henward Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 nitrate climbed when peat was used. and its a catch 22, nitrate goes up, the more peat i use, water browns but i have to replace water more to dilute the nitrates. so..... kinda useless lol i think indian almond leaf is better in this browning, it doesnt increase nitrates like peat does! shame, peat is cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Wait...Which nitrate test are you using? Because all the ones I've had the higher the nitrates the more yellow/brownish the water after you add the reagents. Remind me again what color peat turns water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 peat in a test tube won't be that bright yellow. Even if there is a pale yellow to the tank. The soln. turning shades of red is an indication of elevated Nitrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 yeah my water wasnt that dark, just a yelliwhs tinge the water in a test tube was definitely clear to the eye. test kit turns into orage towards dark red if nitrate is high found nitrate was higher when i put peat, my nitrate is always extremely low, but went up suddenly overa period of 3 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Only worry past the 40ppm zone. Test the water out of the tap and see what that reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 tap is almost unreadable to be honest in my area. very light orage oderline yellow. probably 5ppm max. my tanks are always around 15ppm or below. 20 plus is high in my tanks. thats probably why my plants dont do too well 40 seems a bit high IMO, i want rapid growth as fast as possible especiallyw ith the clowns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 The water supply is required to be below 11.3mg/l (ppm w/v) to meet the water supply guidlines from the Ministry of Health and suppliers would be aiming way below that for a safety factor. Are you sure there are no fertilizers in your peat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 i called yates and they said its pure peat no additives, out of the ground into the bag. i looked at it and there is nothingt but peat. in gridients said nothing else. but yeah, did bump it up. its ok, no biggie, stopped using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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