Using the right pH levels for you fish aquarium is very necessary. Wrong pH can adversely affect the health of your fishes and they can even die if proper attention is not given to them. Therefore we have listed some important ways to increase pH Levels in a Fish Tank Aquarium.
Generally its a very rare incidence that pH levels will ever get lower in freshwater aquariums. But to be prepared for the odds its good to learn some easy ways to raise the pH levels of fish tank aquarium. Here we have listed some easy methods and they are as follows:
1) Baking Soda
Adding 1 tsp of baking soda to every 5 gallons of water can help you increase the low pH levels in the fish tank aquarium water. It is advisable to first remove the fishes from aquarium before dissolving the baking soda in the water. Wait for at least an hour, check the pH levels and then add the fish back to the aquarium.
2) Substrate
Substrate is a huge factor that contributes in decreasing the pH levels. Remove the substrate from the aquarium and add coral, limestone or Texas holey rock to the aquarium. These minerals and rocks will help in increasing the pH level. Please remove fish while working with substrate and keep them in a safe environment as it would be very stressful for them.
3) Seashells
Adding 1-2 seashells per 1 gallon can also raise pH level. Seashells contain carbonates that will slowly dissolve in the water and will help in raising pH level. Seashells can be purchased at most pet stores or online from Amazon. Do not use seashells that are used for home decoration or are painted. These can contain chemicals that will harm or kill you guppy fish.
4) Driftwood
If you have driftwood in your fish aquarium, Try removing it to see if that is causing the dropping of pH level. These is the most common practice as it is found to be the problem most of the time.
5) Water Changes
Aquarium water tends to drop pH levels over the period of time. If you have live plants and you are injecting Carbon Dioxide, pH levels will decrease at a faster rate. Doing regular water changes can help you keep pH levels within normal acceptable ranges.
6) Aquarium Salt
Presence of Aquarium salt will also raise the pH level in your tank. It could also increase the salinity of the water that would be intolerable for some fresh water fishes. Fortunately guppies can accept a small level of salinity. Salt is also beneficial for treating some despises such as ich or other bacterial infection in guppies. Add 1 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon of water. Please do not use iodized or table salt! for your aquarium as it can affect the health of the fishes adversely.
