Peat

tyyrlym · Sep 24, 2008

I have hard water where I live, Florida, thanks to a limestone aquifer. I've got 8.0 pH right out of the tap. Given that the fish I enjoy most are almost entirely soft water loving Amazonian species, I've been looking for a way to lower my pH in a natural manner.*

I'm going to be getting some drift/bogwood for my tank but what I've heard so far is that while it does help its not going to dramatically reduce the pH all by itself. What I've also seen is peat filtration be recommended. So I've started to look into it but I've hit a few snags, primarily securing a decent source of peat.

My local hardware stores do have some but its all impregnated with fertilizers. Given that I've been doing my best to remove nitrogenous substances from my tank and fighting a brown algae bloom dumping a load of fertilizer into my tank seems like a bad idea. Online fish store peat nuggets are ridiculously expensive, twelve dollars for less than a pound of nuggets. I'm starting to look into local garden supply shops to see if they sell pure unadulterated peat but it's got me wondering.

If you use peat in your filtration where do you buy it? How long does it take to deplete and need to be replaced? Do you use carbon to remove the staining of the water and if so does it work?**

*I know, the fish can likely be acclimated to the local water and be fine. I still want to lower my pH some, not looking for 7.0 or anything, I would just like to lower it some and do it in a stable method.
**I don't mind the tea staining honestly, just curious.

Colin_T · Sep 24, 2008

If the water is really hard then peat might not change the hardness or PH. Or the amount needed to drop the PH will be completely outrages.
Most peat moss from the hardware will contain fertilisers but they can often order in varieties without added fertiliser. The same applies to nurseries/ garden centres. Big supermarkets like Target and Kmart often have a garden section that sells peat. Possibly check them.
I use “Brunnings Peat Moss” but I don’t know if it is available outside Australia.

Depending on how hard the water is will determine how long the peat works for. In very hard water you might need to replace it every week or two. In average water it might last a month. Big tanks will also need more than small tanks. I often have a bag of it in a water holding tub. This allows me to lower the PH in the tub before I use the water in the tanks. I can adjust the water chemistry to whatever I like and then use that water for the fish. It helps prevent the tank water from fluctuating and I can check the PH and replace the peat when it is needed.

Carbon will remove some of the brown staining (known as tannins) from the water but often it isn’t worth it. The peat releases so much tannin the carbon just gets filled up too quickly. The tannins are fine for the fish and it is believed it helps reduce diseases in the water. Not sure how accurate that is but it’s a common theory.

tyyrlym · Sep 25, 2008

Well I'm going to take a swing at the peat and bogwood anyways to see what happens with the pH. The worst thing that can happen is nothing and I'll be out a few bucks on the peat and only be able to use the wood as a nice decoration. If the tannins will hammer the carbon I just won't bother with the carbon.

I've tried to get some ordered but both Lowe's and Home Depot have told me that unless I'm willing to order an entire pallet of peat they can't get me one or two bags. Local garden supply centers are even worse, wanting me to take 5 to 10 cubic yards of it for them to haul some in. I'm still plugging away looking for some.

Colin_T · Sep 25, 2008

rofl, that's just crazy

even I couldn't use that much peat. But sir I only have one little tank to use it in.
I thought things were easy to get in the states

I would contact a few other hardware stores and nurseries and see if they are willing to order you a couple of bags. Most places here would get you 1 bag if that is all you wanted.

Maybe you should go in and order 50cubic yards of the stuff. Give them a false name and then run like hell