Lower range ph test kit

[Pepere]

I have the API master test kit.  I am mostly keeping Amazon river basin fish, cories, tetra etc, soft water fish lower ph.

 

the API test kit only measures down to 6.0.  In and of itself thats not bad as I wish to keep ph between 6.0 and 7.0, but with CO2 injection you want a h drop of 1.0.

 

 Now if you start at 7.0 in the morning, a drop to 6.0 is fine, but you have no way of knowing if you exceeded that and dropped to 5.4….

 

Any suggestions for a lower range ph test kit?

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/17/2022 at 12:23 PM, Pepere said:

I have the API master test kit.  I am mostly keeping Amazon river basin fish, cories, tetra etc, soft water fish lower ph.

 

the API test kit only measures down to 6.0.  In and of itself thats not bad as I wish to keep ph between 6.0 and 7.0, but with CO2 injection you want a h drop of 1.0.

 

 Now if you start at 7.0 in the morning, a drop to 6.0 is fine, but you have no way of knowing if you exceeded that and dropped to 5.4….

 

Any suggestions for a lower range ph test kit?

I’ve never wanted fish under 6 pH myself, but I expect an average meter could work well.

Have a nice day!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Agreed that a meter could work well for you. Also, a drop checker could be useful for you, but remember that those take like 2 hours to react

[Pepere]

On 10/17/2022 at 10:14 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

’ve never wanted fish under 6 pH myself, but I expect an average meter could work well.

Well, thats the thing. With the API test kit you will read 6.0 but not know if it is out of range.  6.0 and below reads 6.0.

[Jess]

A couple of years ago I remember looking for exactly this thing, for the same reason.  Maybe I don't WANT my tank to go below 6.0 but if it does I wanna know where it sits.  Most of mine sit around 6.4, with one at 6.8 because of some rocks that release carbonates.  I could not find any liquid test that does.  It has something to do with the limitations of the specific pH tester they use in these common test kits.  It has a lower bound.  I think like The Swiss Aquarist said, you'd need to look into a pH meter.

[tolstoy21]

I use a Ph meter as I do keep a number of species in the 4-5 Ph range.

I use this one specifically --> https://milwaukeeinstruments.com/milwaukee-ph54-waterproof-ph-tester-with-replaceable-probe/

It's very accurate in my experience, but you do need to calibrate it from time to time and take care of it by storing it with the storing solution.

This probably the lower price range of what you're going to find for a reliable Ph meter.

Edited October 17, 2022 by tolstoy21