Bogwood and PH reduction

Would various large pieces of bogwood lower the PH in my tank?

it will

wat is the ph in tap and tank?
we recently got a brown bin for recycling food waste but makes a terrific water butt (after a really good cleaning), i think it is 90liters, dump the water and conditioner in, leave it a couple of days, chlorine gone and ph settled just add a heater or top up wit warmer water and pump into tank.

ok so maybe every did not get a brown bin, just use something else to sit the water in

thanks dar...........question answered.....

my tap water is at 7.0.........

my tank water is at 6.6 .......

do you think that over time and after a thousand or so water changes (LOL) the Ph will gradually begin to match up with the tap water again?

Im just curious! This water chemsitry stuff is intruiging me lately

The longer ive gone keeping fish the dweebier ive gotten

7? i'd give my left testicle for 7. i wouldn't want it lower, 7 is good for a community of fish

LOL its not always 7

It can vary at certain times of the year...........

Its been to 7.6 at times....

Its usually about 7.2

Just havin a good spell i guess

7.6 is also good, but the swings could be of concern (albeit a very small concern), grab a bottle of your tap water test the ph, let it sit for two days and test it again.i know sitting water can be a pain but if you can do it, it's the way to go. personally i wouldn't worry about it your water is good

bloody hell, 7 out the tap, 6.6 in the tank?! where do you live??

i get 7 out the tap, 6 out the RO drinking fountain

but 7.9 in the tank! and this has overkill on bogwood, plus peat pellets, just cant do anything! bloody rock hard portlaoise mains

joey if it is raising in the tank it would be a concern to me, do you have anything in there stones or so? i was (unknowingly) using coral sand in a community and it was reading 8.2 in tap and staying at that

LOL @ joey :laugh

the people are not the only thing thats soft in dublin joey

and actally dar is rite......sumthing maybe in your tank thats raisng the PH.....maybe you have sum rock or sumthing else in there thats doing it..........

I actually remember having a small 20 litre betta tank with a normal sand substrate and the sand was raising my PH from 7.0 at my tap to 7.4 in the betta tank.....

Just sumthing to consider

nope i riddled out suspected marble pebbles from the gravel, acid tested all stones that i was using

i think its some reaction with the tannic acid from the bogwood, and the hardness of my water or something causing a buffer at that pH - its the same in most tanks i've a high pH but then i dont test after 2 days sitting so might give that a go (although for w/c's she'll go nuts with 10 buckets sitting there for 2 days a week!)

There's lots of reasons for a pH to increase (and decrease).
Acid testing pebbles would really only show if they were carbonates.

Ammonia will increase pH, addition of ammonium (being a salt of a weak base) will decrease pH, addition of salts of weak acids will increase pH, overactive photosynthesis in poorly carbonate buffered water will increase pH, hydrogen carbonates (eg as in temporary hardwater) will increase pH, and more.
The changes will, however, depend upon buffer capacity...and those increases cite above are really meaning a 'tendency to increase pH'.
Temperature will also change pH.

But in general, poor buffering capacity will allow swings in pH. If you have good buffering and still the pH swings then something is being added in quantities of concern.

A change of pH of 0.4 is equal to a change in free hydrogen ion conce of 2.5times eg going from pH 7 to 6.6 is a 2.5 times increase in the amount of free hydrogen ion conc. (put in a crude manner though)

ian

igmillichip wrote:

overactive photosynthesis in poorly carbonate buffered water will increase pH

so could the fact that i have just set-up the planted tank recently and the mad growth could have contributed?

my head is puggled!

This is not an easy subject.....everything is fine is everything is fine, but explaining the odd 'odd' thing is complex (if you follow).

I'll try and explain Joey....

Imagine we have water with some calcium hydrogen carbonate (calcium bicarb) as you would find as 'temporary' or 'carbonate hardness'.
Now, imagine that the amount in the water is quite low....ie the water has poor alkalinity or carbonate buffering.

Now, plants require carbon dioxide in the dark cycle of photosynthesis (it doesn't need to be dark by the way).
The carbon dioxide may come from carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. OR
It may come from hydrogen carbonates (eg calcium hydrogen carbonate).

Now, if the plant 'rips' carbon dioxide the (calcium) hydrogen carbonate then you could end up with calcium hydroxide being left.

OK....hydrogen carbonates are weak bases (the opposite of an acid) and will only raise pH so much (and will also tend to buffer)...BUT
calcium hydroxide is a strong base and will make pHs zoom in even small quantity if there is no buffering capacity.

As we imagined that the water may have little buffering in the first place then the only buffer in the water has been converted to a strong base and has left no buffer to control the rise in pH.

Effect = zoom up the pH scale.

Similarly, within your biological filtration system the nitrifying bacteria make nitric acid (a strong acid). If you have plenty of carbonate buffering then the nitric acid will be in the form of nitrates.
But if the carbonate buffering is low, the you could end up with nitric acid...and the pH could plunge to an acid crash.

The moral......carbonate buffering or having a good alkalinity is important.

By the way, water having a high alkalinity may be acid (pH below 7). If your alkalinity is high then your pH will tend not to move much (as a generalisation).


ian

wow

ok i think i'll leave it all as it is, the fish are happy out so i guess the saying "if it aint broke, dont fix it" applies big time. i guess my water has big buffering capability coz this pH isn't budging (even when i filled it from half @ pH 8 to full with pH 7 tap water, it only budged to approx pH 7.9 for half a day)

gunnered1972 wrote:

The longer ive gone keeping fish the dweebier ive gotten

hahahaha, brilliant
don't worry Man, We're all Anoraks on here...

could be worse, stamp collecting springs to mind...


Des

TRAINSPOTTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now theres a hobby Des

What the hell is that all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually when ya think about it ya dont have to lug buckets and buckets of water around when trainspotting do ya?
Its just a notebook,a pen and a camera.............
Plus ya dont have to be a mass murderer like all of us have been when we were newbies (all those poor danios LOL)

In fact im changin hobbies as of now! "Says he with the multiple tank syndrome" LOL

gunnered1972 wrote:

TRAINSPOTTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now theres a hobby Des

What the hell is that all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually when ya think about it ya dont have to lug buckets and buckets of water around when trainspotting do ya?
Its just a notebook,a pen and a camera.............
Plus ya dont have to be a mass murderer like all of us have been when we were newbies (all those poor danios LOL)

In fact im changin hobbies as of now! "Says he with the multiple tank syndrome" LOL

Trainspotting is about a mis-guided young man who venture through a drug-induced nightmare of being in the worse toilet in scotland whilst one hyper-aggressive friend is starting a fight for no reason, and another immuno-compromised friend is killed by his pet cat.

A notebook, a pen, and a camera.....??? ummmm??? sounds just like a fish keeping collecting L-numbered plecos.

ian

lol
surgical tubing and a needle, spoon and lighter. still easier than carrying buckets

hahahaha
brilliant