i purchased a fairly substantial bit of bogwood a ways back, after having been assured vigorously by the salesperson that bogwood would do "absolutely nothing" to my water chemistry. pleased to find something locally that was a little affordable, to add some interest to my cycling tank, i bought quite a bit of it.
i boiled most if it for about 8 hours, leeching *nearly* all the tannin out, but i got impatient and plopped it in when the water ran pale after 40 minutes of boiling. i figured at that point, it wouldn't leech too much into the tank, especially since i'll probably wind up doing weekly or biweekly water changes as is, anyways.
but, i naturally discovered that bogwood lowers ph. my ph comes straight from the tap at a lovely 7.0, neutral, so consistantly i rarely test. in fact, i've lost my test kit.
i'll need to get a new one.
i know my betta wouldn't mind a lower ph, but i worry for his future tankmates. does bogwood lower the ph significantly, dramatically, quickly? or will my frequent water changes likely negate that fact?
i knew i shouldn't have gone by the sales person's word, and studied up on the wood a bit before i bought it. that'll teach me.
i boiled most if it for about 8 hours, leeching *nearly* all the tannin out, but i got impatient and plopped it in when the water ran pale after 40 minutes of boiling. i figured at that point, it wouldn't leech too much into the tank, especially since i'll probably wind up doing weekly or biweekly water changes as is, anyways.
but, i naturally discovered that bogwood lowers ph. my ph comes straight from the tap at a lovely 7.0, neutral, so consistantly i rarely test. in fact, i've lost my test kit.
i'll need to get a new one.i know my betta wouldn't mind a lower ph, but i worry for his future tankmates. does bogwood lower the ph significantly, dramatically, quickly? or will my frequent water changes likely negate that fact?
i knew i shouldn't have gone by the sales person's word, and studied up on the wood a bit before i bought it. that'll teach me.
