Re: Peat

[Randy or Deb Carey <carey@spacestar.net>]

doug wrote:

  ><snip> The decrease
  >in pH in peat filtered water is almost completely due to leaching of
  >existing tannins from the peat.


The pH and hardness each drop for the following reason.  The "active ingredient"
in peat
exchanges two hydrogens for each calcium. The removal of calcium lowers hardness,
the addition of hydrogen raises acidity (lowering pH).  This is the important
difference between peat and the quasi-softening of household softeners which
exchanges calcium with sodium.

   <snip> As we're getting off-topic <snip>...

I beg to differ.  The topic centers on Apistos and similar dwarf cichlids.
Obviously, to talk about
Apistos we need to talk about the areas that relate to our keeping of Apistos:
food, spawnings,
obtaining & importing, identification techniques, reference material, habitats,
what species are
compatible, what kind of water to produce, how to provide such, et. al.

I think discussion about peat and how it makes water more conducive for
Apisto-keeping is quite
relevant to each of us who subscribes to this list.  If we go off on tangents
from there (like how
peat is produced), then I'll agree that discussion has drifted too far for this
list.  I guess we all have
our lines as to how far discussion should drift.

- --Randy