# Driftwood and ph



## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

If I add driftwood to my tank, when the ph comes down, will it stay there?


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## chenowethpm (Jan 8, 2014)

The buffering effect of the driftwood will eventually go away and your ph will go back to "normal". Don't know how long it will last. At least this is the effect my driftwood has caused.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

chenowethpm said:


> The buffering effect of the driftwood will eventually go away and your ph will go back to "normal". Don't know how long it will last. At least this is the effect my driftwood has caused.


+1


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

This is kind of a bummer to hear. My sharks and new siamese flying foxes are the only ones who seem to have a problem with the ph. My tank runs at 8-8.2 and these guys like 6.5-7.5, shown by them flashing every once in a while. No, this isn't ich or a disease.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You can safely ,consistently lower your pH with distilled or RO water.25% would be the most I would think you would need to mix during waterchanges and your pH would go down to 7.5-7.7 I would think.
all my woods lowered my pH for a couple months, but the effect did go away.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Would I do that all in one change? Would a drop like that shock my fish?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The trick is to mix/cut the RO/distilled with your tap to get the pH you want.I used 25% as an example(may be a money mix though,doing the math?).I would think you could add 25% ro or distilled with your next waterchange without any distress to your fish.Test and see what 1 g of distilled does to 4 gallons of your tap(I guess that is only 20%).But you get it,just mix and test to get where you want and then it can be repeated all the time for 'safe consistent" reduction.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

So you're saying once I find the right mixture, I can fill my tank with tap to a certain level and the rest of the way with distilled? I don't have to mix it before filling right? That seems like a lot of work.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

MriGuy85 said:


> So you're saying once I find the right mixture, I can fill my tank with tap to a certain level and the rest of the way with distilled? I don't have to mix it before filling right? That seems like a lot of work.


I don't think mixing is necessary,but it wouldn't be a big deal to mix IMO?
As long as tank is circulating the water is being mixed as soon as you add it anyways.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

A 50% mixture would be needed to get you in the 7.5-7.7 range. I do this every week and start at the same value of of 8.2. I mix in 6.8 RODI water.

I would recommend testing for GH/KH before you do this (and after), just to know what you are doing. They are likely high if your ph is also that high, but it is a matter of knowing vs not knowing.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Are those values important or is it just a knowledge base type thing?


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## Shakti (Jun 1, 2014)

I'm a newbie here so what is RO Water?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

MriGuy85 said:


> Are those values important or is it just a knowledge base type thing?


Knowledge. I like to know what I am doing to my water.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Shakti said:


> I'm a newbie here so what is RO Water?


Reverse Osmosis water.You must have a RO filter and storage container to produce this.Many ro filters for sale on net(I got mine from Bulk Reef Supply{BRS}).Distilled is similiar and will have a lower pH value then tap so mixing it with tap would"cut"(lower) the pH level of the tap.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Let me ask another question. I know we say that using ph adjusting products is a bad thing, but isn't it about the same as using distilled water?

What I mean is this: if I figure out how much distilles water it takes to reduce the ph to the level I need, and make that happen with a water change...how is that any different than finding out how much ph down is needed to achieve the same thing and use that during a water change? 

So long as I'm adjusting the ph only during water changes and to the same level every time, shouldn't I be ok?


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## chenowethpm (Jan 8, 2014)

I think that the buffering ability of you water is what makes it go back when you use ph up or down. This buffering ability is determined by your kh/gh. When you add those products these things stay the same. But when you cut your water with the distiller water it changed the kh/gh of your water. This is my guess as an answer to your question.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

That would explain jrman's advice to check those values. Thanks.


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## Tolak (Mar 10, 2013)

Hardness is often more important than pH. High pH is usually associated with harder water, lower pH with softer. Due to osmotic pressure, which affects a whole slew of things with fish the hardness has more of an effect, people see it as a pH issue. Hardness, which is dissolved minerals, are part of the Total Dissolved Solids in water. Anything added to your tank will increase TDS if it can dissolve, this includes fish waste, fish food, powdered chemicals used to reduce pH, driftwood, all of it. 

This is why cutting tap with RO, or reconstituting RO is the best, and most controllable option. There's a lot more to adjusting water than pH, and they all work together in many ways.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Adding ph altering products is a risk, especially if you don't what your water kh level is. If it is 2-3dkh, chances are the ph will return where it started. People that aren't aware of this, which is mostly the ones that use it, see this and add again, it returns again, causing a yo-yo effect. This yo-yo effect hurts your fish. This is why most people don't recommend using them in general.


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## Fadil13 (Jan 15, 2014)

MriGuy85 said:


> This is kind of a bummer to hear. My sharks and new siamese flying foxes are the only ones who seem to have a problem with the ph. My tank runs at 8-8.2 and these guys like 6.5-7.5, shown by them flashing every once in a while. No, this isn't ich or a disease.


Flashing is when the fish jumps like frighten - will Nitrate too high produce the same affect? (I'm not going high-jacked this thread was just curious)

Do different kind of driftwood have the same affect on PH - like Mopani DW?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Flashing is when the fish are rubbing themselves against substrate, deco or anything else is handy. And yes high nitrates can cause the same thing.

Wood will have a small effect on ph but after all the tannins are released the ph will go back up.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Flashing is when fish scratch against things, and can be caused by more than one issue.


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