The Substrate that I use in my Tanks.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Hey Gang,

Hope everyone is doing well... I recently had a fellow youtuber ask about what type of substrate I use in my tanks. So I went ahead and made a vide about it. It's aragonite by CaribSea... Check it out. I do a little talking about it all.

Enjoy.

[...]

Great vid mate...very informative...I use aragaonite as well...love it...I am sure you are aware of this Drew, but for those that aren't, there is relationship between ammonia & pH that we need to be mindful of. That is that ammonia becomes more toxic at higher pH's...for example;
- 1.0ppm at pH 7.0 is completely harmless, but at pH 9.0 will be seriously harmful to fish
- 2.0ppm at 7.0 still ideal but at 8.5 becomes seriously harmful to fish
- 4.0ppm at 7.0 still ideal but fatal at 8.8
- 6.0ppm at 7.0 is harmful to adult fish & will kill fry, at 8.6 will kill everything in tank
As Andrew said, keep those filters cleaned routinely, keep a static water change and treatment routine and prevent those ammonia spikes, which really can be dangerous if not fatal in our beloved tang fish pH range!
All the best T.A.M. crew!

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Interesting... I was under the impression that it was drops in PH during ammonia spikes that was what make it more harmful. Which is why higher or at least ample Kh levels are so important, being that the carbonates and bi-carbonates absorb the acids produced during the nitrogen cycle to hinder the drop in Ph...

Do you have an article to read up on this more... Thanks.

[...]

I will check my sources again mate...I have a vague memory of either a higher gh or kh somehow producing a detoxifying effect on otherwise harmful levels of ammonia at high pH's...but maybe I have facts crooked...I will get re-informed and get back to you!

[...]

Ok...so what I found was a refresher to old faded knowledge...alkalinity and water hardness are not always in sinc...that is you can have high alkalinity but also have low general hardness...it is scientifically true that ammonia is more toxic as pH becomes more alkaline, but what I found (interpreted) was that in an ammonia toxicity crisis, if the general hardness is med-high (>16-18gh/dh) in an environment of higher alkalinity (>8.0) then the toxic effect of the ammonia is reduced. By how much I do not know.
So I think in essence Drew, if my interpretation is correct (it may not be), we are both right. In fact, if so, our information compliments each other especially in light of the thread about the benefits of using aragonite. It raises both alkalinity (kH) and general hardness (gH) resulting in buffering a stable pH where the nitrifying process is at work, resulting in a detoxifying effect on otherwise toxic levels of ammonia in a high pH environment!

[...]

Here's a couple of charts I found that show the relationship between ammonia toxicity & pH (and temp too actually). I cannot now find the article I read earlier this afternoon that suggested that increasing the gH >16 would have a detoxifying effect during an ammonia toxicity crisis in high pH water. Therefore my conclusion is only a hypothesis and at this stage stage cannot be scientifically substantiated. Sorry guys.
Moral of the story; Stay on top of your filter maintenance and keep your ammonia at 0.0 when keeping tangs in their preferred pH range!


Here is a wordier article by a Phd for those wanting a bit more meat. Not specifically associated with ornamental fish keeping but the science is broad-reaching;
William A. Wurts, Ph.D.
Senior State Specialist for Aquaculture
Kentucky State University CEP at the UK Research and Education Center
P.O. Box 469
Princeton, KY 42445-0469
www.ca.uky.edu/wkrec/Wurtspage.htm

Ammonia is a nitrogen waste released by aquatic animals into the production pond environment. It is a primary byproduct of protein metabolism. Ammonia is excreted directly from the fish gill into the water. Ammonia concentrations are usually at their highest late in the production season when biomass of the cultured species and the amount of protein fed are greatest. Ammonia is toxic to aquatic life and toxicity is affected by pond pH. Ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) has a more toxic form at high pH and a less toxic form at low pH, un-ionized ammonia (NH3) and ionized ammonia (NH4+), respectively. In addition, ammonia toxicity increases as temperature rises.

The measure of whether water is acidic, basic (alkaline) or neutral is known as pH. A scale of 1 to 14 is traditionally used, which represents the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. A pH of 7.0 is neutral; above 7.0 is basic and below 7.0 is acidic; close to 7.0 is weak and far from 7.0 is strong. It is a common perception that the pH of water is neutral and constant at a value of 7.0. In an environment free of carbon dioxide, aquatic life, and compounds other than H2O; pond pH would remain 7.0 or neutral. However, this combination of conditions is unlikely to occur on our planet. The pH of water is naturally acidic because the atmosphere contains carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide readily dissolves into water, raindrops and other sources of water exposed to air, forming a weak acid (H2CO3, carbonic acid). Therefore, events in the aquatic environment that affect CO2 concentrations also affect pH. There are minerals in soil that can dissolve in water to create acidity and alkalinity as well.

Photosynthesis and Respiration
Pond CO2 concentrations and pH, are affected by respiration and photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is released during respiration and consumed for photosynthesis. As a result, pond pH varies throughout the day.

The plant members of the pond plankton community, phytoplankton, absorb CO2 for photosynthetic production of sugar. As daylight progressively intensifies, the rate of photosynthesis increases and so does the uptake of CO2. The removal of CO2 reduces the concentration of carbonic acid, and pond pH rises. Late in the production season, high waste nutrient concentrations can promote dense phytoplankton blooms which, in turn, can

remove all of the CO2 from pond water during photosynthesis. This can cause the water to become alkaline with pH levels greater than 9.0. Pond pH is highest late in the afternoon -- a few hours before sunset.

After sunset, photosynthesis and CO2 uptake stop. However, respiration continues day and night. During respiration, plants and animals consume oxygen to free the energy stored in food. The end product of respiration is CO2, which is released directly into the water. As photosynthesis is halted by the absence of light, CO2 begins to accumulate and the carbonic acid concentration increases. The rising concentration of carbonic acid causes the pH to fall. Toward the end of the production season, the biomass and respiration of cultured animals and phytoplankton is high. Nighttime concentrations of CO2, and therefore carbonic acid, can become excessive, lowering pH below 7.0. As such, pond pH would be lowest an hour or two before sunrise.

Effects of pH on Ammonia Toxicity
The daily interplay of photosynthesis and respiration creates a cyclical change in pond pH. Pond water becomes most acidic just before the period of darkness ends and most alkaline after several hours of daylight. The presence of un-ionized ammonia, the toxic form, increases as pH rises and decreases as pH falls which causes ammonia to become more ionized. The concentration of un-ionized ammonia in production ponds is lowest just before dawn and highest late in the afternoon.

This has significant implications for water quality monitoring, especially several weeks prior to harvest when fish biomass is greatest. For example (Table 1), a producer measures water quality at 0400 hr. The total NH3-N concentration is 2.7 mg/L, pH is 7.0, and water temperature is 28 oC. The farmer then cross-references these values with a standard, pH-temperature table and calculates the concentration of “un-ionized” NH3-N to be 0.019 mg/L. The producer decides to check water quality again at 1600 hr and finds that total NH3-N is still 2.7 mg/L. But, pH and water temperature have risen to 9.0 and 30 oC. After checking the reference table, the farmer discovers that the un-ionized NH3-N concentration is now 1.2 mg/L. An un-ionized NH3-N level of 0.019 mg/L would be considered acceptable for channel catfish production. However, the un-ionized NH3-N concentration of 1.2 mg/L recorded at 1600 hr could be lethal to channel catfish within several hours. Over a 12-hr period, the un-ionized ammonia concentration increased approximately 63-fold. The temperature change accounts for less than 10% of the increase in toxicity while the rise in pH from 7.0 to 9.0 is responsible for more than 90%.

Measuring pH and Ammonia
Photosynthesis and respiration have significant effects on pond pH. Because those processes affect pH, ammonia toxicity is influenced also. When monitoring water quality, it is important for producers to understand the daily shifts in pH and their impacts on un-ionized ammonia concentrations. First, for ammonia-nitrogen measurements to be useful, pH and NH3-N must be measured at the same time. Second, a morning pH determination is not meaningful for assessing whether daily ammonia concentrations have reached unsafe levels in ponds. To have any practical value for pond management decisions, NH3-N and pH should be tested late in the afternoon. A solid grasp of the pH cycle and its interrelationship with NH3 is critical for the successful culture of any aquatic species.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

There might be a little misinterpretation in the Abbreviations.

1. Ph- Is the Level of Alkalinity (not hardness as some have thought/ said in the past)
2. Kh- Is the level of Carbonate and Bi-Carbonates in the water
3. Gh- Is the level of General Hardness in the water which refers to Calcium and Magnesium ions in the water (hence why Gh can be raised with the use of Epsom salt aka: Magnesium Sulfate)

Ph cannot be adjusted by itself with synthetic materials. It is measure of the level of the acidity of the water which will be determined by the level and ratio of the Bio-load to readily available beneficial bacteria (aka: Nitrifying bacteria)and the BC (buffering capacity)of the water which is determined by the amount of Kh (carbonates and bi-carbonates)in the water. It's the only way that the effects of high amounts of acidity can be averted. The BC will absorb the acids produced in the NC (nitrogen Cycle) and thus allow a higher Ph.

So to adjust the Ph up, you need to raise the Kh levels. To lower the Ph, you need to lower the Kh levels. This in turn as implicated before also in turn lowers the amount of acids in water produced during the nitrogen cycle.

Things that cause raises in the levels of acidity are decaying food particles and flesh of a dead fish. So you will need to look for one of these two things somewhere in your tank or filtration system if you are experiencing this. Why would this happen if there are Nitrifying Bacteria (beneficial bacteria) in the tank you ask?

Simple... The bio-load (of either feeding to much and food is decaying or to many fish in the tank compared to the volume of water) to Nitrifying Bacteria ratio is to high. To much waste and not enough NB (aka:BB) to consume the ammonia caused by the decaying organic matter. How does this happen in a stabilized tank? not enough Bio-surface for the NB to build their colony on. OR Water flowing to fast over the Bio-surface that the NB colony is on. over filtration is only beneficial for the purpose of having enough bio-surface for the NB to live on. The more Bio-surface you have Does Not mean that you will have more NB because the nitrifying bacteria will only be as large as the bio-load needs. Reason being is that any extra bacteria life will not be supported as there is not enough food for them.

Now, what you're saying Danny is that higher Ph (alkalinity) levels can allow spikes of ammonia (outside of the normal levels of production of it and then reduction through the nitrogen cycle) to be harmful. Maybe I missed it in the reason but I'm still not 100% on why... lol

[ben]

Nice vid Andrew lovin the new intro, I currently use coral sand 1mm grain size which does the job but I'm now thinking I'm missing some trace elements, I'll have to do some more reading. Epic read for sure Danny I don't think it's stuck 1st time round (a lot to take in) but will read it again at some point, great information guys (2 thumbs up).

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Sounds good. Glad to have spark some more thinking.

[...]

I don't think higher pH allows for spikes of ammonia but for some reason the toxicity of the ammonia during a spike in higher pH's is more toxic. The only explanation I could find is the following quote from another scientific journal on the subject. It talks about the difference between NH3 (un-ionized ammonia) and NH4 (ionized ammonia);

"The toxicity to ammonia is primarily attributable to the un-ionized form (NH3), as opposed to the ionized form (NH4+). In general, more NH3 and greater toxicity exist at higher pH."

Seems to be saying that for some reason ammonia does not ionize as readily at higher pH's, and the un-ionized form, NH3, is more toxic to fish.

I wonder if this is perhaps why the hypothesis of having a higher gh (calcium & magnesium ions) may assist to reduce toxicity by ionizing the NH3 more readily, thus detoxifying it? Maybe that's a huge stretch...I'm certainly no chemist but it sounds plausible...maybe