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Water Chemistry Basics

 
Marc Grover
Meet the Expert
Underwater Depot
  • Why are temperature and water chemistry important for my aquarium?
  • What is a 'nitrogen cycle' in an aquarium?
  • How do I manage the water chemistry in my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the water pH of my aquarium?
  • What pH levels are normal for my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the water 'alkalinity' or 'hardness' in my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the 'salinity level' or 'gravity' of water of my saltwater aquarium?
  • How do I create the right level of oxygen in my aquarium?
  • What is an 'air stone'?
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Fishkeeping
 Should I Get A Fish 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. Do fish make good pets? 
  3. How much time and energy do fish need? 
  4. What are the costs to consider before I get a fish? 
  5. Should I get a fish if I travel or work a lot? 
  6. What is a good age to get my child a fish? 
 Choosing A Fish 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. What is the difference between 'freshwater' and 'saltwater' fish? 
  3. Are 'saltwater' or 'marine' fish hard to take care of? 
  4. Are goldfish easy to take care of? 
  5. What are the least expensive fish to take care of? 
  6. What are the best kinds of fish for my new aquarium? 
  7. How many fish should I get to start an aquarium? 
  8. How do I choose a healthy fish? 
  9. Should I get a variety of 'bottom' and 'surface' feeder fish? 
  10. How do I choose compatible fish? 
  11. Should I get a young or an adult fish? 
  12. What is a 'livebearer'? 
 Finding A Fish 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. Where can I get a fish? 
  3. Do pet shops sell healthy fish? 
  4. Where can I find saltwater fish? 
  5. Is it a good idea to buy a fish online? 
  6. Should I get a fish from a show or auction? 
  7. Where can I find a fish auction? 
  8. What is an 'aquatic society'? 
 Setting Up Your Aquarium 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. What size of aquarium should I buy? 
  3. Where should I put the aquarium? 
  4. What supplies do I need to start a tropical freshwater aquarium? 
  5. What supplies do I need for a saltwater aquarium? 
  6. What type of light does my aquarium need? 
  7. Should I use gravel or sand in my aquarium? 
  8. Are rocks or wood a good idea for my aquarium? 
 Aquarium Filter Basics 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. Generally, how do filters work in an aquarium? 
  3. What are the best filters for a small freshwater aquarium? 
  4. What are the best filters for a large aquarium? 
  5. What is an 'under gravel filter' for an aquarium? 
  6. What is a 'hang-on mechanical filter' for an aquarium? 
  7. What is a 'BIO-wheel' for an aquarium? 
  8. What is a 'canister filter' for an aquarium? 
  9. What is a 'wet or dry trickle filter' for an aquarium? 
Water Chemistry Basics (Now Playing)
  1. Marc Grover
 Aquarium Plants And Invertebrates 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. What are the pros and cons of adding plants to my aquarium? 
  3. What plants are best for my freshwater aquarium? 
  4. How do I choose a healthy plant for my aquarium? 
  5. What kind of lighting will my aquarium plants need? 
  6. Do aquarium plants need fertilizer? 
  7. When should I add plants to my new aquarium? 
  8. How do I add a plant to my aquarium? 
  9. What are 'invertebrates'? 
  10. What supplies will I need for saltwater invertebrates? 
  11. What should I feed my saltwater invertebrates? 
  12. Where can I find saltwater invertebrates? 
 Adding Fish To Your Aquarium 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. How many fish can my aquarium hold? 
  3. How many fish should I add to a new aquarium? 
  4. How do I introduce new fish to my aquarium? 
  5. How do I control territorial aggression in my aquarium? 
 Aquarium Maintenance Essentials 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. Generally, how do I maintain a healthy aquarium? 
  3. How do I take care of the filter in my aquarium? 
  4. What supplies do I need to clean my aquarium? 
  5. How do I know when to clean my aquarium? 
  6. How do I test the water in my aquarium? 
  7. How do I clean my aquarium? 
  8. How do I prepare the water to refill my aquarium? 
 Feeding Your Fish 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. What should I feed my fish? 
  3. Should I feed my fish commercial dry food? 
  4. How do I choose between tablets, pellets and flakes for my fish? 
  5. How much should I feed my fish? 
  6. Should I feed my fish 'live food'? 
  7. How often should I feed my fish? 
  8. How do I handle a fish that dominates the food supply? 
  9. How do I feed my fish when I go on vacation? 
 Fish Health Care 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. How do I know if my fish is sick? 
  3. Who will help my sick fish? 
  4. What are the most common diseases that affect fish? 
  5. What is 'ick' and how do I treat it? 
  6. What is 'fin rot' and how do I treat it? 
  7. What is 'swim bladder disease' and how do I treat it? 
  8. What is 'cloudy eye' and how do I treat it? 
  9. What should I do if my fish is injured by another fish? 
  10. What is a 'hospital' or 'quarantine' tank for fish? 
  11. How do I set up a hospital tank for my sick fish? 
 Betta Fish 
  1. Marc Grover
  2. What are 'betta' or 'Siamese fighter' fish? 
  3. Are betta fish easy to take care of? 
  4. Why aren't male bettas kept in the same tank? 
  5. Can I put a betta in my aquarium with other fish? 
  6. Are bettas content in smaller bowls? 
  7. Should I put my betta in a 'betta bowl' with a plant? 
  8. Where is the best place to put my betta? 
  9. What kind of water does my betta need? 
  10. What should I feed my betta? 
  11. What are the most common diseases that affect bettas? 
  12. How long do bettas usually live? 
Marc Grover Mr. Marc Grover
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Transcript

Water Chemistry Basics

Why are temperature and water chemistry important for my aquarium?

Temperature and water chemistry are probably the two most important parameters that you have to control for your fish. You have to look at your aquarium as not only a place for your pets but as it's own ecosystem that you have to control. It's an environment for these animals. Unlike your cat or your dog in your world, they have to have their world, and their world is so small compared to a lake or an ocean or a big river. You have to control the waste levels, the temperature, and all the different chemistry parameters to give your fish the best chance of being healthy and staying alive for a long period of time.

What is a 'nitrogen cycle' in an aquarium?

How do I manage the water chemistry in my aquarium?

When you are dealing with water chemistry, there might be things that are bad, good and microscopic. The major factor that concerns an aquarium are the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the water. The basics things that should be considered to maintain water chemistry are keeping the ammonia and nitrate level to 0, nitrate level should be 0-60/70/80 (part per million), having proper biological filtration, confirming that you have the right size and amount of fish in the aquarium, better maintenance of the aquarium, and feeding the right amount of food.

Why do I need to check the water pH of my aquarium?

PH is critical, namely stable pH is critical. All of the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all acidic-based toxins and they're constantly try to drive your pH down. Natural tap water is anywhere from neutral 70 on up to about 78 in most areas. Fish adapt to that pH. If you've got acids and waste constantly trying to drive that down, that's really going to irritate your fish. PH is log rhythmic so to move from 70 to 69 is 10 times basically, over simplified 10 times more shocking that you could seem to be because of the value of pH. It's critical on aquarium, testing is very simple and you get a test kit at any fish store.

What pH levels are normal for my aquarium?

Typically fresh water is neutral or slightly alkaline. Soft water with all the different alkaline components, be it calcium and minor or major traces, is a lot more alkaline. Fresh water typically is between 7.0 and 7.8 and saltwater between 8.1 and 8.3.

Why do I need to check the water 'alkalinity' or 'hardness' in my aquarium?

Alkalinity or water hardness which are sometimes the same thing, for this discussion we'll call it the same thing, are really important to keeping pH stable. They are basically measuring the amount of mineral content or trace elements that are in the water. Those trace elements act as a buffer of your pH again, fighting the bad guys which is acidic amonia nitrate, nitrite and some other things like phosphate that we haven't talked about, kind of fighting them from driving your pH down. They're the stabilizers of the pH, which is critical to any type of system be it fresh water or salt water. When you're testing for alkalinity, KH or DKH, alkalinity or water hardness there are simple kits like there are for almost anything you're going to test for that you can get in any reputable aquarium store. They're very simple and easy to read. They will tell you basically what you're levels are and what you want them to be. It's not nearly as critical typically in fresh water as in salt water and again when you're talking the salt water fish only versus saltwater invert coral and fish they have different requirements as well, so you have to kind of know specifically what you're testing for based on what you have. But they are very easy to use, the test kits are very easy to use and they are very easy to read.

Why do I need to check the 'salinity level' or 'gravity' of water of my saltwater aquarium?

When you're dealing with the specific gravity of a saltwater aquarium, keep in mind that saltwater fish almost exclusively come out of the ocean. The ocean runs a specific gravity of 1.023 to 1.024 almost in every tropical sea on the planet. That's what the fish are used to. If you change that dramatically, its like pH, they just have very little time to adapt to it. Changes in the ocean happen very slowly and if a fish doesn't like a particular area for whatever reason it can leave. It can't do that in your aquarium, it is totally stuck with whatever chemistry and ecosystem you create. Therefore, it's paramount that you get the specific gravity where you want it to be, 1.020, 1.021, 1.022, somewhere in that range and then you keep it there as consistently as you can. There are tricks and ways to manipulate that for parasite control and other things, but for our discussion and all intents and purposes you really want to keep it at a certain level, and you want to control it as much as you possibly can.

How do I create the right level of oxygen in my aquarium?

Oxygen in a fish tank is just like oxygen for us; it's paramount. Fish will die without it. The way to do that is through water movement. You can use air pumps to bubble the water, and when they break on the surface, the agitation of the surface allows O2 molecules to get in and CO2 molecules to get out. Also, you want to move currents throughout the aquarium - the top, the middle, and the bottom - so carbon dioxide that's in solution will have a chance to get up and out of the top of the aquarium, basically the only place it can escape, and oxygen molecules will be able to get in so your fish can breathe.

What is an 'air stone'?

An air stone is a little, porous, literally like a little stone that attaches to air line tubing, which is then attached to an air pump. A vibrating pump will force a lot of air through that air tubing, and then through the air stone and you'll get anywhere from fine to coarse bubbles that will come out of that air stone and again, oxygenate the water mostly as they break on the surface

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  • Why are temperature and water chemistry important for my aquarium?
  • What is a 'nitrogen cycle' in an aquarium?
  • How do I manage the water chemistry in my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the water pH of my aquarium?
  • What pH levels are normal for my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the water 'alkalinity' or 'hardness' in my aquarium?
  • Why do I need to check the 'salinity level' or 'gravity' of water of my saltwater aquarium?
  • How do I create the right level of oxygen in my aquarium?
  • What is an 'air stone'?

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Anonymous  (190 days ago)

Just a brill site. My aquarium is cloudy and some of my red mud crabs have died. any ideas?

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