Question for people with wood in their tanks??????????????????

Well I have been keeping fish on and off since I was 14 years old. Only in the past couple of years have I attempted to keep Mopani wood in my tanks. Long story short whenever I have so much as tried to keep even a small piece of wood in my tanks my PH has plummeted down into the 6's . I just got a tank up an running and I wanted to put a large piece of wood in my tank because there will be several plecos in my tank. I live in seattle and my water comes out pretty much at 7.0. To my own fault I have always kept my tanks more over stocked than under stocked but have always kept up on water changes . But the wood has always seemed to be the breaking point for my PH . Is my wood not old enough? I always soak until it stops making the water brown. Does anyone else have this problem? I have never got any old wood I have always started with "new" wood

Wood will naturally soften the water, regardless of age. It doesnt help that your water is already on the soft side. My tap is 7.8 so my wood tanks are around 7.0 and my pleco tank is 6.4

I guess you could add baking soda at water changes to try and keep it neutral.

You could also mix some crushed coral in with your substrate or put a bag of it in your filter or tank (behind something). The crushed coral should buff your PH.

Will I am wrote:You could also mix some crushed coral in with your substrate or put a bag of it in your filter or tank (behind something). The crushed coral should buff your PH.

I use crushed coral as well to buffer PH. It's in all my filters systems in nylon stocking made bags. It takes a while to dial it in. But little by little I increased the quantity until the desired PH is achieved.

Actually, I add the wood to help lower the pH in my tanks. I almost always cry when they stop leaching those yummy tanins.

Well I feel better now knowing that others have the same issue. I wish my water wasn't right on the 7.0 status . Well with my water being so much on the soft side I think I will just try a very small piece of wood in the corner and avoid the big centerpiece if the plecos want to chew it they will find it. Thanks guys.

A small bag of crushed coral coral in your filter can do wonders for keeping that ph up.

I have a lot of wood in one of my tanks. Some decent sizes of mopani wood and manzanita wood and malaysian. Our out of the tap water is about 8-8.2. I tested my ph this morning in the tank and its probably 7.9-8.0. We do 50% water changes weekly so I don't think the wood has a chance to have much of impact on the waters PH.

pH in my tanks is always in the 6's.. out of tap it runs 6.6-6.8.

I add wood , leaf litter alder cones.

I keep mostly SA discus, angels, rams, apistos, and a slew of BN's. all of which come from waters with low pH.

I'm more curious as to you kH, gH as well as the pH with wood in the tanks.

your discus, rams and apistos must love you for sure star_rider. even with wood and all that jazz i never could get my ph lower then 6.