Afrirican Drift Wood & pH

[MamaPish]

I just got a piece of African driftwood, it is about 16x12x8.......My question is....will this lower my pH?
My pH is finally where I want it, and has been consistent for several days now.
I got the wood from a fish shop that is going out of bis...... it came right out of the tank they were using it in...it is really a nice piece, I just don't want to mess things up ...again!!
Thanks

 

[cichlid_freak]

In a word, Yes.

BUT, it shouldn't be that drastic. #1 Almost any plant matter drops the pH, consider Almond leaves for Discus, and peat for Killies, blackwaters, and so on. #2 The wood has been in a tank for some time, I'm assuming since most LFS's don't want brown showtanks, so most of the drastic stuff has already leached. #3 I have 9 pieces of the stuff in my 75 gal. and my pH is still high.


But if you want the truth, it all depends on the hardness of the water. This is the water's ability to buffer pH. If it's low, then the water will tend to be more acidic; if it's high, the water will tend to be more alkaline.

I don't profess to have any great knowlege on the subject, in fact I have never purposly adjusted my pH. If I need lower pH (tap is high) then I just mix it with RO. But two of my three tanks are high pH tanks anyways.

Just my thought on the subject.