Seed
Fish Fanatic
I have just finished using the fishless cycling technique outlined at the top of this forum for the first time. I have an observation regarding pH that some may find useful, and I noticed something about ammonia in general that may be of some importance. Keep in mind that I haven't done a real study on the topic, these are just my observations.
My tap water has very poor buffering characteristics. It comes out of the tap slightly basic, the source of the basic-ness I am unsure of. In cycling my tanks, after the first few days I noticed that the cycle had appeared to have stalled, it was no longer processing ammonia. The guide mentions that if pH drops too low the bacteria will go dormant, so I checked it, and it was 6 or less. This was surprising considering that you'd expect the water to be basic when there was a decent concentration of ammonia present. I added sodium bicarbonate to the water until it reached an acceptable pH again. In three days time, the pH had dropped again. Water changes would restore stability for a time, but it would always drop again. Partial water changes (25%) alone weren't enough to restore the appropriate pH. I ended up keeping close tabs on the pH throughout the rest of the process.
What I think is going on is that when the NH3(ammonia) is converted to NO2-(nitrite) via the bacteria's metabolic processes, that the three hydrogens are released in ionic form, at least partially so. Since there is no noticable gas formation to indicate the formation of H2 gas, I seriously doubt it is being released that way. It is possible that some of the hydrogen is being used in other metabolic processes within the bacteria, I'm really not sure and can't find any information on the topic. But I think at least some portion of the hydrogen is being released in ionic form, it is the only possible explanation for such dramatic decreases in pH.
Why is this important? The guides here all advise people to steer clear of messing with the pH of a tank, although admittedly, the fishless cycling guide does mention that it is important during the cycling process. Once one has completed their cycling process, it seems to me that keeping tabs on the pH should still be an important part of weekly maintenance. Fish produce ammonia, this is the entire reason for cycling the tanks in the first place, and I can see no reason why fish-produced ammonia wouldn't cause this same drop in pH over time. Let it go too far, and presumably the bacteria would go dormant just as they do during the fishless cycle. This, of course, is mostly relevant for people like me who have water with poor buffering capacity. I also think it supports the notion of buffering one's water if their water's natural buffering capacity is poor. Also, since pH can change even with a buffer if enough H+ is released into the water, I think it might be beneficial for people with naturally buffered water to check pH from time to time as well.
This is of course not conclusive by any means, but I thought the observation was important enough to post it. Any thoughts would be welcome.
My tap water has very poor buffering characteristics. It comes out of the tap slightly basic, the source of the basic-ness I am unsure of. In cycling my tanks, after the first few days I noticed that the cycle had appeared to have stalled, it was no longer processing ammonia. The guide mentions that if pH drops too low the bacteria will go dormant, so I checked it, and it was 6 or less. This was surprising considering that you'd expect the water to be basic when there was a decent concentration of ammonia present. I added sodium bicarbonate to the water until it reached an acceptable pH again. In three days time, the pH had dropped again. Water changes would restore stability for a time, but it would always drop again. Partial water changes (25%) alone weren't enough to restore the appropriate pH. I ended up keeping close tabs on the pH throughout the rest of the process.
What I think is going on is that when the NH3(ammonia) is converted to NO2-(nitrite) via the bacteria's metabolic processes, that the three hydrogens are released in ionic form, at least partially so. Since there is no noticable gas formation to indicate the formation of H2 gas, I seriously doubt it is being released that way. It is possible that some of the hydrogen is being used in other metabolic processes within the bacteria, I'm really not sure and can't find any information on the topic. But I think at least some portion of the hydrogen is being released in ionic form, it is the only possible explanation for such dramatic decreases in pH.
Why is this important? The guides here all advise people to steer clear of messing with the pH of a tank, although admittedly, the fishless cycling guide does mention that it is important during the cycling process. Once one has completed their cycling process, it seems to me that keeping tabs on the pH should still be an important part of weekly maintenance. Fish produce ammonia, this is the entire reason for cycling the tanks in the first place, and I can see no reason why fish-produced ammonia wouldn't cause this same drop in pH over time. Let it go too far, and presumably the bacteria would go dormant just as they do during the fishless cycle. This, of course, is mostly relevant for people like me who have water with poor buffering capacity. I also think it supports the notion of buffering one's water if their water's natural buffering capacity is poor. Also, since pH can change even with a buffer if enough H+ is released into the water, I think it might be beneficial for people with naturally buffered water to check pH from time to time as well.
This is of course not conclusive by any means, but I thought the observation was important enough to post it. Any thoughts would be welcome.
