Bogwood

[shane87]

my ph is at 7-7.2 and i recently discoverd dwarf cichlids and wondered does bogwood lower ph (im sure i hear dit somewhere) if not is ther any way of doin it without addin chemicals....thanks

 

[Mr Bliss]

It does lower the pH, for a few months after adding it to the tank.

You can also use dried and cooked oak leaf litter, or Indian Almond leaves. They'll leach tannins and other acids that lower the pH, and they look good on the substrate.

 

[shane87]

my tank is 200litres and the piece of bogwood is about 30cms, how much will it drop..and does it do it instantly...sorry for been a pain ...ps iv had a piec eof bogwood in another tank for about 6month

 

[Mr Bliss]

It's almost impossible to say how fast it'll drop, how much it'll drop (maybe 0.5 - 1 degrees of pH) and how long it'll take before it stops affecting the pH. Every piece of bogwood is different.

For a long term solution I'd use the leaf litter, commercial peat extract, or some peat fiber (peat moss) in the filter (you can buy peat media at some LFSs, or peat fiber in good gardening stores). The advantage of these is that you can start of with small amounts and figure out exactly how much you need to use to get your tank to a desired pH.

 

[shane87]

thanks