Using peat moss

[showtime]

Hi everyone.I'm wondering if it's safe to use Yates Hauraki Gold Peat Moss in my filter.

I have a high ph and water hardness issue at the moment and peat moss has been recommended to me.

Anyone know?

Thanks

[Sophia]

I used it as a substrate and it was fine but there were bits that floated to the top - would be good in a little bag like a stocking or something. You will of course get brown coloured water too

[Joe]

It clouds the water and makes a hell of a mess.

Sophia, how did you manage to use it as a substrate? Didn't it stir up everytime a fish swam past or you stuck your hand in the tank?

I use it in my plant pots but it is covered with a layer of sand and it isn't a problem.

If you want to lower the pH, try oak leaves, indian almond leaves or elder cones.

Also this peat looks good - http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/vip-aquarium-peat-150g/m/947/

[showtime]

Thanks for your comments.

I'd thought the idea was going to be to put in a small bag and put into my external fluval. But not a good idea then?

To use the oak leaves, just put in a weighted mesh bag I presume. I have a 4 ft tank. A couple of good handfulls do the trick?

[blueether]

Peat shouldn't be too bad, this tank of Stella's uses peat as a substrate

[alanmin4304]

I and others I know have used it in a bag in a filter when breeding fish and it is no problem. As stated, the other things will work as well (add teabags and oak bark). It will make the water brown and is normally used to produce tannins and lower pH.

[Joe]

Thanks for your comments.

I'd thought the idea was going to be to put in a small bag and put into my external fluval. But not a good idea then?

To use the oak leaves, just put in a weighted mesh bag I presume. I have a 4 ft tank. A couple of good handfulls do the trick?

Just boil them for a bit and them put the leaves and water into the tank. They don't need to be put in a bag and don't need to be weighted. The boiling makes them sink. And you might need a bit more than a couple of handfuls...

[Sophia]

I put the peat in and then fine gravel over the top. Bits still escaped and floated though it wasn't cloudy at all. Can't remember how much I washed it first.

Once it was in I didn't vacuum it and there were no plants, it was the very beginning of my bugs/cory/loach tank, the only other stuff on the bottom was leaves.

If you let it soak till the floaters stop coming out then you can use it without gravel on the top.

[showtime]

I've gone a bob each way. The peat moss was put in a stocking and into my filter last night. I boiled some dry oak leaves for about five minutes and put them into the tank this morning. It was a good sized saucepan full.

How long before I would expect to see changes and how often would you suggest testing hardness and ph?

[danval]

I struggled to get my PH to stay stable when using the Peat Moss in the sock trick, with tap water, but was able to get a better result when using rain water.

[showtime]

I always used rain water until about a year ago. I'm going to back to it but it hasn't rained here for a week or so. Driest spell for 2 summers but lets not go there...

[alanmin4304]

Boiling the peat will sterilize it and help it absorb water so it will sink.

[Sophia]

I never boiled my oak leaves, just put them in and they sunk and started colouring the water maybe a week later. If you don't see any colour you might need to put more in as boiling might have taken the colour out. I also think I cooked the peat in the oven first before soaking it. When I put the peat in the water went dark immediately and then got steadily clearer and lighter until I took it out for other reasons. Actually I do remember it was cloudy but cloudy with dark particles that disappeared eventually.

If you want to get to know what happens you could test daily and then if no significant changes drop it back to once a week till you see a pattern or stop worrying about it.

[alanmin4304]

I used to boil the peat and tip the water into a bare tank then put the peat in the filter and set it running on the bare tank. Used the water (rainwater) to breed tetras etc. Got people down here breeding neons in tapwater with peat these days.

[showtime]

The peat moss didn't change the water at all in 12 hours but the oak leave had an immediate effect.

[Sophia]

I used to boil the peat and tip the water into a bare tank then put the peat in the filter and set it running on the bare tank. Used the water (rainwater) to breed tetras etc. Got people down here breeding neons in tapwater with peat these days.

when I collected rainwater from the downpipe off the roof it was already brownish due to leaf matter etc, but it went stagnant after a week or 2. Is that sort of thing OK to use in a tank for fish that like soft water? I presume if it's with a filter it can't go stagnant ??

[alanmin4304]

I used to let it rain for a bit then collect the water into a 200 litre drum. Waiting a bit gets rid of the dust and pollen carried by our famous norwest winds.