Wood an pH

[e2wilhelm]

Hi, I'm new to this and thought I had done my homework. My 20g non-planted tank is about 10 weeks old. It was my understanding that wood int the tank was supposed to reduce the pH of a tank. I spent 3 days of soaking the wood in hot water and doing water changes to reduce the tannins. I added the wood and a rock to provide my Cory's a place to get away. The pH of my tank was consistently 7.3 before the addition of the wood. 2.5 weeks later the pH of my tank is 7.6, using an API testing kit. I don't understand why the pH increased. Does anyone have any ideas? My other tank conditions are 0.25ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites and 20ppm nitrates at 76F. I do 25% wc weekly. All the fish seem very happy despite the elevated ammonia level (which I'm concerned about). I will upgrading my filter as I don't think the stock filter that came with the tank is sufficient.

 

[Autumnsky]

What is your substrate?

 

[e2wilhelm]

Gravel, which I know is not best for cory's but it is relatively smooth.

 

[Autumnsky]

Coral gravel or coated aquarium gravel...Big decorative rocks?

 

[e2wilhelm]

Coated gravel. I do have a sizable flat rock that leans on the wood to create an area for the fish to hide.

 

[Autumnsky]

If you happen to know what kind of rock it is, some kinds of stone can make your water harder. I probably am not the best one to say which are which. Just that it's possible that is what is happening.

If you can post a pic then someone will surely know.

Also you can add some sand over the gravel for them.

 

[blert]

Your pH is fine, there is no need to adjust it.

The wood, in and of itself, is not going to contribute much to a reduction of pH. It is the tannins that make the big difference. Once those are gone so is the major pH lowering factor. You would need a lot of wood with an appreciable amount of rot to see any useful and stable reduction in pH.

 

[phishfriend]

I'm with Autumnsky on this one. It sounds like your new rock is the most likely source of the PH increase.

 

[jlk]

You also may want to check your tap water. The numbers for public water supplies can vary. Set out a container of tap water with an airstone/bubbler. If you dont have an extra, give the water a good stir once every hr or so. This will help release dissolved gasses. Check the ph in 24hrs & let us know how it looks. Also, you mentioned adding a rock in addition to the wood- what type of rock did you add? Some types of rock will increase ph.

 

[librarygirl]

As said, your PH is fine, no need to adjust it. Trying to adjust PH is a slippery slope and it can cause more problems in the long-run. Most tropical fish will adapt to your PH; stability is more important than the actual number.

 

[e2wilhelm]

Thank you all very much for responding. The gravel is the same that i've had since the tank was set up. The only rock that is new is a 4" x 9" x 0.75" piece of shale rock, which I bought from my local fish store. The tank pH was very stable at 7.3 before the addition of the piece of wood and the shale. My only concern with the pH is that we wanted to add a school of cardinal tetra's and all of the literature states that they need the pH < 7.0 and soft water.

 

[librarygirl]

Cardinals would be fine in your PH as it is now.

 

[stevedocs]

They will do fine in that ph, I have 6 in my 23 and they love it

 

[Autumnsky]

Cardinals are fabulous!

I have a lower pH so I didn't really think about that.

A couple of notes though, I just got a bunch of them from a local big box fish store where I have never had a sick fish from. I was dumb and didn't quarantine, as I ended up using my quarantine as a holding tank for a big bunch of baby guppies, which are leaving next week.

Ended up with a horrible case of Ich. Looks like we are almost done with the incubation/recovery period with only one fish lost, a scrawny one, didn't make it.

Please use caution! I can PM you who if that might be where you were getting them. I got mine on a $1.00 fish sale. Never had a sick one from them before. Also saw others who had sick fish/Cardinals from them in the past month.

Maybe let the tank mature a little before you get them. Make sure you have lots of plants for them also, they like it.

 

[e2wilhelm]

Thank you. If you could pass along the name of the fish store to make sure I don't use them. How long do you think that I should allow the tank to mature? Also, should I have real plants or are plastic ok. I don't have real plants in my tank right now. I plan to graduate to real plants, but wanted to get more experience with taking care of fish before I am responsible for live plants. Since we are on the topic, what are good plants to start with that won't overtake my tank?

 

[jlk]

Thank you. If you could pass along the name of the fish store to make sure I don't use them. How long do you think that I should allow the tank to mature? Also, should I have real plants or are plastic ok. I don't have real plants in my tank right now. I plan to graduate to real plants, but wanted to get more experience with taking care of fish before I am responsible for live plants. Since we are on the topic, what are good plants to start with that won't overtake my tank?

You can start with some easy, slow growing plants such as anubias, java fern, mosses, anacharis, etc. If you do some looking around the planted tank section, you will find lots of other suggestions as well.

 

[e2wilhelm]

Thanks!