since nzcookie has asked about ph up and down, ill explain why i dont like it.
say your tank water pH is 5.5.
you are not happy with this and so use pH up (or proper) to increase the pH to 7.0. that's fine, but the next time you do a WC, your pH will plummet cause there is no natural buffering in the water.
then after you do your WC - you add some more pH up to stabilise the pH.
so in the mean while, your pH has gone up - down - up, and its done it really fast.
the only right way to use those products in my opinion is to pre treat a large amount of water, and then when you remove water from the tank, add the pretreated water to the tank so there is no change in the pH.
its a great product, don't get me wrong - but 99% of users don't use it correctly - mainly because they either cannot grasp the concept of pH stability and KH and some are not told about how to correctly use it. the instructions on the packet from my understanding assume that the water has a natural buffer once the product has been added.
Use the pondcare wide range pH test kits. they range from pH 5.0 - 9.0
peat does tint the water and make it yellow. some like that (ghastly) colour. i always have a load of carbon in my filters to take it out.