Wood And Rock Ph

[bb1991]

I was wondering whether instead of using chemicals to alter my pH in the tank, can i add/subtract wood or rocks to my tanks instead? I've read that some woods are acidic, while limestone or rocks from the will make it more alkaline. Can i use these materials to stabilize my pH to about 7 or will these mess up my tank. Will there be pH spikes and abnormalities like this?

BTW: My LFS has no clue about the acidity or the alkalinity of the wood or rock. Is there a way to test whether the wood is alkaline or acid using an easy method like pouring vinegar on limestone?

 

[thereverendturtle]

All wood used for aquariums will lower your pH. It would be almost impossible to get the ratio of wood to limestone, so that your water stayed at a constant pH. What is you're pH now and what types of fish do you keep?

 

[bb1991]

I was just thinking about creating a tank with aquascaping in mind. I wanted to try making white sand look like a waterfall, but the last time i bought white sand, vinegar turned the sand almost to foam. They only had one type of white sand aswell, so i figured i would go in an unorthodox way and try to neutralize the alkalinity with wood. But since you say its difficult and i'm sure they'll be problems later on, I'll just have to find a better fish shop that sells non-alkaline sand.

PS: Most of the fish sold here are pretty much intolerable to high pH, and the tap water here is also pretty high. (7.5+) So basically i have no choice but to find the most neutral rocks and sand, and add some wood to keep the pH from climbing too fast.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Look for white quartz sand. Wood and hardwood leaves will help keep the pH down.

 

[bb1991]

Ok, thank you for the info and especially the name of the sand that is neutral. I'll search for that specifically. I was so pissed when all that the shopkeeper knew about the rocks and sand he was selling was whether it came from the mountains or the sea. That doesn't really narrow it down at all since limestone comes from the mountains aswell. I had to look like a weirdo pouring vinegar on rocks and putting it to my ear.