Peat

[Iceblue56]

Hello
I have been doing wild african cichlids for 3 years now and just recently cleared out an 80 gallon for discus, now i knew that i would have to start completely over and change everything about that water.
so some one told me about peat granuals, so i tried them and put them in the filter bags and in my canaster filter,(is this how it can be used and will this really soften and acidify my water)?
i started over and emptied out my tank and put R/O water and tap in it. and had the peat in the filters but it is still running about 7.4-7.6 PH and about 150-200PPM hardness. i dont have any fish yet i am waiting tell i can get this all stabilized.

[Ben]

Iceblue56

Welcome to the discus forum.

You have done the right thing by adding the peat into your filter but it must not be working as good as it should.

How many litres per hour is the filter?

And how much peat did you put into the filter?

If you have an RO unit this will make lowering the GH very easy and in turn the PH will lower.

Let me know about the above details.

Ben

[Iceblue56]

Hello ben
i am using the peat granuals made by fluvalve, i have them in a filter that is 210 GPH and another filter that is 250 GPH, and then i just have another filter on their that is 350 gph. unfortunatly being in college i dont have the money to by expensive discus and an RO unit, so i have to just buy RO water,.
it is a good amount of peat granuals that i am using.

[FishLover]

You may want to make sure there is nothing in the tank that changes your PH level (gravel, deco...)

[Iceblue56]

i might try different brands of peat, but i will continue to just to water changes with R/O water. the only decor that are in there are 2 pieces of drift wood, some granite rock, and then 8 live plants, and a silica based white sand.

thanks for the replies

[G-1000]

Yeh mate, Ben is right. The RO unit would be a much easier (but expensive way to do it).

G

[Merrilyn]

That granite rock might be the problem.

'Test your tap water straight as it comes out of the tap, after standing in a clean glass for a hour, and tell me the readings.
For the moment, I'd remove the rock, and see if that makes a difference to the tank. Adding RO water to the tank at water changes will only dilute what's already there. If the rocks are making the water hard, then you're fighting a losing battle, no matter how much RO water you add.

Are you able to stand the rocks in a bucket of tap water for a few days, and see if there is a difference in the pH and hardness of the water. That will certainly prove if the rocks are affecting the hardness.

[Iceblue56]

Hey Ladyred
i have gotten the hardness down a little it is at about 8 degress hardness. which somewhere i read that discus are fine in that but it should go down as i add more R/O water.
now the Ph and the KH are a diff story. i hav been adding the discus buffer to my tank to drop the PH, but then i read this artical on a diff discus forum and it says not that adding the discus buffer is very bad becuase.....KH is a natural buffer and adding more discus buffer to the water made my alkalinity sky rocket. so i think im just gunna have to to a few water changes with R/O water and a little tap water to keep it stable.
when i bought the rocks i got them cause the people said that the rocks wouldnt change the water chemistry. but i will let my water set and test it.

[marg]

For those of you with questions regarding Peat :

I went to my local Bunnings Store and informed them that I wanted some Peat for my tank - they showed me a brand called Killarney Peat Moss. This Peat comes from the Southern Highlands of NSW.

The Salesman was really helpful and even rang the manufacturer for me who assured him that there are no additives to this particular brand, so I purchased a pack - $4.20 for a 5 litre bag. Pretty reasonable Price I thought.

Hope this helps anyone looking for it.

Regards,

Marg.

[rtraher]

That was helpful, although I went to my local Bunning's (in Victoria) and they don't carry that brand (maybe it's just in NSW Bunnings?). Does anyone in Melbourne know any outlets that sell the same product? It seems the peat (from peat swamps) market has been taken over by coconut husk derived peat (aka: coir, coco peat, palm peat). Does anyone know any suppliers of 'real' peat in Melbourne or does anyone use the coconut peat?

Cheers,
Russel

[Ben]

Hi Russel,

i would not recommend using coconut peat as it is better used for horticulture.
Peat used must come from sphagnum moss.

I have a contact some where for a 200 litre bale's of sunshine peat imported from Canada, which apparently is the best stuff to use for fish/discus.


Ben

[rtraher]

Hi Ben,

Do you know if it's a 200 litre compressed block or a loose bag? That would turn into quite allot of peat if it's compressed. I would be interested in the contact. I've got a wild pair and would like to use the peat in their filter so they feel at home.....

Thanks,
Russel

[spotted]

Hi all,

Have been reading this post and very interest in lower the PH, I when and bough the Killarney peat moss at the local Bunning store today.

I've bag these in a very fine filter bag, but the fume is very stong.

Do you have to treat the peat moss in any way before add them in the tank?.

How much and how long do I leave it in the tank to see the affect?.


Cheers,
Loi. :?

[rtraher]

Hi Loi,

I've not used the Killarney brand before but if it is 100% natural you shouldn't need to treat it with anything. The amount you'll need will depend on you water hardness and volume. If you start off with a small amount and monitor the pH closely and if it starts to drop quickly then reduce the amount of peat. I put a 2cm layer in my trickle filter and the pH lowered from 6.8 to 6 over a 6 day period.

Cheers,
Russel

[spotted]

Thanks Russel,

The package indicated it is 100% natural and I've 1/2 kg bag in my minireef and have constantly check PH and over the 3 days, PH drop from 7.6 to 7.00 and will monitor.

:lol:

[FishLover]

To speed up the process, you can buy one of the cheap cannister filter from eBay(cost about $60 and rated for 350 gph) and put the peat in the fileter. Run it for about 5 to 8 hours you can have your water ready to use instead of aging your water for days. I do that for each of my water change. I just don't have the place to hold water for days. I started with really hot water in a container that holds about 40% water of my fhis tank, run the filter till the water is about the same temp to my fish tank water (takes about 5 to 6 hours, I test PH level to make sure. I also add other things to condition the tap water) Then I start taking water out of my fhis tank, then pump the new water into the tank.

My tap water is 7.5 for the first day, and it goes to 8.3 after 24 hours. You can see how hard my water is. Since I started using peat and processing it for 5+ hours. I'm able to keep my fish tank water around 7.2 to 7.3. No big PH swings.