Ph And Ammonia In The Tank

[riche_guy]

Here is an article about water Chemistry. Can someone further add how the Ph is related to Ammonia.

http/www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proce...000/PR00334.htm

Thanks

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. For the most part, the connection between ammonia and pH isn't of much concern for the aquarist. If i'm not mistaken, there is some connection between pH and the toxicity of the ammonia. For example, the ammonia is more or less toxic dependent on whether the pH is high or low. I am not completely positive on this however as it's been a while since i read what i am trying to quote. Ammonia comes from fish respiration, waste, and rotten food/ plant matter as i'm sure you know. The pH of the water is determined by the where the water comes from. The porous rock deep in the ground where the water is located determines the pH of the water. Carbonic acid does build up when the water is in a confined space to lower the pH some, but again, i wouldn't worry too much about that either. pH and alkalinity are difficult subjects to explain, and i don't fully understand them myself. The best thing to do is to try to keep the pH of your tank (whatever it is) as stable as possible. Let the good bacteria take care of the ammonia, and perform water changes if the ammonia gets too high (in an uncycled tank).
Good luck, hope this helped some.

 

[seb_negrete]

hi,
first off, cool to see a fellow montrealer on the board! i was beginning to think everyone here was from the other side of thepond!

here's what i would say about the relationship between pH and ammonia (disclaimer: i'm still very much a newbie when it comes to fish, but not necessarily chemistry!). it would make sense to me that high levels of ammonia (NH3) would increase the pH of the water as this compound is a base. so this is one relationship.
the article mentions that NH3 is the non-toxic form and that NH4+ is toxic to fish as we all know. it also says that the ratio of the two of them is dependent on the tank's pH. this is because the two forms are, at any given point in time, in equilibrium in your tank. this equilibrium can be shifted by your pH as one form (NH3) is basic and the other (NH4+) is acidic. how the equilibrium would work is that, say your tank pH is high (basic/alkaline), NH3 would tend to be converted to NH4+ in order to bring the pH down and vice versa.