Those floating PH things.

[flying dog]

When you want to check the PH level of a battery, you can get this device which sucks up the water and there is a thing which floats and shows you the PH.

 

They are set for car batteries.

 

If I want a SMALL one which is set for a PH of 7, can you buy them easily and cheaply in Oz?

 

(No, this is yet another thing which I am looking at/into.)

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

FD

 

You are thinking of a hydrometer - looks like a turkey baster with a rubber bulb on the top, a tube with graduations and a floating weight, a skinny short hose at the bottom. Put the bottom hose into the battery acid, squeeze the bulb to suck up fluid and take the reading from where the weight is suspended. Only works on the specific gravity of sulphuric acid at a set temperature. They have been superseded by the electronic version and difficult to find now.

 

If you just want the pH of a fluid you can use Litmus strips or try a garden shop for a soil pH tester - it will have the basic chemicals and the colour chart to read the result.

 

Sue

 

 

[rankamateur]

When you want to check the PH level of a battery, you can get this device which sucks up the water and there is a thing which floats and shows you the PH.

They are set for car batteries.

 

If I want a SMALL one which is set for a PH of 7, can you buy them easily and cheaply in Oz?

 

(No, this is yet another thing which I am looking at/into.)

pH of water is 7, since pH lowers toward zero with increasing acidity, you would hope the pH in your battery was nearer to 1 than 7. Like all tests, they are only reliable in their designed range, so soil pH test kits are of no use measuring the pH of battery acid.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

FD is looking for something that will measure small amounts of (presumably fluid) at 7 pH reliably. Pure water is close to 7 pH; it is 6.8 pH, 7 is regarded as 'neutral' on the pH scale. I suggested Litmus paper, but it isn't a very accurate measure of hydrogen ions, it gives you a broad indication of acid or base (alkaline). There are test strips you can buy that have several chemicals impregnated with better accuracy at certain points of the scale - they change colours. You then compare them to the multi colour chart to determine the pH. The garden soil kit has the two chemicals (which you can buy separately) and the colour chart. The added advantage is being able to test a wider range of material & fluids, and when finished you can give it to any gardener. Another option is the Pool shop as they sell pH kits for swimming pools. Water suppliers (Councils, Water Boards) may provide testing for the public, they use lab equipment that gives an instant answer.

 

Sue

 

 

[turboplanner]

If you're setting up an aquaculture or hydroponics system, you could try Aquasonic - they're in Sydney and very helpful and since certain ph levels are important in those industries may have a tester or electronic probe and gauge.

 

 

[flying dog]

Yeah. I'm stupid.

 

I was explained the difference after I made a total fool of myself in a couple of shops.

 

PH and SG are very different things.

 

Turbo, thanks shall look at the "Aquasonics" but I think it is going to be too exe' for my needs.

 

(Edit)

 

Turbo'.... Doing a Google, the only "aquasonic" shop is in 14 Commerce St, Wauchope NSW 2446.

 

That ain't Sydney.

 

 

[turboplanner]

http://www.aquasonic.com.au/online-sales/

 

Here's the link, yes they have moved to Wauchope, phone No 02 6586 4922

 

I don't think they'll be able to help you with specific gravity, I don't think there's anything in aquaculture that needs to measure it.

 

Interesting about the shift; once you go online and get an online payment and distribution system working, you can move your business from the City to wherever you want with virutually no loss of sales. In this case it looks like Lindsay may have moved to a high volume aquaculture location.

 

 

[flying dog]

No worries TP.

 

It is PH not SG I want to measure.

 

But not for a squllion dollars.

 

 

[flying dog]

Da fish is still alive so that is a good thing.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

FD, The el-chepo pH test kit will cost you a red cabbage. See http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Homemade-pH-Paper-Test-Strips

 

For battery acid there is a correlation between acidity and specific gravity (density) - the hydrometer measures SG and the reading is calculated in pH.

 

Just saw your last post - so we are talking about a fish tank? I don't keep fish, but I do know that salinity is an issue for them (osmosis). When I was on a rural property I had a windmill & derelict tank. The lads next door caught an eel and put it in there in the bore water. Months later, with it drying out they decided to clean out the tank, fix it and refill it, so they filled my bath tub with rain water and put the eel in there for the day. It died.

 

The hardness of water indicates the minerals dissolved in it. Quick check; have a shower, does the soap go bubbly easily (it is soft), or not at all and your skin feels 'greasy' and your taps have a white crust (it is hard - dissolved minerals). I assume you are using town water. If you are using water processed by your Council or Water Board, then a quick call to them for a copy of their testing results (which they have to do on a regular basis) will give you pH, levels of sodium, boron, arsenic, copper, fluoride, heavy metals, hardness, free chlorine, turbidity, E.Coli etc. Lots of these are naturally occurring and add to our (and fish) health. pH of drinking water does vary a lot from the pure 6.8 pH. My town's bore supply was nearly 9. I used to work in Council water / waste water (among other things).

 

Are we answering your question?

 

Sue

 

 

[flying dog]

Yeah, kinda.

 

I put my foot in it confusing PH and SG.

 

So as the fish is still alive I am guessing I have done the right thing. I was only wanting an "ongoing" measure of the water without needing the litmus paper.

 

But as SG and PH are different there is no easy way.

 

Alas now I seem to have problems with the pump and the tank. The poor fish is getting the $hit blown out of him when the pump is on.

 

Although good as it keeps the water flowing and the anaerobic filter working, it doesn't seem to be fair of the fish if he is blown around the tank like a ping pong ball.

 

The pump is only the size of a matchbox, but on the side it says (and I quote) 150L/h.

 

Yeah, right: 150 Litres an hour. That's a powerful pump. I would maybe believe 15 L an hour. Even so, the fish is not happy.

 

The guys at the shop said "He will get used to it." but I am not sure how much "moving the stuff out the door" that is rather than fact.

 

Without the pump the fish swims happily around the 4.5 L tank. With the pump on, he hides in one of the corners away from the pump and just lies there.

 

The supplier says:

 

Please note we are a wholesaler only and do not deal directly with the public. Thank you for your understanding.

 

So they aren't worth asking, I guess.

 

So I shall have to do more research on what is going on.

 

I may put a small pipe and defuser on the output and see what happens. But I don't want to freak the fish out too much.

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

we used to sell ph meter testers, battery powered. for around $90. they had an adjustment screw to calibrate against distilled water. also sold ph tablets at various ph settings.

 

haven't had any for yonks, if this is what you are looking for i can investigate supplier for you.

 

phil

 

 

[flying dog]

Gee Phil, thanks.

 

But it seems toooooooooooooo complicated.

 

It is only for a fish tank. (4.5L at that.)

 

The fish seems happy enough.

 

 

[facthunter]

IF it's a bull shark it can tolerate a large variation in salinity. Nev

 

 

[turboplanner]

Best move for you FD is to go to a retail Aquarium showroom and ask for advice.

 

The most critical thing to keep a fish alive is dissolved oxygen. Whe you think about it they have to get about the same oxygen into them as we do but they can only get it out of the water.

 

What you describe sounds to me like a pump to aerate the water.

 

Have a look at aquariums in shops and you'll see air bubbles and disturbed water pouring upwards.

 

Your fish. like any other animal needs a day or two to assess it and take it all in, so that may be why he sits in the corner, but if you cut back too much oxygen he'll be floating upside down on the surface. I'd visit the nearest shop early tomorrow morning.

 

 

[flying dog]

It is a fighting fish. The pump supplied circulates water past an anaerobic filter to "clean" the water. NOT aerate it.

 

I am actually now working on adding a SMALL pipe to the output to suck air into the flow and help aerate it.

 

But that is (Now) a whole other problem.

 

 

[flying dog]

Problem may be now resolved.

 

Got a piece of 8mm plastic pipe. Made a few holes along it and put it on the pump's output.

 

Turned it SLIGHTLY up so the end of the pipe is making an arch above the water.

 

The "extra" pressure is vented along the length of the pipe and so the "wash" from the pump is reduced and distributed all over the tank more evenly.

 

The arch above the water surface shall help with aeration of the water as well.

 

The fish doesn't seem as freaked as he was when there was nothing on the pump's output.

 

Time will tell.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Apart from this do you have an aerator? If not it's the aquarium shop fast.

 

 

[flying dog]

Turbo'

 

Don't worry. It is a FIGHTING FISH. They can breath air like us.

 

He is ALONE in a 4 Litre tank. There is air enough for him as it is.

 

The mod' I did with the hose from the output of the pump will aerate the water enough for his needs.

 

Now he is not being blow around like the ping pong ball I mentioned earlier.

 

Now included:

 

Picture of "Wanda" (yeah, don't say it) in the tank before I mod'ed the pump output.

 

[ATTACH]47409._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

[flying dog]

Hi again folks.

 

Um, just to check - again:

 

Granted I asked about SG in the beginning, but now it has short of changed to PH.

 

My poor fish is not in a good way.

 

Other people in a betta fish forum said I need to also check the PH levels.

 

I parted with more money and bought a "fish water PH system". I am sure they see me walking the door.

 

A little vile, 2 powders and a bottle of "stuff".

 

I put a bit of water in the vile - to the line - and add 5 drops of "stuff" and watch the colour.

 

I want a PH of about a blue-ish colour on the colour bars.

 

My water was a bit on the far BLUE side of things. NOT navy blue, but more blue than the suggested PH colour.

 

Reading the instructions, I added a wee bit of powder from the YELLOW bottle - to increase the PH level and added it to the tank.

 

Today, a day after the poor fish's tail is not looking good! It looks "burnt" So I quickly added some bi-carb to some water and mixed that in.

 

Not all, but I hope enough to get the PH level back to where it should be.

 

So: The question now is (sorry if it is a repeat - CRAFT disease) if I am wanting a bit of a 7 - 7.4 PH, would a car battery PH tester have that range?

 

 

[rankamateur]

No

 

Battery more likely in the 1-3 range, not sure just where. It is sulphuric acid, probrably strong enough to dissolve your fish!

 

 

[flying dog]

Bugga.

 

I guess I am stuck with this stupid powder for now.

 

I am working on making litmus paper, but it is getting the time!

 

 

[Aerochute Kev]

FD, I wouldn't worry about the fish too much, they are pretty hard to kill. Sounds like it will probably be killed with kindness. My daughter has one in a tank about the same size. It has no aeration and the water comes straight from a bore with no treatment. We change the water every couple of weeks when it starts to look discolored. Fish is as happy as Larry. If you Google the fish, you will find they come from Asia (i think it was ??) and live in rice paddies and stinking creeks and puddles. they will survive happily in most conditions except cold water. We did loose one in winter (turned white then died) and had to get a small heater to put in the water for the other one. Think they may just be trying to sell you stuff $$$$!

 

Good luck!!

 

 

[Powerin]

Hi FD,

 

Siamese fighting fish (or Bettas) are a native of Thailand (obviously from the name) and as such are a tropical fish, so firstly they need a fairly stable temperature (despite what you may have been told) and an aquarium heater would be a good investment. The acidity of the water should be around pH 7 (ie neutral) for most Asian tropical fish.....but it varies from species to species depending on the environment they come from. It's been a while since I kept fish but I used a simple pH test kit with a little test tube to sample the water and you add a few drops of an indicator fluid which changed colour according to pH. You compare the colour of the test tube to a colour chart. This only takes seconds and is cheap and reliable. You can spend heaps more on electronic meters...but really pH is only a part of the equation.

 

The main thing is to avoid big changes in water quality/temp. Keep things stable and make changes gradually. Chucking a heap of Sodium Bicarbonate in would not be very good, even if you are trying to correct bad water quality. Bicarb is a good buffer which helps stabilise pH, but too much can also send the water pH too high....and your water may already have enough hardness that will already keep the pH stable.

 

Fighting fish do have the capability of taking a gulp of air to supplement the oxygen in the water as they are often found in small pools and puddles in Thailand with low oxygen. Because of this they are reasonably tolerant of bad water conditions. But if you want your fish to have a long life it's best to ensure good oxygen in the water. Bubbles don't actually add much oxygen to an aquarium. It mainly comes from the surface of the water interacting with air. Bubbles will help remove carbon dioxide from the water though, and help circulate the water.

 

By the way, your filter is "aerobic" (requiring oxygen), not anaerobic. The job of your aquarium filter is to establish and maintain a colony of aerobic bacteria which will convert deadly ammonia from fish waste and respiration into less harmful nitrates. This is the same process that sewage plants use to treat sewage. And this leads into the golden rule of keeping fish. You need to regularly change the water to avoid a build up of nitrates which will kill the fish eventually. 25% every week or two is a good rule of thumb. If you don't change water a fish will eventually choke in it's own waste...a filter will only help for so long.

 

Finally, remember that chlorine in city drinking water is deadly to fish. Always use a chlorine neutraliser. Sometimes pet stores don't always tell you all this info because they quite like selling fish to replace ones that die

 

As you can see, successful fish keeping is a BIG subject. Reading a lot is a good idea if you want to keep fish alive.

 

 

[kaz3g]

I think the pool shop is your best bet for a pH tester but you should never change all the water in a fish tank or pond...leave about 10% of the old water to avoid causing your fish to go into shock.

 

I would have thought a halo chromatic indicator like methyl orange would give a close enough result but no doubt you can get an electrical one for a few dollars now.

 

You will only need very small quantities of adjusting chemical and you need to allow plenty of time for it to disperse throughout the tank.

 

EDIT. Just saw Powerins post and I bow to a fish keeping expert. My original studies were in chemistry.

 

Kaz