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L# Freshwater Aquaria
 L# Planted Aquaria
  L# Peat
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SubscribePeat
clownloachfan
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male usa us-pennsylvania
Hello all. My question is about how peat should be put into the filter. I have an Emperor 280. It has a media cartridge. Can i use the media cartridge to hold peat or do i have to buy one of the special filter bags? If so, what should the micron rateing be. Another question. If i am using peat to lower pH/hardness with a rugular dechlorinator w/o buffers instead of using a dechlorinator with a buffer, wouldnt the pH/Gh difference shock the fish during water changes? How long would Fluval Peat granules last between a 29 and 30 gallon tank? I would like to think a few months. One last question, I read that peat has salts in it. Is this true and if so, will it be in a low enouph concentration so my live plants can handle it?
-ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Report 
NowherMan6
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male usa
Hello all. My question is about how peat should be put into the filter. I have an Emperor 280. It has a media cartridge. Can i use the media cartridge to hold peat or do i have to buy one of the special filter bags? If so, what should the micron rateing be.


Filter cartrige is fine, or one of those bags if you have them. The granules are large enough.

Another question. If i am using peat to lower pH/hardness with a rugular dechlorinator w/o buffers instead of using a dechlorinator with a buffer, wouldnt the pH/Gh difference shock the fish during water changes? How long would Fluval Peat granules last between a 29 and 30 gallon tank? I would like to think a few months


Peat is dangerous animal to play with, IME and IMO. If you're certain you WANT to go that route (as opposed to need, because I don't see how anyone can NEED peat) be prepared to monitor things like hardness and pH fairly often. I don't have an exact calculator to figure out what amount of peat lowers pH and hardness in a certain volume of water by what amount, and I don't know of anyone who does, it's just an experimental kind of thing. Actually, if anything turns up in your research please post it here, I'd like to know if such a table exists. Just try not to overdo it, because plants need those traces in the water to grow properly, they need calcium and won't do well at all in water that's too soft.

What you said about the pH/ gh shock is probably true, but again I can't say for sure because I don't know what how much peat will effect the water in the tank, thus how big the shock would be. Certainly not very nice for the fish, I imagine

I can't say for sure how long a certain amount will last, but when i used it way back when, it certainly didn't last a few months, it died out in effect over a period of time, kind of like DIY co2. Look at it this way too: in certain older bits of literature on planted tanks I've read suggestions that peat be used as a lower substrate under regular gravel - but that it needed to be replaced farily often. It was just way more trouble than it's worth.

Sorry, no answers on the salt part of your question. Good luck! %


Back in the saddle!
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
luvmykrib
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female canada
Hi I use peat in both my tanks, it takes quite a bit to lower the pH and the hardness. It will last 1 to 2 months then need to be replenished. I have only just figured that part out. You do need to test pH and hardness regularly and when the hardness starts to go up it is time to change peat. It will actually be good for the plants and you can add trace minerals to the tank, a product called Flourish Trace or if you have cichlids Seachem has a trace mineral for them as well. To prevent shock when changing water and because the water from my tap is pH 7.8 and very hard I add a largish bag (aquaclear 70 refill media bags) of peat loosely not packed tight to the water change buckets, drop in an airstone and let it go, I usually refill the bucket after each water change so it's getting the full benefit of the peat. The water is too soft at any thing under 25 ppm and check kH as well, plants and fish seem to prefer kH 120 according to the test kit I have. Others may have a better answer for that, I have only just started testing hardness and kH.
Another way to prep the water for water changes is to add a product called Blackwater Extract, I haven't tried it yet but it is on my list. Driftwood will also soften water and I'm considering adding small pieces to the water change buckets for a few months before they go into the tanks.
If anyone has the desired KH and GH hardness values that would be very handy as it would give us an idea of how effective the peat is, when to change it etc.
Hope my reply made sense!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
clownloachfan
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Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. What if i just used Seachems Acid Buffer? I was told in an earlier thread that it was not safe. Here is a link to some info on it- http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/AcidBuffer.html. I have a whole bunch of this stuff that has just been sitting around at my home. My taps pH is 7.0 today, but it may be different later(higher). The hardness is -Gh-8. Both are good. I tested a few days ago to see how much acid buffer i would have to add to a bucket of regular water change water to lower the pH by .2. The result came out as 1/16 of a tsp. Say if the pH was 7.4 and i wanted to lower it to 7.0, all i would have to do is add 1/8 of a tsp. This sounds more than safe fore the fish to me. I think i am making this more complicated than it really is though.
-About that blackwater stuff, i was thinking about that too. I was advised not to buy this because it would be cheaper to buy peat. I was thinking of Kent's Blackwater expert. Some info about it at this link- http://www.kentmarine.com/freshwater/bwe.html. 16 oz. treats 1,000 gallons.
Thanks.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
DaMossMan
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male canada ca-ontario
Quick couple of questions here.

Why do you feel you need peat ?

Is your water too hard or are you wanting to keep or breed wild caught softwater fish ? Another reason ?

What kind of fish are in your tank ?



Last edited by DaFishMan at 19-Jan-2006 16:33

The Amazon Nut...
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
clownloachfan
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The ph of my tap can fluctuate throughout the year. Anywhere from 7.0 on up to 7.6 or higher.
The fish i havee range from zebra danioes to rainbows to loaches to otos to angels to plecs to hatchetfish. Different tanks of course. I always want to keep my ph around neutral(6.8-7.2 is good)
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
DaMossMan
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Your fish will be fine in the existing ph.

Better to let fish adapt to your water, then constantly tweaking parameters. Leads to ph swings which does more harm then good for the most part. If breeding softwater fish is a goal there might be a need to 'tweak' if the eggs arent hatching.

DIY Blackwater.
Make your own peatwater in a large container of choice. The airstone with bag of peat works best. Strain before adding. Mix in with regular tapwater during water changes. Simple, easy, inexpensive. Good luck







The Amazon Nut...
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
luvmykrib
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Thanx DaMossMan (fellow Canuck), I have been doing the above in the water change buckets but it hasn't really made an appreciable difference in the hardness of the water. The water from the tap is 300ppm at least. Getting it down to even half that requires a lot of peat. Reducing the pH to even neutral requires a lot of pH adjust and then it bounces right back up again. My plants are showing iron/potassium deficiency and I have to dose every three days at least to stop them from turning yellow. This is the main reason for wanting to lower the GH and pH. To keep the iron/potassium in the water column sufficient for the plants use. Dosing iron is becoming expensive. Using the blackwater extract from Kents will soften the water, allow the pH to go down and keep iron in the water column for the plants to use. Not to mention the fish really do look awesome in the peat water! Great colours, they're active and eating well, behaving like fish should. Honestly when I start to add tank water to the bag when introing new fish the first shot brings out the colours that were not evident at the LFS.
I'll be still using the peat in the filters and changing it regularly as well as dosing blackwater.
Sure my water is perfect for a cichlid tank but I am still a newbie in my mind and want to keep other fish. The recommended pH for the fish I am keeping from the profiles in this site is 6.5 and the GH should be soft. That is what I am aiming for, I'd rather put in the extra work and keep natural conditions for fish that have evolved in those conditions rather than forcing the fish to tolerate the poorer substitute that they have been raised in. That's my rant and I'm sticking to it!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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