How driftwood affects pH

[admiral]

I've been noticing my tank's pH dropping since adding driftwood. It's a 20-gallon with a sponge filter, and I do weekly water changes. Anyone else experienced this?

[robinleaf]

Yep, driftwood can definitely mess with pH. It releases tannins, which lower it over time. My 10-gallon dropped from 7.2 to 6.8 in a month. What's your current pH?

[dartonix]

Driftwood releases organic acids like humic and fulvic acids, which lower pH. The effect depends on your water's buffering capacity. If you have soft water, the drop will be more pronounced. Test your KH to see how stable your pH is.

[fluxeon8]

My tank's pH went down too, but it's chill. I got some crushed coral in the filter to balance it out. Works like a charm, dude.

[speedster]

Yo, same thing happened to me. My Betta was acting sketchy, so I checked the pH and it was way low. Gonna try adding some baking soda next water change.

[justonix]

Driftwood releases organic acids like humic and fulvic acids, which lower pH. The effect depends on your water's buffering capacity. If you have soft water, the drop will be more pronounced. Test your KH to see how stable your pH is.

That's solid advice. I'd also recommend monitoring your fish for stress. Some species don't handle pH swings well.

[admiral]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. My pH is at 6.5 now, down from 7.0. I'll test the KH and maybe add some crushed coral.

[robinleaf]

Good call. Just go slow with adjustments. Rapid pH changes can be worse than a stable low pH. My Neon Tetras adapted fine after a few weeks.

[dartonix]

If you're using tap water, check its KH and pH straight from the tap. That'll give you a baseline. Also, boiling the driftwood beforehand can reduce the tannin release.

[fluxeon8]

Boiling's a pain, but it works. I just let mine soak in a bucket for a week. Less hassle, same result.