I'm trying to keep my pH and GH low, and having trouble, so I tried adding a little bit of peat (boiled first, but not for long) in a nylon stocking to my filter a few days ago. So far it's been working great (there are no fish in my tank so I don't have to worry about rapid changes, I'm just trying to get parameters just right before adding them). pH has dropped a good amount, though I haven't tested GH yet. Other parameters have remained the same. I do have a question though for anyone who has used peat filtration in the past. The water in my tank now smells like peat! Is this normal for a tank that is filtered with peat? Does that mean I have too much in my filter? I love the smell of peat, but I'm not sure if fish are the same way!
Thanks!