Does peat lower KH or pH?

[Sumpin'fishy]

My KH in my aquarium was dropping to below 3.0 and I wanted to raise it, and added a bit of crushed coral. It worked, but with the added KH, the pH as correspondingly risen (as expected). Is it senseless to add peat in an attempt to lower the pH while keeping a decent KH? I want to lower the pH about .2 degrees while keeping the KH between 4 and 5. Is this possible? or do crushed coral and peat cancel each other out?

[carpguy]

Hmmm… its one of those d@mn chemistry questions…

First of all, you're fine tuning. There is no real need to nudge your pH .2 of a degree(?, what is the pH unit BTW? anyone, anyone…) The natural daily swings from photosynthesis are that big or bigger…

The peat adds acid to the mix that will eat into the buffer, reducing it. The pH will sink with the KH. Or you could just take out some coral and let the KH slip on its own without all the extra work. Or you could let some CO2 do your pushing for you.

One of the virtues of the crushed coral (over the baking soda, etc.) is that you have a ready supply in the water already. If the water starts to get too acidic the coral will dissolve faster and then slow as you once again near the balance point. So you have a backup for your buffer: I think you could safely take out enough coral to let your KH slip back towards 3 -- its being replenished as it gets used up and 3 isn't especially low.

But then, chemistry really isn't my bag (I'm not a chemist, I just play one on the net…), all information is subject to correction or clarification :D .

[Faramir]

I raised this question a few weeks ago.

I think we concluded that yes, peat will lower the KH, but it will also lower the pH directly.

So adding peat will lower the pH and KH, but the pH drop is more than just from the KH drop.

[Sumpin'fishy]

Well my pH only got down to about 6.9 without crushed coral in it and using DIY CO2. I cannot afford a "real" CO2 system yet, so that is out of the equation for now. The thing is, I'd like a 6.6 to 6.7 pH (don't mind a bit of a swing from morning to night) but I can't allow my KH to drop low enough to get there. At 2.9 KH I had (maybe) 6.9 pH, lowest! 7.0 is pretty regular, though. I currently have around 14ppm CO2 and 5.8 KH (will remove some more CC) and a 7.1 pH. I'd like to keep a decent KH while lowering the pH, if possible.

From what I have heard I may be able to do this if I have a little CC and Peat in the filter. Is this correct? Or will they defeat each other? Also, I don't want much fluctuation once I get the figures right. My Crypts are already letting me know about the KH rise! Funny how we all want our cake and eat it too!:D I may be just dreaming here!:rolleyes:

[plantbrain]

A more basic question: why would you add peat in the first place?

You can add a little bit to the substrate, helps reduce some compounds and help root growth.

Beyond that, the rest of the use would be for Apisto breeding and fish issues etc. A little will not do much to a tank's CO2 etc.
Regards,
Tom Barr

[RENEGADE]

ok i have high ph 7.8-8.2 i'm going to go get peat but where and what do i ask for? how much do i need(for a 10gl) and how much should i expect to pay?

[plantbrain]

Home Depot, garden centers etc, Scott's brand etc.
Ground peat, some folks use the loose peat moss, run the water through the peat and save and use.

This is not for the plants is it? Cause this is not going to help you much at all.
This is what Killi and Apisto folks do. You can run it through carbon to remove the color and leave yourself with low GH/KH water that's not tea colored.

But I'll say it again, this is not going to grow your plants any better. They only care about the CO2 levels.

Don't get hung up on the dogma that plants prefer softer water. If you remove the GH which are plant nutrients, this is going to be worse than hard water.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[Sumpin'fishy]

I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm trying to micro-manage my tank. Micro-managing is NEVER a good thing! I think I'll just let it ride.....

[plantbrain]

Just work on CO2, NO3, PO4, K and the traces if the plants are the issue.
KH and GH are excess so no worry there.


Regards,
Tom Barr

[Sumpin'fishy]

I have been most worried about my Crypts, which are quite melted! I am doing OK with everything else. I'm sure once I stabilize everything they will return, but how long does this take? Just estimate in general. Week....month?

I did a large water change and added all the DIY ferts to the water today (first time for some of them, like Epsom Salt). Anyways I have also upgraded from 40 watts over my 20 gallon to now having 70 watts total over it. I had two 20 watt Flourescent bulbs (5500K, and 6500K) and just added two Compact Flourescent screw in bulbs (6500K). They are not the curly kind, but have 3 straight U-bulbs in each "cluster". They even came with a moisture cover that keeps water off bulbs. They are made for Light posts. I have heard that because they shine light into themselves and in other directions, I figure I have about 3w/gallon, and will call it even!

The good news is that after the water change and dosing of ferts, I got my first sight of pearling!!!:cool:

I'm going to keep close watch on my dosing and have taken notes on what I've added of each fert. I will check levels daily and add accordingly for the first week. Then I should know my regime for my tank. I'll continue to monitor levels weekly after that! Thanks for insight everyone!

[plantbrain]

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/fert/est_index/est_index1.html

Regards,
Tom Barr

[RENEGADE]

This is not for the plants is it? Cause this is not going to help you much at all.

no, my ph is 8.0(at the tap!) and i want tetras!(BTW i've tryed ph 7.0 and it didn't work)

[plantbrain]

I kept and bred tetras, Cardinals and Rummy Noses, in SB which has worst(harderwater) tap than LA(KH 9, GH 24). Tap pH doesn't mean a whole lot for a CO2 enriched tank.
If I can bred them, I think the hardness while it may improve fry yields, is not as big of a key as folks like to think.

Food, O2, good stocking level etc are the prime important factors. Total salt content is more important than pH for just about all fish. pH moves around and is influenced by many things in nature and in out tanks. If you wish to bred Apisto's, raise wild stock etc, you might want to blend with RO, at least you drink the RO, try that using peat water:-)

But the peat and softer water does not help the plants. It's only for a few fish species/breeding

Regards,
Tom Barr