Freshwater

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Part III: Water, Chemicals, and Plants
If you don’t keep changing the water in your aquariums every week, your
nitrate level may rise to the point where it becomes lethal. There is really no
practical way to get rid of excess nitrate levels without water changes.
Sometimes some of the oldest methods are still the best.
As your aquarium system matures, the pH level drops due to acid build-up.
Water changes help eliminate this problem as well.
Maintaining proper pH levels
The pH of your aquarium is simply a logarithmic scale that tells how alkaline
or acidic your aquarium water is. The pH scale goes from 0 (highly acidic) to
14.0 (highly alkaline) with a value of 7.0 being considered neutral.
When you set up you new aquarium, you need a pH test kit, available at
almost any pet store. Don’t be afraid; they’re really quite simple to use.
Special test kits for freshwater aquariums test pH in the lower to neutral
range to the higher ranges. Don’t bother trying to use a home water testing
kit as they are expensive, hard to find, and are not made to test aquarium
conditions.
One type of aquarium water testing kit consists of a simple color card, plastic
measuring tube, and chemicals that either lower or raise the pH. Usually, you
fill the measuring tube with water from your aquarium and add a few drops of
regent (a water color-changing chemical supplied with the test kit). Then you
compare the resulting color to the color on the provided kit chart, which
indicates the pH value of your aquarium water. This system is difficult if you
have color vision problems like we do.
Some aquarium water testing kits have strips of litmus paper that, when you
dip them into your aquarium, change color to indicate the pH level. With
others, you read your pH level read electronically by inserting probes
attached to a machine into the water.
The type of test kit you choose depends on how much mad money you have
to blow when you find yourself picking up supplies. We like the probe type
testers because they are the easiest to read due to their digital output. They
can be a bit pricey, though. Buying a simple, inexpensive test kit is fine if you
cannot afford the higher-priced equipment.
Check the pH level of your aquarium water when you first set up your tank
and at least once a week after the nitrogen cycle is complete. Many species of
fish prefer to live in slightly alkaline; others like to hang out in acidic waters;
and some like to remain in between (neutral). So the pH level you need for
your particular system depends on what species of fish you have.