armadillo

Hi everyone. You always hear that driftwood lowers pH, but I've never seen this happen in my tanks. I've just remembered a conversation with a friend of mine about driftwood and she told me that it was a particular kind of driftwood that causes this drop, not all of them. Does one of you have any idea which?

0morrokh

Driftwood will lower your pH drastically only if it is allowed to leach tannins into the water. I'm guessing you either soaked your driftwood before putting it in the aquarium, or else got pre-soaked driftwood. Driftwood that is not soaked will stain the water brown, and the tannins that stain the water brown also lower the pH. But soaked driftwood does not have much effect on pH because it is not releasing tannins.

Other than that, it is possible that certain types of driftwood have different degrees of effect on pH, but I don't know...

armadillo

Oh I seeee. Thanks for that. I do soak/boil the wood forever before putting it in. Mmmmh. Not keen on dyeing my water. Especially if that means that the driftwood's acidifying effect will decline over time.

bhcaaron

So how many water changes will the tannin last? Wouldn't it make it more difficult to maintain stable PH when there is something in there slowly decreasing its affect on it?

bhcaaron

Talk about sea horse! lol

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive...twood_art.html

Attached Images

sea horse.jpg (47.2 KB, 20 views)

armadillo

Hi Aaron. I've looked into the driftwood as a pH reducer option, and the effect is so gradual that I see no effect at all in my tank as I do twice weekly 30% water changes. Also, you'd need to refresh it after a while, but I like older things in my aquarium (those nice yummy bacteria and good algae).

So if I was serious about the driftwood, I'd put it in larger quantities and then I guess I'd need to be careful with water changes (I'd need to do smaller ones), but I don't think the effect would be that dramatic anyways.

So I guess for pH reduction, if you really have a problem, then the chemical products are the answer. I dont' want to go down that lane, so I leave mine at 8.0.

bhcaaron

No, its not a problem. I have just been trying to look into having as natural as an environment for the Bettas as possible. I know that they can handle up to 7.5, which that won't be a problem, but, they're natural environment is closer to 6 or 6.5. I know tank bred can take higher, but, yet again, I was trying to go with their environment. Still, I'm sure they'll be OK.

0morrokh

They have been bred and raised for many many generations in water with a much higher pH than their natural environment, so by now they are adapted to normal tap water. My pH is off the charts and I've never had a problem wiht Bettas other than slight ray curling in the ct's.

bhcaaron

Like I said, its not a problem. Just something extra I would like to do for them.

Isabella

I doubt there is only "one" kind of driftwood that will lower your pH. Many kinds will, as long as they have not their tannins boiled and soaked out of them.

I know for a fact that Malaysian driftwood will dramatically lower your pH if the tannins are not removed. I did an experiment with my Malaysian driftwood. I let it lie in buckets with water (before boiling) for one day, then few days, and then a week. The pH would drop all the way to the bottom of my pH color chart just after one day of being soaked in new/freshly-changed water. Anyway, I am sure Malaysian driftwood isn't the only kind that will affect pH. (By the way, I love Malaysian Driftwood because it is self-sinking and there is no need to weigh it down with anything. Also love its shapes and color).

bhcaaron

GREAT NEWS! I just got home from buying a low pH API liquid tester. The bottled water that I was thinking of using (which of course has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate) has a pH level of 6.4! YAYY! That is perfect for my betta! Who knew!?