Re: Peat

[Doug Brown <debrown@kodak.com>]

>With the addition of peat, will it lower the PH and the softness? Is there
>a point
>where the water is too soft for Dwarfs?

Well, I'm new to apistos but not peat moss.

First off, FYI many plant people are avoiding peat moss these days as it is
mined from environmentally sensitive areas.

pH - Peat moss contains fulvic and humic acids (organic acids, also called
tannins) which are nitrogen-containing organic acids. The breakdown of
these acids provides nitrogen, hence peat is somewhat useful as a
fertilizer. The formation of acids in peat can also deplete the oxygen in a
contained area such as a bog. This breakdown will of course also occur in a
fish tank, but providing the peat with more oxygen will provide more acid
formation. Filtering water through a lot of peat will eventually result in
a pH of 3.5-4.5.

Softness - The carbonyl groups in the acids can bind cations, and it has
even been proposed to use giant ion exchange columns of peat to treat waste
water and remove heavy metals. Peat can then somewhat soften water, but it
takes a large amount to have a noticeable impact on the hardness of typical
tap water.

I typically add several tablespoons of sphagnum peat to my filters (for the
appropriate fish). My tap water measures out at pH=5.5, DH=10. If I measure
before and about 3 days after adding peat, there is pretty much no change
in pH (maybe -0.1 units) or hardness (maybe -1 degrees), but the water gets
nice and brown. If you have soft water to start with I'd think peat could
be effective at conditioning it to typical apisto conditions.

- -Doug Brown
debrown@kodak.com