deli_conker
Aquarium Advice Addict
Here's the skinny...
I am currently setting up a 55 gallon tank for a few mbunas. It has been up and running for about a week (no fish yet). I am still adding terrain to the tank and want to be ready to populate by the new year.
I used a finely crushed coral for the substrate as a buffer, but had also purchased a really nice piece of driftwood without knowing that it would lower the Ph.
I had already started treating the driftwood by soaking it in hot water (approx. 180 degrees) with 2-3 water changes a day. This has been going on for about 5 days now and the drainage is just barely tinted yellow/brown at this point.
My tap water Ph comes out at right around 7.0
The tank I am setting up reads at about 7.8
The water that the wood has been soaking in (at least 8 hours) is around 6.6
I was planning on putting the wood into the tank after about 3 more days of treatment and waiting about a week to see where the Ph stablizes at so I could determine whether or not I would keep it in or not.
1) Is this enough time for it to be in the tank to give an accurate representation of where the Ph will stablize?
2) What is the lowest acceptable Ph (ballpark) for the fish I want to keep?
3) Is there any other non-chemical ways to increase Ph other than what I have done thus far?
I am using two Fluval 203 canisters and was thinking about throwing some coral into one of the media chambers to force water past/through. The logic behind this is that the moving water will erode it faster thus raising the Ph. I am sure that the nitrogen cycle bacteria will love to stick to it as well. Don't know how accurate my thinking on this one is, though.
I am hoping that this will work out as I don't want to have wasted money on the wood and delay my tank starting up as well while I wait for the Ph to re-stablize.
Sorry so long winded, but thanks for any help...
I am currently setting up a 55 gallon tank for a few mbunas. It has been up and running for about a week (no fish yet). I am still adding terrain to the tank and want to be ready to populate by the new year.
I used a finely crushed coral for the substrate as a buffer, but had also purchased a really nice piece of driftwood without knowing that it would lower the Ph.
I had already started treating the driftwood by soaking it in hot water (approx. 180 degrees) with 2-3 water changes a day. This has been going on for about 5 days now and the drainage is just barely tinted yellow/brown at this point.
My tap water Ph comes out at right around 7.0
The tank I am setting up reads at about 7.8
The water that the wood has been soaking in (at least 8 hours) is around 6.6
I was planning on putting the wood into the tank after about 3 more days of treatment and waiting about a week to see where the Ph stablizes at so I could determine whether or not I would keep it in or not.
1) Is this enough time for it to be in the tank to give an accurate representation of where the Ph will stablize?
2) What is the lowest acceptable Ph (ballpark) for the fish I want to keep?
3) Is there any other non-chemical ways to increase Ph other than what I have done thus far?
I am using two Fluval 203 canisters and was thinking about throwing some coral into one of the media chambers to force water past/through. The logic behind this is that the moving water will erode it faster thus raising the Ph. I am sure that the nitrogen cycle bacteria will love to stick to it as well. Don't know how accurate my thinking on this one is, though.
I am hoping that this will work out as I don't want to have wasted money on the wood and delay my tank starting up as well while I wait for the Ph to re-stablize.
Sorry so long winded, but thanks for any help...