So I just cycled my 29 gallon tank During the cycling for those of you who know I was having major ph crashes it seems to be settling now the tank is cycled , I purchased a bushy nose pleco and I've read he requires driftwood , so I picked up a small nice piece of driftwood from my lfs , will this affect the ph and I've heard I have to boil the drift wood any suggestions is much appreciated ! TIA :thumbsup:
Driftwood
- Thread starter Mikey214
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FreshwaterTropical
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I'm not sure if driftwood affects ph.
Get the biggest pot you have, fill it with water and boil! Change the water after 10 min Of rapid boil and repeat until water runs clear. This works really well.
Get the biggest pot you have, fill it with water and boil! Change the water after 10 min Of rapid boil and repeat until water runs clear. This works really well.
Cornstar
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Normally driftwood lowers your pH. What I did to balance this out was through adding crushed coral in my filter media. Do some pH testing on the driftwood to compare to the pH of your tank.
Fishkeeper26
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Driftwood only lowers pH when leaching tannins, once the tannins are gone it won't affect pH
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Mikey214 said:
Yes. It makes up part of their diet/aids digestion.
FreshwaterTropical
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Mikey214 said:
Yeah pretty much.
KPCustoms
Aquarium Advice Freak
Ya he eats drift wood during the day and alge during the night
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Mikey214 said:
Yep!
Hey I'm about to use some driftwood for the first time as well.
So boiling the driftwood gets rid of all tannin problems or will i still see some tannins?
And are tannins the only thing to worry about with driftwood? I don't think I'd mind water that isn't crystal clear...That's fine with me...I just don't want my fish to get hurt.
So boiling the driftwood gets rid of all tannin problems or will i still see some tannins?
And are tannins the only thing to worry about with driftwood? I don't think I'd mind water that isn't crystal clear...That's fine with me...I just don't want my fish to get hurt.
FreshwaterTropical
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Fish24907 said:
Boil and replace the water several times until it is clear!!! Tannins will not hurt any fish, they only color the water. If it's real driftwood tannins are the only thing, if it is real wood but not driftwood. Then it will get moldy!
I see.
And is there a benefit from driftwood to offset the slight disadvantage of it blurring your water (like I don't know, helping to soften the water for the fish or something) ? If not, why not just put random poly-resin ornaments in your aquarium and not bother with tannins at all?
FreshwaterTropical
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Fish24907 said:
Certain plecos eat driftwood. If you don't want tannins just boil the driftwood?
FreshwaterTropical said:
I've been boiling my piece of drift wood for the last two hours and I keep changing the water the water is still coming out a tea color how long do I boil it for ? It's a smaller piece of driftwood probably 12 inches long by 4 inches high . . . Any thoughts
Cornstar
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Yep, if it's real driftwood, some of the fish would actually like the tannin but it wouldn't hurt the fish.
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Mikey214 said:
I depends in the piece of wood. I have had some never leach more than a very light tea color over a full week and others that still blacken water after a few days.
