PH monitor

[fish lover]

Anyone knows a good PH monitor? I don't like the strips and don't want
to pay too much.

I have a cheap ammonia alert from Seachem and it works fine for me.
All you have to do is stick it to the inside of the tank.

I plan to have Discus in my 125 g tank. I heard they are very picky
about water conditions. That's why I'm trying to have some easy ways
to tell my water PH level and Ammonia level.

Anyone who has tips for Discus would be greately appiciated too.

Thanks in advance.

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

fish lover wrote:

> Anyone knows a good PH monitor? I don't like the strips and don't want
> to pay too much.

The cheapest option probably are the pen-shaped portable ones, where the
electrode and the instrument form a single, small unit. Precission is
limited, but more than sufficient for aquaristic purposes. Lab supply
companies sell them for about 50-70 US$. Only disadvantage: they run on
button-cells, which don't last long and are quite expensive.

Remember that you need to keep the electrode in storage solution when
not in use. Never allow it to dry out, as it would become busted. You
also need calibration buffers (usually pH 4 and pH 7).

[David C. Stone]

In article >, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> wrote:

> fish lover wrote:
>
> > Anyone knows a good PH monitor? I don't like the strips and don't want
> > to pay too much.
>
> The cheapest option probably are the pen-shaped portable ones, where the
> electrode and the instrument form a single, small unit. Precission is
> limited, but more than sufficient for aquaristic purposes. Lab supply
> companies sell them for about 50-70 US$. Only disadvantage: they run on
> button-cells, which don't last long and are quite expensive.
>
> Remember that you need to keep the electrode in storage solution when
> not in use. Never allow it to dry out, as it would become busted. You
> also need calibration buffers (usually pH 4 and pH 7).

You can probably get away with just the pH 7 for fish tank water - the
pen-style pH probes I've used in the past have only had a control
for setting the pH 7 point.

Two things to be aware of: the respose will probably be slow in fish
tank water, i.e. it will take a while for the reading to stabilise; and
there is the potential for what is known as "poisoning" of the sensing
membrane from dissolved amines (which hopefully remain at very low
levels if your tank is setup and maintained correctly.)

If possible, also look for a pH probe which does automatic temperature
compensation (ATC).

[fish lover]

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 21:10:33 -0400, "David C. Stone"
> wrote:

>In article >, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> wrote:
>
>> fish lover wrote:
>>
>> > Anyone knows a good PH monitor? I don't like the strips and don't want
>> > to pay too much.
>>
>> The cheapest option probably are the pen-shaped portable ones, where the
>> electrode and the instrument form a single, small unit. Precission is
>> limited, but more than sufficient for aquaristic purposes. Lab supply
>> companies sell them for about 50-70 US$. Only disadvantage: they run on
>> button-cells, which don't last long and are quite expensive.
>>
>> Remember that you need to keep the electrode in storage solution when
>> not in use. Never allow it to dry out, as it would become busted. You
>> also need calibration buffers (usually pH 4 and pH 7).
>
>You can probably get away with just the pH 7 for fish tank water - the
>pen-style pH probes I've used in the past have only had a control
>for setting the pH 7 point.
>
>Two things to be aware of: the respose will probably be slow in fish
>tank water, i.e. it will take a while for the reading to stabilise; and
>there is the potential for what is known as "poisoning" of the sensing
>membrane from dissolved amines (which hopefully remain at very low
>levels if your tank is setup and maintained correctly.)
>
>If possible, also look for a pH probe which does automatic temperature
>compensation (ATC).

Thanks for the help. I'm going to try a pan-shaped ones.