Managing problems
with high pH
Managing high pH in aquaculture
ponds is difficult and no specific management
practice is always successful.
Difficulties arise because the term “high
pH” describes not only a chemical
property, but also the outcome of many
interacting chemical and biological processes.
As a measure of water’s hydrogen
ion concentration, high pH can be
corrected simply by adding an acid to
increase that concentration. However,
“high pH” also describes the net result
of many individual processes that add
or remove carbon dioxide. Reducing pH
with an acid does not alter these processes
and, therefore, cannot address
the underlying causes of high pH. So
while adding an acid may temporarily
reduce pH, high pH will probably occur
again unless other environmental conditions
also change.