James_in_MN
Aquarium Advice FINatic
My 10g aquarium is nearly ready to add fish, but I figured I should check something first.
I have two pieces of driftwood in the tank. I had initially boiled them for a couple of hours before placing them in the tank to try to boil out all of the tannins in the wood. I thought I got all of it out, but was wrong. It started leeching into the tank the second week that I added it, and has been ever since.
I do believe that it actually isn't a bad thing for the fish/inverts that I intend to add to my tank; RCS, amano shrimp, and cardinal tetras. I may also re-home my nerite snail from my 20g tank to this one since the 20g already has 3 ottos in it.
The one thing I am noticing, however, is the change in water chemistry. My pH has been stable at 7.8, which is a good thing, and my GH has stayed around 6º. My KH is a different story, as it has been dropping, now sitting at a low of 2º.
I've heard that tannin will drop pH, but appears to work over the buffers first until they're low enough to allow for the pH to fall. I do believe that it's KH that is the main buffer for pH and not GH (feel free to correct me if I"m wrong).
Is there anything that I can or should do to buffer my tank so the pH won't be at risk of crashing? I know the cardinal tetras will enjoy the softer water, but I can't imagine that they'd enjoy a large fluctuation in pH levels.
I have two pieces of driftwood in the tank. I had initially boiled them for a couple of hours before placing them in the tank to try to boil out all of the tannins in the wood. I thought I got all of it out, but was wrong. It started leeching into the tank the second week that I added it, and has been ever since.
I do believe that it actually isn't a bad thing for the fish/inverts that I intend to add to my tank; RCS, amano shrimp, and cardinal tetras. I may also re-home my nerite snail from my 20g tank to this one since the 20g already has 3 ottos in it.
The one thing I am noticing, however, is the change in water chemistry. My pH has been stable at 7.8, which is a good thing, and my GH has stayed around 6º. My KH is a different story, as it has been dropping, now sitting at a low of 2º.
I've heard that tannin will drop pH, but appears to work over the buffers first until they're low enough to allow for the pH to fall. I do believe that it's KH that is the main buffer for pH and not GH (feel free to correct me if I"m wrong).
Is there anything that I can or should do to buffer my tank so the pH won't be at risk of crashing? I know the cardinal tetras will enjoy the softer water, but I can't imagine that they'd enjoy a large fluctuation in pH levels.
