Driftwood
- Thread starter Polyhead
- Start date
lol, Malaysian driftwood lowerd my ph by a lot, normally around 7.1 and add the large piece of malaysian and it went to 6.4 in couple weeks.
All wood contains "Tannic Acid"... often refered to as tannins...
Difference pieces of wood will contain different quantities...
The more the wood turns the water 'tea colored' the more tannic acid it releases and therefore the more it will lower PH...
Another way to do introduce tannic acid to the tank is to put peat moss in a bag/stocking and place it in the filter...
Difference pieces of wood will contain different quantities...
The more the wood turns the water 'tea colored' the more tannic acid it releases and therefore the more it will lower PH...
Another way to do introduce tannic acid to the tank is to put peat moss in a bag/stocking and place it in the filter...
I have to say, I have malaysian in all my tanks and even with the water becoming tea-colored the pH lowering (really the hardness lowering) effects are minimal. If you are looking to soften your water, y ou may need to pretreat water with peat or look into an ro unit to mix with your tap.
I tend to agree with the post above . . . I have malaysian driftwood in 4 different tanks, and have seen minimal impact on Ph or hardness . . . and I think whatever impact they would have diminishes over time
My piece was a very large piece, can't remember exactly but around 40"x20"x28" maybe a lil bigger or smaller, that was new with no pre-soaking, with water changes and now that the tannins are starting to lessen a little, my ph is getting closer to 7 where i want it. i agree with above, if you are wanting to lower ph for long terms, the driftwood probably isn't gonna help much.
You can get pellets that are less messy through fish supply places or ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350183263867
You can also get 100% sphagnum peat moss by teh cubic yard at a garden store, just make sure it has no additives (fertilizers, etc). This is a bit messy, but if you soak it and then pre-treat water change water it will soften it up. One thing to note, it will also give a blackwater look to your tank. The easiest and cleanest way to reduce hardness and pH is by using a mixture of RO water with your tap.
You can also get 100% sphagnum peat moss by teh cubic yard at a garden store, just make sure it has no additives (fertilizers, etc). This is a bit messy, but if you soak it and then pre-treat water change water it will soften it up. One thing to note, it will also give a blackwater look to your tank. The easiest and cleanest way to reduce hardness and pH is by using a mixture of RO water with your tap.