[AquaticLife] PH Variation in tank (tropical)
Lenny already gave you a pretty good outline of the nitrogen cycle, also called the biological cycle. Tests are available for measuring ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. You can buy a master test kit which contains those three, and a few others for much less than buying each separately.
Please note that pH is always lower case p followed by an uppercase H, even when used at the beginning of a sentence.
KH measures the alkalinity of the water. Don’t get this confused with pH, where most people use alkaline to denote water with a high pH. KH is a measurement of the carbonate hardness of the water. When we speak of water having a buffering capacity to maintain pH, this is actually what is being talked about. Breaking the buffer means we have removed enough carbonate to allow the pH to lower precipitously. This is something you would with to avoid.
GH is another measurement of hardness of the water. This test measures magnesium and calcium ions in the water.
The astute out there may now be wondering if it is possible, then, to have water with a high pH and a low hardness. Indeed, it is possible, though it does rarely occur in nature.
Are we having fun yet? If not, when my hand heals, I can post various formulae showing the action of the biological (nitrogen) cycle, and some relationships between hardness and pH. .
\Steve//
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
