around 7.5. I have no dehumidifier or RO. How do I keep mine stable for plants and possibly Cory’s, Shrimp, Betta or Honey Gourami, live bearers? I haven’t decided what fish until tank has cycled. I’m so confused! As with a lot of people, I started this tank without enough research!!!!
Hi Jason. I'm no scientist and not really getting this? Are you suggest that I set my tank up, do a test, take the test strips to the fish shop and ask them to give me a list of suitable species based on the results? Obviously considering my tank size and temp.
Make sure the tank is cycled first. Most common community fish will probably do well with pH from 6.5 up to 7.5. As long as your water is close to that (well, even better close to wherever you get your fish from), they should be ok.
I'm late to the party but this was very helpful, I didn't know PH was on a scale of 10X. I found this video after watching the Siamese algae eater video.
I really appreciate the biology/chemsitry approach of your videos. I live in Kansas and have a well. I want to keep and potentially breed South American fish, but the pH of my present aquarium is 8.2. I’m working on getting reverse osmosis water and adding organic matter like peat moss and leaf litter. Is it not really possible to maintain a consistent acidic pH because alkalinity is more closely connected to high pH?
As you use more RO water, the alkalinity will come down. Once you balance the RO water and alkalinity you should be able to consistently maintain a lower pH.
What do you mean adding the crushed coral as buffering it? Will it raise the KH? And he'll keep kh stable? My tank parameters are all greasy besides kh it is staying at 0ppm for some reason. I am doing daily water changes and it just won't rise. I have 1 price of drift wood and about an eighth of a funky crushed egg shell in there. And my son threw a very small shark tooth in there lol but that kh isn't moving
I have a planted tank with one small driftwood.What would change my ph from 7.4 to a ph 5.6? All I do is tank maintenance one a week my filter is a sponge filter.
Hey Jason, specific question. My tap ph is 7.0 but I keep my tank at 8.2 for african cichlids. For years I’ve been using Malawi buffer during every water change to keep my PH at 8.2. I’d like to stop using the buffer so I’m thinking of adding aragonite sand to my substrate and crushed coral to my canister to buffer my water. Question is, with this setup, if I do 80% water change as usual and add tap water at 7.0 without the Malawi buffer, will this setup still safely get my water back to 8.2 PH? Or am I better off adding Malawi buffer forever? 🤦🏼♂️ Thanks for your help!
I'm not sure how big of a change you will see at the time of water change. I would keep the buffer on hand until you can get a good feel for how much a water change will impact the parameters?
I just sent you a lengthy email about this. My tap is 7 but jumps to 8.2 as it gases off. I'm on a well. I'm trying to keep Discus. I've added an RO system to help drop ph. I realize though, stable ph is key.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks for the response. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge about the hobby. As I've stated before in previous comments, I'm always a student to the hobby. 🤙
I remember hearing the term logarithmic somewhere but can’t remember where. Maybe precalculus class or statistics class? Maybe trigonometry? Not sure. But it rings a bell! Great video!
Excellent video I really enjoyed your explanations. Small point - you failed to mention the effect of Carbonate hardness (KH) and its effect on for example, how this acts as a buffer making it difficult when trying to make the water more acidic. Subbed you 👍
Hi Jason, Nice video 👍 The question I have is as you said apistos and altums love lower pH levels such as 4.5/5 or 6, so in those lower ph levels will there be any beneficial bacterial growth or any bacteria alive in aquariums? Generally we say pH level should be 6.5 - 8 for BB to grow and make the N cycle.
Thank you; much appreciated. I keep crustaceans from the NW Atlantic - lobsters & crabs - and bracket my PH @ 8.2 to 8.3. NYC tap water is lower, so it's a constant issue with the major water changes I have to do for these destructive monsters. The biologists state that lower PH interferes with their chemoreceptors and their ability to sense.
i have 3 tanks with bettas in them. Their water PH seems to stay around 7.8 but isn't that too high? I use halp RO water and half tap water. I live in Florida and our tap isn't the best which is why I started using some RO. Thank you so much for your channel and for any direction you can give me!
I bought a 30 gallon a couple weeks ago and have been letting it cycle. Today i got a master test kit and checked all my parameters. 0 amonia and nitrite, with a nitrate around 10 ppm, but my ph was an 8. I checked my tapwater and it was 8.8, which is high as my test would read. Theres a natural springs by my house and it tested a 6, which is low as my test would read. So my question is, could I mix water from the 2 sources and get a neutral ph or am i just boned?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Your explanation of the concepts (protons - electrons / Hydrogen - Hydroxide ions) and how it relates to PH made it very easy to understand. For those into planted tanks one nice addition would have been explaining how CO2 lowers PH.
Hi Jason , other Jason again . I once asked you about the effects of boiling the water first . after you answer i canned that idea and what ive done is I now treat the water with muriatic acid and test it 3 days later. I still have only tested without adding it to the tank , and it definetly works , took me while to get the right amount of acid to put in but i can now constantly get ph down to about 6.2 ( its around 8.2 out the tap) . what will the method im testing now have on the water hardness , im hoping not much . Look forward to your comments
Dude this video rocks, you rock. My interest in organic and biochemstry is what keeps me loving the hobby. Kuddos to being an educator especially if you're teaching chemistry. #iloveorganicchemistry #molecularbiology
Thank you so much for this! I learned a lot! I like to go into detail, to really understand! Chemistry is by no means my my home territory and still I could understand because you explained it so well!
Great information thanks! Now I can start to use the water from my dehumidifier (in small doses) to improve the ph and hopefully my plants. Can you tell me what would cause the ph in my tank to be around 8.2 but tap water is only 7.2? Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are all in balance. I don't dose at all and no CO2.
Hi! Thanks for the clear video. My water comes out of the tap at a ph of 7.4 but rapidly goes up to 8.0-8.2 in all my tanks regardless of what decor is in it, what could be causing this? This also happens if i keep the water in just a bucket. Is thi dangerous to my fish? As the change in ph happens rapidly in a matter of hours.
When doing these water changes, is it ok to leave fish in the tank? I have a 15 g with 10 harlequin rasboras and they are tough to catch. Love your videos and real in depth explanations keep them coming!
Thanks so much for all the helpful information. I'm currently cycling a new tank and my nitrogen cycle was going perfect until my pH dropped below 6 and everything crashed and I'm having to start all over again. Is it true that beneficial bacteria dies off when the pH drops below 6.0?
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks so much for responding. I started to see both nitrite and nitrate and after my pH dropped below 6.0 I now have a spike in ammonia with the zero nitrites and 0 nitrates. If it's not the pH I'm not sure what could be going on.
Came here cause I did a test and my pH was super low 4.5-5 and was horrified. Feel a little comforted now. Because I know my fish are happy. Will slowly try to raise it though because I'm worried about long-term
Ya, at that level you might try to get it up into the upper 6s. You could try adding aragonite to a filter bag and see how that does. Just make the adjustments slowly.
I have south american cichlids and my water consistently test at 6.0 . I water change 15-20% weekly with a teaspoon of salt for every 5 gallons (75g tank). Could this salt, as minimum as it is, have an affect on my PH level. Also, appreciate you stating your credentials at the beginning of the video. I appreciate educated responses more
Good question. The salt probably isn't doing much to the pH. I would take advantage of that pH and keep all kinds of South/Central American and West African Cichlids! Very lucky. : -)
Thanks Jason for this very FREE informative information about PH and I am still a little confused on how to keep that certain PH level stable especially with housing german rams bought from your local fish/pet supermarket or do you let them acclimate to your PH level cause wouldn’t it be hard to keep that certain PH value constant all the time?
If you need water testing supplies check out this Amazon affiliate link!
amzn.to/36uPBD7
Here is more information about water parameters. Definitely worth a look if you are trying to learn all you can about the subject!
What exactly is the nitrogen cycle? th-cam.com/video/dFpN4wXgmfI/w-d-xo.html
What is Water Hardness? th-cam.com/video/xRYdtvakfv0/w-d-xo.html
How to lower Nitrites: th-cam.com/video/3t8yq-ydOaE/w-d-xo.html
How to Lower Ammonia (This stuff is dangerous too) th-cam.com/video/5l-POiCc0dI/w-d-xo.html
How to Lower Nitrates: th-cam.com/video/rTdjjZRBIDU/w-d-xo.html
What Does Water Quality Really Mean? th-cam.com/video/TkPwQGG1LMQ/w-d-xo.html
If you want to see more behind the scenes stuff, exclusive videos and support the channel consider becoming a member! th-cam.com/channels/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTA.htmljoin
Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch
For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics
1
no one give this much information about pH on whole TH-cam, well done sir.👍
Goodwin's Aquatics no kidding brother did awesome!
Thank you Goodwin's Aquatics!
I agree these videos are by far the highest in all of TH-cam as far as information. thank you for making and sharing these to us
I wish my high school professor linked chemistry to fish tanks I would’ve been so much more involved
Glad you are here! : -)
mtgsoccer me too
When I was in biology class in Florida it was actually marine biology, we worked in pairs and got to pick the fish we wanted to care for, Then we all started our own tanks.
Could have found a way to apply it yourself.
6:16 if you’re not a chemist.
THANK YOU SIR!!!
You're a great teacher! I have trouble focusing because of cognitive problems but you were super easy to follow, and now I actually understand pH.
Thank you so much! :-)
Thanks for posting this: it's the clearest explanation of PH I've seen yet. This is just the kind of video I came to TH-cam for.
Thank you!
I finally, sort of, get it. Well done professor.
Thank you!
Thanks for all the information about pH. Be careful with dehumidifier water. The byproduct of condensing water on aluminum pipes is amonia. About a week ago I measured the amonia level in the dehumidifier water from my furnace/AC, because I wanted to use it to lower the pH in my aquarium. It matched the highest level shown on my API test chart!
Great detail and clarification on this issue.And you really made the case of having to work with the water you get instead of chemically making radial parameter changes. Jason, good job. You've greatly increased my appreciation of this hobby.
Thank you! Appreciate you watching!
I have learned more in this video than I did in YEARS of high school and college chemistry.
Thank you! You are my go to! Somebody give this man a raise
That was so well done. Thanks so much for making sense of PH. Its not too complicated when well explained.
Good to hear!
To be honest, i was hesitant to learn about PH because i was afraid it would be too involved, and i wouldn't understand it. This video put all those fears to rest, and i walked away knowing more than i did before. Thank you for the video!
Thank you very much!
one of the best videos ever on the subject, timing couldn’t have been more perfect too
Good to hear. Thanks!
Science lesson with a bubbling backdrop. Pure ASMR.
This video was awesome! I really appreciate the depth you went into to give us a better understanding of what is actually going on within our fishtanks in terms of PH! It's also super cool to hear, as a new view, that you're highly educated in biotech and chemistry! I can honestly say that your experience in the aquatic livestock trade and your extensive knowledge you've attained through your master's degrees make me trust you to the nth degree! Kudos for making such a badass life for yourself, bro! You've not only made me smarter, but you've inspired me! I'll be binge watching your vids in my free time for sure!
Thank you for being here!
Your videos are sooooo incredibly helpful; thank you so much.
As a newbie in the hobby trying to set up my new tank (cycling with danios in), your videos have been monumental! I’m wanting to get the pH down from 8.2 (tank will eventually house corys, a pleco, danios and maybe guppies), and this video made everything clear! God bless you, and thank you again for sharing your knowledge 💙
Thank you for watching!
You are an excellent and generous teacher. This blew apart the nebulous world of pH that I was vague about. Thanks so much and greetings from northern Australia.
This video was outstanding. I may have watched this before I was ready to absorb it all but I believe this round I have it. Just well done and not common to find this well done an explanation
Thank you! Glad it helped.
Thank you for the advice😊 . I just dosed my tank with Api ph down , as the ph is high in london and in my Aquarium at around 8 . I wish i hadn’t done it now after watching your video. Thanks for the warning to be careful with these products . Great video . I never did chemistry at school . You are an amazing teacher i will explore more gradual natural methods
Thank you so much for watching!
Best explenation video on how best to understand the PH level, I've seen so far! Thank you!
Thank you!
Very nice description of the Ph.
Just using fluval stratum as my substrate brings my ph from an 7.8 to a 6. Had to add a little bit of crushed coral to balance. Would’ve left it alone but my mystery snails shells were starting to show signs of erosion. So far it’s helped and no chemicals necessary
Thank you for spending time to explain pH in detail. Excellent video.
Thank you so much for your time and the education you have given us.. i really appreciate this.. after this video I feel like I've become a ph grand wizard
Thank you for watching!
Everything is dizzy and my brain hurts, but this is great information. Never really thought about Ph this in depth. Thank You!
The dizziness goes away with time. Haha
Fantastic! There are a lot of simplified biochem videos available which is great, a lot of people only want/need that, but I am really glad that you have this elaborate explanation. I'd love to see a playlist full of various aquarium chemistry "lectures." Being an academic, I'm probably in the minority, but I'm really thankful there's at least one channel laying it all out!
Thank you! I think more of my water parameter videos are in a playlist together. :-)
Awesome review of my Bio class! I loved how you put this knowledge into perspective! I certainly hope to see more videos like this from this channel 👍🙂
Wooow, I came for some pH knowledge, but I gained little more than pH , thanks u sir,
U really should teach chemistry
Really enjoyed it.
Thankyou for making this vid.
I really didn't understand pH as much as I thought I did, so you made a big difference to my knowledge of it - many thanks!
It actually surprised me that you could make something that I thought really complex, into something I could almost understand properly - well, enough to make sure that my fish get the pH they need to be healthy and happy, anyway! Lol
Stumbled upon your videos.
Thanks for the wonderful article
Thank you!
Thank you so much for the explanation.
Super impressive breakdown of pH, very clear and easy to understand
Thank you professor Prime Time!
Such great info that you always make easy to understand! Thanks
Thank you!
Great info on pH and simplistic enough for the layman to understand! Well done 😃 I am really enjoying the info you are providing on the science behind our aquariums, thank you!
that was an awesome explanation. I've had 3 years of college level chemistry a million years ago and this was a brain cobweb buster. Thank you. We have a well and I'm dealing with pH close to 9, and soft water related to built in softener. I have a 180 gal Oscar tank, a 125 gal Barb tank with a 14" Pleco and a 20 gal tank with a couple loaches and a chinese algae eater. I'm trying to get the water stabilized to put some small fish, type yet to be determined, in the little tank, probably more Barbs. I'm pretty new at fish keeping, but I'm all in..... definitely learning a lot.
Have fun with your fish!
I already understood a lot of what you went over, but being led to embrace my tap water is a great idea! I also love the idea of using dehumidifier water. I'll try it very carefully. Our water is very high. Off the charts... literally. I've been trying hard to lower it, and keep it stable. My fish do seem happy, but it's been a multiple times a day effort. Thank you. :)
Thank you for watching!
So glad I clicked on this video. Very educational. Learned a lot. I’ve been out of the fish keeping hobby for a while now and this video is going to make getting back into it much easier. Heck, there wasn’t any internet last tank I had.
I remember those days too :-)
I finally feel like I'm understanding PH. Thank you for the great information!
I love watching your videos . Never went to college bc I had no interest in any of the usual careers but I always loved learning about biology or any type of science for the most part . Watching your videos is inspiring me to give it a shot 👍🏽 .
Thank you for being here!
Thank you professor!! Well understand now, well explained as well.
Gosh you are so good at explaining that... I have studied all these things but I used to hate chemistry and bio chemistry and I kind of have forgotten most of it .... I wish I had appreciated them more when I was a student ...
I think we all feel that way when we get out of school. Haha
Very informative as always. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Adam
Great video very informative.
Off topic but given your background maybe a subject you would consider doing a future video on is to what degree do water conditioners such as Prime and Ultimate neutralize micro nutrients contained in fertilizers used for planted tanks? Both of these conditioners claim to ( Detoxify heavy metals ) and while there is some discussion on the web I have not found any actual data identifying the nutrients that are affected and to the extent the concentrations are reduced. Maybe it cannot be determined without knowing the chemical formulation of these conditioners but this has always piqued my interest.
That's a nice idea Rod. Thanks for watching
Wow great video. Had a bunch of questions going into this video and now have all them answered by the End. You are a great teacher. Very Clear and understandable while still being very deep with all the Science.
Good to hear! Thanks for watching.
I love these in depth videos, very informative, thanks again!
Thank you! Appreciate you watching.
What a wonderful explanation. You know what you do. Thank you.
Very well explained, thanks.
Thank you!
Excellent video, exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
Good to know!
LOVELY!!!!! You are awesome, professor! Can’t thank you enough!!!!! 🙏 I enjoyed this video SO MUCH!
Thank you!
Hi Jason! Wow, that was something else to take in. Thanks for presenting that material and giving us a visual about pH. Makes me wonder if I have the wrong fish in my new 75 gallon. I have one EBA, five Panda Corys, three Ottos, a single green peppered cory, and three yoyo loaches. I'm running a 40-gallon sponge filter from aquarium co-op and an aqua clear 70 with all three stages of media that it came with in the package. Where should my pH and water perameters be? It's been a week, and some of them seem a bit stressed now, despite the large upgrade from a 29-gallon.
The otos are the only fish that really start to struggle in higher pH. Everything else is good from 6.5-8.0!
@PrimeTimeAquatics Thank-you so much. Ok I'll have to figure something out with them.
This vid is helpful, thanks.
I want to use pH to help me manage my CO2 levels more carefully.
That info would also be helpful.
Professor, you probably don’t have time, but I think you should create a fish keeping course with all this info. I would pay for that. So appreciative of your expertise.
Very informative. Thank you.👍🙏
Excellent. Just what I needed to know!
How can this video not receive a thumbs up? Thank u for this upload. I love what u do.
Thank you!
Way to go brother! You just took me to school! Basic is a new term and better understanding. I always said Alkaline, but that just means buffer capacity etc but in actuality the higher (Basic)
Thanks Deon!
Great video. But... what are my options for keeping a stable PH in an 8g planted tank? I just started tank. Mopani wood did bring buffer PH a small amount. From around 8 from tap, to around 7.5. I have no dehumidifier or RO. How do I keep mine stable for plants and possibly Cory’s, Shrimp, Betta or Honey Gourami, live bearers? I haven’t decided what fish until tank has cycled. I’m so confused! As with a lot of people, I started this tank without enough research!!!!
Once your tank is cycled my guess is the pH will be stable. If it's around neutral (or in your case between 7-8) you should be fine.
Dude mind blown. Ive been searching for this info. Sorry i got here so late!
Hi Jason. I'm no scientist and not really getting this? Are you suggest that I set my tank up, do a test, take the test strips to the fish shop and ask them to give me a list of suitable species based on the results? Obviously considering my tank size and temp.
Make sure the tank is cycled first. Most common community fish will probably do well with pH from 6.5 up to 7.5. As long as your water is close to that (well, even better close to wherever you get your fish from), they should be ok.
I see you Professor!!! 👍🏾 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾Thanks a lot.!!
Well done! Extremely informative, thank you!
I'm late to the party but this was very helpful, I didn't know PH was on a scale of 10X. I found this video after watching the Siamese algae eater video.
Thank you for this gem of a video sir.
Thank you!
I really appreciate the biology/chemsitry approach of your videos. I live in Kansas and have a well. I want to keep and potentially breed South American fish, but the pH of my present aquarium is 8.2. I’m working on getting reverse osmosis water and adding organic matter like peat moss and leaf litter. Is it not really possible to maintain a consistent acidic pH because alkalinity is more closely connected to high pH?
As you use more RO water, the alkalinity will come down. Once you balance the RO water and alkalinity you should be able to consistently maintain a lower pH.
Curious on what you have to say about hardness of water and how it affects fish
This: th-cam.com/video/xRYdtvakfv0/w-d-xo.html
:-)
What do you mean adding the crushed coral as buffering it? Will it raise the KH? And he'll keep kh stable? My tank parameters are all greasy besides kh it is staying at 0ppm for some reason. I am doing daily water changes and it just won't rise. I have 1 price of drift wood and about an eighth of a funky crushed egg shell in there. And my son threw a very small shark tooth in there lol but that kh isn't moving
Aragonite might be your best option. You can either add it to the substrate or put it in a filter bag in your filter.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics I should proof read before posting more often lol "greasy"? Great I think is what I meant. "Funky crushed egg shell"? Lol wow....
I have a planted tank with one small driftwood.What would change my ph from 7.4 to a ph 5.6? All I do is tank maintenance one a week my filter is a sponge filter.
Hey Jason, specific question. My tap ph is 7.0 but I keep my tank at 8.2 for african cichlids. For years I’ve been using Malawi buffer during every water change to keep my PH at 8.2. I’d like to stop using the buffer so I’m thinking of adding aragonite sand to my substrate and crushed coral to my canister to buffer my water. Question is, with this setup, if I do 80% water change as usual and add tap water at 7.0 without the Malawi buffer, will this setup still safely get my water back to 8.2 PH? Or am I better off adding Malawi buffer forever? 🤦🏼♂️ Thanks for your help!
I'm not sure how big of a change you will see at the time of water change. I would keep the buffer on hand until you can get a good feel for how much a water change will impact the parameters?
Prime Time Aquatics Thanks, will do!
Very thorough. Thank you!
Thank you!
I wish I remembered Chemistry Class!😢
I just sent you a lengthy email about this. My tap is 7 but jumps to 8.2 as it gases off. I'm on a well. I'm trying to keep Discus. I've added an RO system to help drop ph. I realize though, stable ph is key.
The RO system will help for sure. You may have to remineralize the water if you go 100% RO though.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks for the response. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge about the hobby. As I've stated before in previous comments, I'm always a student to the hobby. 🤙
Great video. I was hoping you would explain why/how ph affects a fish. Why are sudden changes bad? What does it do yo the fish?
Hey Mark - I'll work on a part two at some point to get more into the biology. Thanks for the suggestion.
I remember hearing the term logarithmic somewhere but can’t remember where. Maybe precalculus class or statistics class? Maybe trigonometry? Not sure. But it rings a bell! Great video!
Nice 😀
Fantastic video on pH !!! Question: Could a Malawi tank be ok at 7.4 pH ? I currently buffer it up to 8.2 but it comes out the tap at 7.4
I think so. I would drop it down to that level over the course of a month or so and see how they do.
Excellent video I really enjoyed your explanations. Small point - you failed to mention the effect of Carbonate hardness (KH) and its effect on for example, how this acts as a buffer making it difficult when trying to make the water more acidic. Subbed you 👍
It certainly does! I though I discussed that in this video? But you are correct
Excellent presentation , glad I found you and subbed . Looking forward to seeing more of your channel.✌️
Thank you!
Hi Jason,
Nice video 👍
The question I have is as you said apistos and altums love lower pH levels such as 4.5/5 or 6, so in those lower ph levels will there be any beneficial bacterial growth or any bacteria alive in aquariums? Generally we say pH level should be 6.5 - 8 for BB to grow and make the N cycle.
It will grow, but usually slower and not necessarily the same genera.
Thank you; much appreciated. I keep crustaceans from the NW Atlantic - lobsters & crabs - and bracket my PH @ 8.2 to 8.3. NYC tap water is lower, so it's a constant issue with the major water changes I have to do for these destructive monsters. The biologists state that lower PH interferes with their chemoreceptors and their ability to sense.
Thank you for the in-depth video! Very well done and informative. Looking forward to an in-depth video about hardness and buffering!
Thank you! We've got more water chemistry videos on the way. : -)
Great informative video as usual..
Thank you!
i have 3 tanks with bettas in them. Their water PH seems to stay around 7.8 but isn't that too high? I use halp RO water and half tap water. I live in Florida and our tap isn't the best which is why I started using some RO. Thank you so much for your channel and for any direction you can give me!
I keep them at a pH of 8 with no issues.
I bought a 30 gallon a couple weeks ago and have been letting it cycle. Today i got a master test kit and checked all my parameters. 0 amonia and nitrite, with a nitrate around 10 ppm, but my ph was an 8. I checked my tapwater and it was 8.8, which is high as my test would read. Theres a natural springs by my house and it tested a 6, which is low as my test would read. So my question is, could I mix water from the 2 sources and get a neutral ph or am i just boned?
Killer video. Wonderfully explained
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Your explanation of the concepts (protons - electrons / Hydrogen - Hydroxide ions) and how it relates to PH made it very easy to understand. For those into planted tanks one nice addition would have been explaining how CO2 lowers PH.
Rod that is a great suggestion. I may do something on the pH of planted tanks and ponds soon.
This is the best explanation i ever had... Thank you so much
Thank you for watching!
Hi Jason , other Jason again . I once asked you about the effects of boiling the water first . after you answer i canned that idea and what ive done is I now treat the water with muriatic acid and test it 3 days later. I still have only tested without adding it to the tank , and it definetly works , took me while to get the right amount of acid to put in but i can now constantly get ph down to about 6.2 ( its around 8.2 out the tap) . what will the method im testing now have on the water hardness , im hoping not much . Look forward to your comments
Very informative. Thank you
Dude this video rocks, you rock. My interest in organic and biochemstry is what keeps me loving the hobby. Kuddos to being an educator especially if you're teaching chemistry. #iloveorganicchemistry #molecularbiology
Thank you! I actually teach Microbiology, Biology and Genetics right now, but have taught many other courses in the past. :-)
OH yeah I loved differential testing and gram staining in lab. I Look forward to the videos.
Thank you so much for this! I learned a lot! I like to go into detail, to really understand! Chemistry is by no means my my home territory and still I could understand because you explained it so well!
Great information thanks! Now I can start to use the water from my dehumidifier (in small doses) to improve the ph and hopefully my plants. Can you tell me what would cause the ph in my tank to be around 8.2 but tap water is only 7.2? Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are all in balance. I don't dose at all and no CO2.
Hi! Thanks for the clear video. My water comes out of the tap at a ph of 7.4 but rapidly goes up to 8.0-8.2 in all my tanks regardless of what decor is in it, what could be causing this? This also happens if i keep the water in just a bucket. Is thi dangerous to my fish? As the change in ph happens rapidly in a matter of hours.
I'm not sure but this makes me want to do some research on the matter. :-)
When doing these water changes, is it ok to leave fish in the tank? I have a 15 g with 10 harlequin rasboras and they are tough to catch. Love your videos and real in depth explanations keep them coming!
A. Sancho-Baker great question - yes, we leave all our fish in the tank. 😀
Thanks so much for all the helpful information. I'm currently cycling a new tank and my nitrogen cycle was going perfect until my pH dropped below 6 and everything crashed and I'm having to start all over again. Is it true that beneficial bacteria dies off when the pH drops below 6.0?
They can certainly struggle a little more at lower pH, but they can still survive.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks so much for responding. I started to see both nitrite and nitrate and after my pH dropped below 6.0 I now have a spike in ammonia with the zero nitrites and 0 nitrates. If it's not the pH I'm not sure what could be going on.
Came here cause I did a test and my pH was super low 4.5-5 and was horrified. Feel a little comforted now. Because I know my fish are happy. Will slowly try to raise it though because I'm worried about long-term
Ya, at that level you might try to get it up into the upper 6s. You could try adding aragonite to a filter bag and see how that does. Just make the adjustments slowly.
I have south american cichlids and my water consistently test at 6.0 . I water change 15-20% weekly with a teaspoon of salt for every 5 gallons (75g tank). Could this salt, as minimum as it is, have an affect on my PH level. Also, appreciate you stating your credentials at the beginning of the video. I appreciate educated responses more
Good question. The salt probably isn't doing much to the pH. I would take advantage of that pH and keep all kinds of South/Central American and West African Cichlids! Very lucky. : -)
@@PrimeTimeAquatics ok thank you as always
Thanks Jason for this very FREE informative information about PH and I am still a little confused on how to keep that certain PH level stable especially with housing german rams bought from your local fish/pet supermarket or do you let them acclimate to your PH level cause wouldn’t it be hard to keep that certain PH value constant all the time?
I generally only keep fish that can tolerate my water parameters. The other option is using RO water.
Good video on pH. Have you ever thought about making a video on fish physiology and how pH affects fish (i.e., bohr effect and 2° stress responses)?
I will add it to my list!