using peat to lower pH

[bacalao]

How exactly do you go about adding peat to your filter to lower pH?

Do you just get the bags of dried peat moss at the garden center and use that? Need to wet it with boiling water first?

I was thinking of just filling a knee-high stocking with it and hanging it in my 50g sump. Will that work?

 

[gmh]

I wish I could answer that question. It is hard to find a 'formula' for exactly how to use peat to lower PH.
I have heard you have to boil it first, then add to the filter, and I've heard you just put some in as is. And I have never heard a of a speciific amount to add to a filter with regards to tank size, etc.
It seems to be hit and miss, more art than science. My method for softening so far has been to simply add a fraction of distilled water to my tap water with every water change. That way I know exactly what I am getting into.

 

[bacalao]

Thanks. I have an automatic water change system set up, and I think I'll try putting a sock full of peat into the 25g tank where the water ages before dripping into the sump. That way there won't be a sudden change and I can keep an eye on it.

 

[silentskream]

drsfosterandsmith.com sells "peat plates" which are pressed peat for planted aquariums.. they float cuz they're dry, but i usually just bury some of those under the gravel and rocks and things to weigh them down until they sink on their own.

 

[echoofformless]

I use Sera Super Peat. It's highly concentrated in pellet form. I drop it into a media bag, place it in the filter, and let it work.

Basically the amount you use and how long it lasts depends on the water it's going into. My water in Philadelphia used to be super hard and alkaline so I would use a good cup and a quarter and that would last about a month and a half.

Now the water has changed to a neutral and so I use only a cup and it lasts for about two months.


The effect is so gentle that you really don't need to worry about the big "monitor that pH and hardness!!" scare crap. Unless you use so much peat that your water is literally like black tea, it will only lower the pH very slightly and very slowly. And it really doesn't make it unstable in my experience. It would take a lot of peat and a lot of time without water changes to reduce the hardness so much that the buffer is weakened.

I love my peat filtration. It isn't as much for the pH/hardness effect as it is for the the way it adds humus/tannin to the water. The fish and plants who are said to prefer soft, acidic waters respond quite favorably to it. My harlequin rasboras are literally ruby red since I started using peat. Plus it acts as a light antiseptic and antimicrobial so it assists (very little - but every little bit helps) in staving off fish diseases and blue-green algae.


Help any?

 

[bacalao]

Yes, thanks!

I'll probably wait to do this until the last fish are out of QT and into the main tank, so I don't have to worry about differences in water chemistry b/w my QT and display tanks, but I'm definitely giving it a try!