I Don’t Understand Water Chemistry!

[FLFishChik]

Please… someone… anyone… explain this to me like I flunked high school chemistry! I get ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates… but, I DONT get the rest! What does this mean?

[Patrick_G]

My reaction was laughing with you not at you! Sometimes I feel exactly the same way! 
 

I passed freshman biology and never took chemistry but here goes, this is SUPER basic:

PH: Measures how acidic or basic the water is. Below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic. The scale is not linear so a small movement one way or the other can mean the water is much more acidic or basic. 
GH: Measures the Calcium and Magnesium in the water. I have no idea what biological processes cause fish to need high or low GH, but some do need one or the other because of their natural environment. 

KH: Measures the carbonate in the water. This keeps acidic water from getting more acidic. 

[jwcarlson]

Your test strips look a lot like mine, I think.  Hard water, high pH.

 

[DaniV]

On 12/29/2022 at 8:17 PM, Patrick_G said:

GH: Measures the Calcium and Magnesium in the water. I have no idea what biological processes cause fish to need high or low GH, but some do need one or the other because of their natural environment. 

While I also have no idea how this actually affects fish, having a high GH is beneficial for snails.  They need calcium for sturdy shells, so the higher the GH, the stronger the shell will be.

There is also this blog post!

[FLFishChik]

On 12/29/2022 at 8:17 PM, Patrick_G said:

My reaction was laughing with you not at you! Sometimes I feel exactly the same way! 
 

I passed freshman biology and never took chemistry but here goes, this is SUPER basic:

PH: Measures how acidic or basic the water is. Below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic. The scale is not linear so a small movement one way or the other can mean the water is much more acidic or basic. 
GH: Measures the Calcium and Magnesium in the water. I have no idea what biological processes cause fish to need high or low GH, but some do need one or the other because of their natural environment. 

KH: Measures the carbonate in the water. This keeps acidic water from getting more acidic. 

Thank you! I never took chemistry either, but I did take Marine biology 😂

On 12/29/2022 at 8:29 PM, jwcarlson said:

Your test strips look a lot like mine, I think.  Hard water, high pH.

 

Thank you!

[Rube_Goldfish]

@jwcarlson You beat me to it! @Irene 's video is a great primer.

[Schuyler]

Seems like things have been covered pretty well I'll just add this since I've been going down a water chemistry rabbit hole lately.

KH (called buffer on your test) measures carbonate in the water. Think baking soda or lime (the rock not the fruit).

This is weak base so the OH- doesn't always break off in neutral water. When there's more acid (H+ ions) the carbonate will break up more which means it helps keep pH stable.

It's also used by bacteria when breaking down ammonia. This can cause what people call "old tank syndrome" where people don't do water changes for a long time the KH will be used up and the bacteria can't process waste and so you get an ammonia spike.

 

[Scapexghost]

Buffer is the water's resistence to pH change, hardness is disolved minerals (think mineral water, or lime and calcium buildup in bathtubs), chlorine is bleach put in tap water to kill bacteria.

[Biotope Biologist]

I think y’all did great! 
 

I won’t add anything more on the chemistry front so as to not confuse further but…

 

GH is not just important to snails and to a lesser extent shrimp (they both absorb it from the water to make their shells), but it’s important for fish gills and ion exchange. Without getting into ion exchange because that’s a whole other can of worms, some fish require calcium and magnesium to actively pump waste and maintain osmosis. Gills do a whole lot more than just breathe.

 

If we lived in an atmosphere that had all these things we needed just dissolved in it our lungs would be even more important. Instead we get these nutrients from the food we eat.

[Winstons_estate]

My guilty secret is that ive been keeping fish since 2015 with much success for the most part and ive never paid attention to water chemistry beyond a very basic understanding of the nitrogen cycle 😮.

 

I feel that in most cases a consistent enviroment is better than chasing a number on a card

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@Winstons_estate Same here. I do use an ACO test strip every once in a while (like every 6 months) and I’m just like, “yup, still lower pH, soft water, with low to no buffer” and I keep it moving. I too focus on consistency rather than chasing numbers and changing things all the time. 

[Winstons_estate]

On 12/30/2022 at 2:07 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

@Winstons_estate Same here. I do use an ACO test strip every once in a while (like every 6 months) and I’m just like, “yup, still lower pH, soft water, with low to no buffer” and I keep it moving. I too focus on consistency rather than chasing numbers and changing things all the time. 

@AllFishNoBrakes i have the liquid test. think i tested for PH once when i first set up the tank out of curiosity more than anything 😛

Other than that i test for nitrates every now and then to see if i need a water change and thats it!

[FLFishChik]

Thank you, everyone for taking the time to explain this to me in terms I now understand!

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/29/2022 at 5:40 PM, FLFishChik said:

Thank you! I never took chemistry either, but I did take Marine biology 😂

 

On 12/29/2022 at 4:31 PM, FLFishChik said:

Please… someone… anyone… explain this to me like I flunked high school chemistry! I get ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates… but, I DONT get the rest! What does this mean?

Lol, too funny.

You'll have to explain to me about that one day! Especially with the book I'm reading, very curious topic ( the marine biology stuff!)

PH has to do with how acidic or basic the water is. KH has to do with the ions in the water that contribute to PH. Gh has to do with the general minerals in the water.

That's basically how I view.it. could.be misleading, incorrect, or missing something, but that's my general approach to it.

If you want an "explain further" on the topic, KH being at a certain value means that your water is more stable for an aquarium. Because of how ions bond, fish waste, that means that some water is "less stable" commonly leading to off parameters, crashes in water parameters (PH) and stuff like old tank syndrome (Tepid water) which is just an easy way to say.... The fish have a risk of being stressed or harmed because of the water turning acidic.