I've read that bogwood drops your PH..Just how much of a drop should I expect,does it depend on the amount of bogwood?
Bogwood and PH
- Thread starter IceH2O
- Start date
in part that depends upon the buffering capacity of the water. In part the bog wood.
I would not plan on a large drop. Maybe a .2 differebce in pH. You might get more--buffering capacity and bogwood will determine that. many people do not see any change.
I would not plan on a large drop. Maybe a .2 differebce in pH. You might get more--buffering capacity and bogwood will determine that. many people do not see any change.
As Sully said, that all depends on the quantity of the wood, whether or not it has been presoaked or preboiled, and mostly on the KH of your water.
And the effect doe not continue long-term.
And the effect doe not continue long-term.
If I get any,which I should just because of my tank inhabinants,I would presoak and preboil it.
My Ph out of my tap is 6 but after a day in the tank stabilizes at 7.My KH which if I'm not mistaken is the buffer comes put of the tap at 4.8 but stablizes at about 5.6..
With those conditions do you think there would be much change? I think I could handle a .2 change,they made it sound like it would be closer to a degree,about .5-.8 change.
I'm just worried for my plants/fishes sake,as of now my CO2 is perfect without injection.I don't want to add injection,guess I could always go up on airation to disperse higher levels of CO2 tho.
My Ph out of my tap is 6 but after a day in the tank stabilizes at 7.My KH which if I'm not mistaken is the buffer comes put of the tap at 4.8 but stablizes at about 5.6..
With those conditions do you think there would be much change? I think I could handle a .2 change,they made it sound like it would be closer to a degree,about .5-.8 change.
I'm just worried for my plants/fishes sake,as of now my CO2 is perfect without injection.I don't want to add injection,guess I could always go up on airation to disperse higher levels of CO2 tho.
The reason that it "stabilizes" is that the water degasses. Unless of course you have rocks or substrate that elevate the ph.
If I were you i would let the water degass in containers and not in the tank. That is a huge shift in pH to put the fish through every week at water change time.
What type of fish do you have? how big is the tank? How many fish are in there?
Boiling the bogwood prior to placing it in the tank helps to eliminate the tannins which discolor your water. Tannnins are organic acids. Organic acids are the reason that the pH goes down. So, by boiling, you are reducing the efficacy of the bog wood as it relates to pH reduction.
I would plan for absolutely no change in the pH and if you get a minor drop so be it.
Is your tank planted? What do you mean you have the CO2 at a "perfect" level? If it is a 7.0 pH with between 5 and 6 degrees of kh that would be around 15-18 ppm's, wouldn't it? Don't plants do better around 30 ppm's? I mean isn't that a target range (30 ppm's) when people add CO2 injection?
If I were you i would let the water degass in containers and not in the tank. That is a huge shift in pH to put the fish through every week at water change time.
What type of fish do you have? how big is the tank? How many fish are in there?
Boiling the bogwood prior to placing it in the tank helps to eliminate the tannins which discolor your water. Tannnins are organic acids. Organic acids are the reason that the pH goes down. So, by boiling, you are reducing the efficacy of the bog wood as it relates to pH reduction.
I would plan for absolutely no change in the pH and if you get a minor drop so be it.
Is your tank planted? What do you mean you have the CO2 at a "perfect" level? If it is a 7.0 pH with between 5 and 6 degrees of kh that would be around 15-18 ppm's, wouldn't it? Don't plants do better around 30 ppm's? I mean isn't that a target range (30 ppm's) when people add CO2 injection?
Sully said:
All my info is in my signature,just click the link.I'm overstocked at the moment but will be fixed when i get the 75 Gallon next month.
Sully said:
You have my CO2 levels about right I think its 16.9 or so,I could go up some if need be but its in the good range and my plants are growing...I'm lightly planted at the moment,maybe 13 plants total.I've read people like to keep it at 30 ppm but I've looked at many sites and anything over 25 ppm seems to be harmful to fish.
heres are some links:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm
http://www.hallman.org/plant/booth1.html
http://fish.mongabay.com/plant_care.htm
Not saying they're right but just some I've read..I've also seen some that said up to 40 ppm is ok but I'd rather error on the low side.The fish cost more than the plants.
any thing 30 ppm or below really won't harm fish.
I know that I keep some low ph, low tds fish (low kh) fish in water that sometimes spikes at 38 to 40 ppm's (never completely trust pH probes and pH monitors) for short periods without adverse effect.
The 15 ppm certainly looks like a number that was bantied about for a long time as the "ideal" level for CO2. That number has been revised upward to 30 ppm's in recent years. both numbers of course being used in conjunction with the premise that 4+ watts of per gallon (the accuracy of that measure is a whole other conversation -- there are probably better ways to measure light requirements) is being used.
In a typical low tech tank 2 watts per is usually more than enough with the type of CO2 level you are seeing in your tank given the "lightly planted" tank.
I know that I keep some low ph, low tds fish (low kh) fish in water that sometimes spikes at 38 to 40 ppm's (never completely trust pH probes and pH monitors) for short periods without adverse effect.
The 15 ppm certainly looks like a number that was bantied about for a long time as the "ideal" level for CO2. That number has been revised upward to 30 ppm's in recent years. both numbers of course being used in conjunction with the premise that 4+ watts of per gallon (the accuracy of that measure is a whole other conversation -- there are probably better ways to measure light requirements) is being used.
In a typical low tech tank 2 watts per is usually more than enough with the type of CO2 level you are seeing in your tank given the "lightly planted" tank.