Peat blocks?

[spinjector]

I have seen occassional references to "peat blocks" being used in planted aquariums. Does anyone know where to buy these? I searched a bit with Google and came up with nill. I am not even sure what they look like or how big they are - in my head I am imagining pieces of peat compressed into something abou tthe size of a deck of cards, but I do not know for sure.

Thanks.

 

[djlen]

What do you need to accomplish with peat blocks?
What are your water's parameters?

Len

 

[Kissofthegorami]

"Jiffy" soil is compressed peat. They come as hard small "silver dollar" sized disks. But all peat expands and breaks apart in water. They will still make a mess. Maybe what you have been hearing of are the big peat blocks sold at every garden center. They are compresssed peat as well (much less compressed). Some people use this in their filters or substrate. I use a thin layer under my flourite and gravel. It does make your water more acid.

 

[spinjector]

What do you need to accomplish with peat blocks?

"Jiffy" soil is compressed peat. They come as hard small "silver dollar" sized disks.

I want it for plant substrate. I used Jiffy pellets once before and the plants loved them. It does take a while for the yellow stain in the water to fade, but I think it's worth it. On Hoa Nguyen's Freshwater Plant Pages, there is mention of these "peat plates". I was thinking they might be easier to use than Jiffy pellets. In the end, Hoa didn't like the peat, but I would definately use it again because my plants liked it so much. I sent him an email asking about them, but he did not reply.

 

[happychem]

What kind of substrate do you have? As a rule, all you need is a light dusting of peat along with some mulm from an established tank (if available). It's just there to provide a little organic matter for the plants until the substrate matures a little with some fish waste and decomposing matter.

 

[djlen]

Some people use peat to soften water, by running their filter's water through it. That's the reason I asked the above question.
If that's not the reason for your interest in the peat, I suggest you do as happychem suggests above.
A dusting in the bottom of the tank is all that is required to aid in the maturation period of the tank.
Peat moss can be messy and IMO, it's not worth the hassle of using blocks. They dis-integrate and get into everything if not properly contained.

Len

 

[Emg]

I have a small 2 gallon for a betta. I put a layer of regular garden variety peatmoss underneath some Echo-Complete substrate in that tank as I wanted to lower my PH.

I soaked the peat good and rinsed it in a collender by putting a layer of paper towels in the strainer first, with the peat on top of that. I got it good and wet and then wrapped the paper towel around it and squeezed most of the excess water out. I then put it on the bottom of the tank with the substrate over that. I filled the tank up very slowly using a glass bowl to prevent the substrate and peat from getting all stirred up. The water was still cloudy and some of the peat came up and floated on the surface, not much though...It's been a day and a half and the water has cleared up quite a bit and it's looking pretty good.

My Ph went from over 8 to about 7.4-7.6....quite a bit better as far as I'm concerned....I plan on trying this with a 20L tank I want to set up as a planted with blue rams.