Making sure that the pH in your salt water aquarium is balanced is the best way to preserve the health of all of the wildlife residing in your tank. Generally a reading of between 7.6 and 8.4 is ideal for a salt water aquarium. Should your pH become too acidic or too basic, there can be dire consequences for all species located in the tank. Keeping your pH at acceptable levels is extremely easy and can be accomplished by following just a few steps!
While some would recommend an expensive maintenance apparatus to keep your pH swimming along there are a few methods that are much more inexpensive, though they may take up just a bit of you time. The absolute best way to maintain the pH in your tank is to remove any fish detritus or uneaten food that is in the tank. Because some of the main reasons for pH imbalances are excess amounts of CO2, usually because of respiration, nitric acid production from biological filtration, and organic acid buildup from organic wastes, keeping your tank clean can go a long way in keeping the pH manageable.
If for some reason your pH spikes, an easy way to bring it back down to safe levels is to use a simple combination of baking soda and dechlorinated water. Simply mix about a tablespoon of baking soda in the water and introduce the mixture to the tank over the course of a few hours. This isn’t going to completely stabilize pH levels, but it is a good quick fix until you can find a pH buffering product to put in the tank.
Another way of keeping your pH at safe levels is to perform partial water changes about once a week. Even though your salt water tank is located indoors evaporation does occur, releasing fresh water from the tank into the atmosphere. By adding amounts of fresh water to your tank every once in a while you can replace all of the water that is lost through natural evaporation.
You may be wondering why all of this is necessary. No one checks the pH of the ocean and adds a buffering substance so why should it be necessary for a salt water aquarium? Well, to make a long explanation short, the ocean has many more naturally occurring substances than a simulated salt water environment has. Elements like bicarbonate, calcium, carbonate, borate, and hydroxide are all naturally occurring in the ocean and stop drops in pH levels.
If you have any helpful advice regarding keeping pH levels of a salt water aquarium stable, please leave a comment. Any home remedies or favorite products will no doubt help many aspiring salt water aquarium beginners out there!