How do you raise PH with Malaysian Driftwood?

[Jag1980]

My pH has always been at 7.1 and now since I added these 2 medium pieces of driftwood my PH is now 6.5
I am building a DIY CO2 system this weeks and with this new drop in my PH level I am now worried.
What should I do?
My GH last tested 2 weeks ago was at 90mg / Liter is what they wrote down for me (whatever that means)
Nitrate 5
phosphate 0.3
PH was 7.1 like it always has been
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Details of my tank in my Sig
I will also be pulling out my EMP-400 and replacing it with a Fluval 1 Plus Filter

 

[Knowdafish]

You could buffer it and raise PH with some crushed coral added to your subsrate or put some in your HOB filter. Or.......just do more water changes if your tap water is 7.1 !!

 

[Jag1980]

You could buffer it and raise PH with some crushed coral added to your subsrate or put some in your HOB filter. Or.......just do more water changes if your tap water is 7.1 !!

I did a small water change and it raised my PH to about 6.8
Will the driftwood always continue to drop my PH?
I'm just worried that I will be fighting this driftwood lowering my PH along with my DIY CO2 system..

 

[Frostyone]

It will only drop it to a point, then it'll remain there. Like Knowdafish said, add some crushed coral to buffer it back up to where you want it. Are you going fully automated on your CO2?

 

[frasertheking]

take the wood out and boil it. change the water in the pot when ever it looks real tanned and keep doing this until no more comes out .be sure to vacume your gravel and remove solid waist from the filter as its decomposition will drop the ph.

 

[Jag1980]

It will only drop it to a point, then it'll remain there. Like Knowdafish said, add some crushed coral to buffer it back up to where you want it. Are you going fully automated on your CO2?

I soaked it for about 1 hour in cold water before I added it to my tank and it didn't change the water clarity so I figured maybe it was already treated, but it sounds like I should still boil it. It's been in my tank for about a week now and my water is totally clear.

How much coral would I need to use and would coral sand do the same thing? I have a Fluval 1 Plus filter so I'm not sure where I would put the crushed coral. I'm taking out my Emp-400 this weekend when I setup my Yeast generated C02 system.

 

[DasArab]

I had this issuee too, but my ph drop was far worse, <5. A handfull of crushed coral in both external filters buffered it back to between 6.5 and 7. Remember that it will disolve away amd you'll need to keep topping up the crushed coral.