Wood

[CJs Aquatics]

Hey all, so I’ve recently locally sourced some pretty nice pieces of wood. I’ve never played around with that much with regards to my planted tanks, however I’m considering adding a few pieces here and there to spice things up. It’s my understanding that wood overtime can swing ph to a more acidic concentration. My question is how rapidly does this occur? If I put a large piece of wood in a tank, should I be concerned that the inhabitants of the tank may be in any sort of jeopardy due to ph changing or does it happen so gradually that I will never really notice? 

[Levi_Aquatics]

In my experience it doesn't affect the water too much, but I have softish water to start with, so that might make it less obvious. I also don't have a significant ammount of wood in any one aquarium, so my advice might not be completely accurate. If I were you I would test the water a bit more frequently and maybe add some crushed coral to offset any changes in the water chemistry.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/1/2023 at 2:39 PM, CJs Aquatics said:

It’s my understanding that wood overtime can swing ph to a more acidic concentration. My question is how rapidly does this occur? If I put a large piece of wood in a tank, should I be concerned that the inhabitants of the tank may be in any sort of jeopardy due to ph changing or does it happen so gradually that I will never really notice? 

It sort of depends on your approach.  I have one tank with good size chunks of mopani and it generally doesn't affect the water.  If you're cramming the tank 50% full of wood, then I'd be concerned.  adding a branch, a few depending on tank size, I don't think it's going to cause much of any drop.  I've noticed it as little as none or as much as .3-.5 ph.

Generally speaking, I boil the wood and then rinse it off really well.  Then I soak it for at least a week.  Every day (or other day) I will go ahead and swap out the water to let the wood leech what it needs to.  If this is really full of stuff then I would soak it for longer and just observe how it does.  Some wood not intended for aquariums will turn to mush and others would just be fine.  Soaking the wood though, in a bucket, lid/towel laying on top, is what a lot of people do to get it ready for the tank.

Edited April 1, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Val]

Mopani wood is my hard scape palate of choice.  I average 4 good-sized pieces per 55/62 gallon tank over the last 17 years.  My pH has been very stable over that time.

First time use, I would follow Nabokov's cleaning regime.

[CJs Aquatics]

I was looking at some elm pieces untreated as well as 2 kinds of birch both being stumps carved out into caves/ hides…anyone know about these woods with regards to tannin production or leaching of anything negative of any sort? 

[rockfisher]

A general rule of thumb is the lighter the wood the less tannins and acidic they are. Maple and birth are generally low in tannins and acids. You should be ok. You could get a little color change. If you do if you have an Hob or canister add some floss and carbon for a few days. It will clear it up fast. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by rockfisher
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