Peat

[D.J]

Hi, does anyone know how to use peat?
My ph is 7.23 and I am trying to get it down to about 6.8
Peat was suggested to me, but I am not to sure on how to use it.
My questions are:
1. how much peat for 150 litres tank?
2. how long do they stay in the filter for before having to replace it?
3. will the ph go up & down when you use peat as ph minus does?

Any input will be good.
Another thing that I also like to know is activated carbon.
Do they work as efficient if I just hang them inside the tank or is it better to put them inside the filter?
As I only have a cannister filter it's going to be a pain if I have to open it to remove the carbon every 2nd week.

Thanks Guys,
Donald.

[Mattzilla]

peat will help soften your water and lower the ph. i have used it in the past and it has worked well. i put it in a mesh bag and just had it hanging in my water storage container so that the water going into the tank was pre treated. i also have done the same thing with carbon. in fact i am doing it right now because sydney water is pretty ordinary at the moment. carbon helps to removes heavy metals, chemicals and so on from your water. you can put both in your canister filter if you like but i think it is too much fusshaving to change that way. when i have used peat moss i have used a large handful each time to treat 75ltrs of water per day, and i changed it once a week. with crabon i have used the same amount and changed it about every 3 or 4 weeks. if you don't change carbon it begins to leach the nasties back into the water. if you don't change the peat it loses it's effect.

i hope that all makes sense....lol

hth
matt

[Mattzilla]

one other thing, peat will stain your water because of the tanins, but on the flip side you can also use carbon to remove the staining effect.....so the two work well together.

[Proteus]

if you can get your hands on some Sera peat granules you will be on a winner...

very good stuff IMO, just add a small bit cause it can be concentrated.

[D.J]

Thanks for the advise guys,
I got my self Sera super peat the other day, and I am going to start using it tomorrow.
Just another quick question, once the peat looses it's effectiveness will the ph goes up? or will it stay?

[Escher]

Just keep an eye on that pH, as my went down as low as 5.0. (used in a canister filter).

[Mattzilla]

i think it does lower the ph more when put inside a canister filter. maybe try hanging it in a bag in your tank first and then see the results...

[Proteus]

Just add a really small amount at first, as it is highly concentrated and I have made the mistake before of being heavy handed and loading too much in only to find my pH dropped from 6.8 to 3.8 in 48hrs.

Once you get the amount correct it will last a many months as it is a natural product.

I used mine in a HOB filter (AquaClear) as it was readily accessible, I would go with the option of hanging it in an area of the tank with some water movement, instead of in a canister.

[D.J]

Thanks for the input guys.
I am going to start today with just a small amount hang inside the tank.
My ph is currently @ 7.18, I will closely monitor the ph for the next couple of days. As soon as I find it drop below 6.8, should I remove the peat or just reduce it by a small amount and monitor the ph again?

Donald.

[weird]

Hi, I have another post in regards to lowering ph naturally, and peat was mentioned.

One question I have is, if you are using peat ... and you do a 25% water change, and the ph in the new water greatly differs, are you susceptible to giving your fish ph shock until the peat lowers the ph of the water added ?

[Proteus]

best bet is to try and get both the new water and existing water as close as possible...

however if your tank is 6.6 and the new water is 7.0, just add it very slowly and it will equalise, based on a 25% partial water change the final pH should be around 6.7 (this is just an example, not exact)

[sunshinediscus]

Peat is best used packed inside a cannister filter on the water treatment tank, the amount to use will depend on your water hardness and the quality of the peat. Good peat has a very low ph value and will also lower your conductivity. German peat ie sera peat is effective but imo very very expensive and not as good as Canadian peat. I use about 3liters of loose peat to treat around 500liters of water, the conductivity before hand is 150ms and ph about 7.5, after treating conductivity is around 100ms and ph about 6 to 6.4. More peat will lower those levels and obviously less peat will give higher results so some experimentation will be required to find what works best for you. Easy to tell when peat is no longer usefull.....it no longer decreases the conductivity. Replace with fresh peat. Its not true that all peats discolor water as i have tried aquatronics peat pebbles and the water was perfectly clear and the color is no indication of the quality of the peat. Although as noted by others peat will mostly stain the water varying degrees of brown. If you want to get canadian peat call an orchid or carnivorous plant specialist.

[kalebjarrod]

isn't it funny how in this case canadian peat works well in others opions, yet if your growing plants (garden variety) you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole

as for active carbon will carbon remove useful trace elements and co2?

i have my suspisions but would like clarification?

[weird]

I have read that carbon will negate peats ability to soften water. Also carbon absorbs a large portion of the many nutrients in plant fertiliser products.

[flukes]

Thats why carbon should only be used when needed. For removing meds or if there is something in the water that may be toxic.
Also it must be replacedd often.

In a barebottom tank i keep carbon in the filters 24/7, it is changed about every 1-2weeks and does a great job.