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All about pH

*pH is how *basic or *acidic the water is. The *pH scale ranges from 0 (*acidic) – 14 (*basic). 7 is *neutral it isn’t *acidic or *basic. When waters with low *pH values get in contact with certain metals and chemicals it often makes the water more toxic. Like if a fish that can be in water with 4.8 *ph they will probably die at 5.5 *ph.

The salt in seawater is like an *acid killer making seawater less vulnerable to *acid wastes. Because *ph varies from day to night some fish can’t handle the *ph change and have to swim to more *neutral areas but some fish can tolerate the change. When there is a pond or lake the *pH is effected by the community and industries that surround it, and when chemicals runoff into the lakes or ponds it effects the *pH. Fish can tolerate between a 5.0 to a 9.0 *pH, but fisherman look for water between 6.5 and 8.2 *pH.

This picture shows how *acidic or *basic water can be.

* Definition in glossary

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