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I am changing my stocking in my tank around and since all the fish (except for the loaches) will are SA. So i was thinking of lowering my pH with peat since my cardinals and angel would like that a lot. My questions are... is it worth it to do this? My current pH is 7.6 and the water from the tap is rather on the hard side. And for water changes what would I do to add the correct pH? Use one of those rubbermaid bins and store water in them for water changes and add peat to that? I have an extra filter and I could use that to put peat in. Thanks for the help.


Eric

I was using peat for a while with my sa tank. I also have cardinals, angels as well as rummynoses, rams and a few dwarf plecos. I bought spagnum peat moss from Home Depot and used it in my cansister filter. When I went co2 i started phasing it out because my ph was already about 6.6 to 6.8.

Be careful when moving ph around with the cardinals, I just lost a bunch from a ph swing from co2 problems after having them for a year and a half.

My Scapes

Well I have used peat before and my pH will not budge much unless I use a lot of peat and it will probably go down slowly. I use peat granules that are made for aquarium use so I havent had any problems.

I don't know if you have any of the dark malaysian-type driftwood in the tank. That will soften and lower your ph somewhat. You'll also get the brownish tint of a true S.A. tank. If you like that sort of thing. I think with those fish, as with most it's about slow change and stability. The cardinals will be find at a somewhat neutral ph as well, even a little higher.

My Scapes

Eric,

Peat use in your aquarium will only add color if you have a high KH buffer. If you would like to reduce your pH using peat, you might want to run RO through the peat to create a "tea" that you can use for water changes. A mix of the tea and tap water would then be used to gradually lower your pH.

Since RO, reverse osmosis water, is ostensibly pure or lacking in virtually any hardness, mixing the RO with tap water reduces your KH and makes it much easier to manipulate pH.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 18-Aug-2005 14:15

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Driftwood & Peat will lower your ph, but be carefull because if you have a big ph swing, some of your fish might die. I would try with some Peat & see how it goes & always test your water parameters before adding something in your tank.


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Its not a solution compared to long term peat filtration, but tetra blackwater extract is handy and it can be added in small amounts to get the steady ph reaction you may be looking for. Peat filtration is the permanent solution but suddenly adding a bag of it into the filter might cause a sudden reaction, perhaps use blackwater extract to acclimate the fish first? Ive had good experiences with angelfish and many others using it.Granted, it aint too cheap for the amount you get.

Bogwood is great but Id recommend you soak it well first unter a running tap or something for a few days , this helps reduce the immediate leeching of tannins into the water, or you may find that you have a VERY brown tank indeed.