Re: peat and soft water

[IDMiamiBob@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-02-21 08:59:58 EST, you write:

<< pH 7.4, 140 ppm, buffered to the point that even
> in careful experiments with absurd amounts of acid, it always bounces
> back to pH7.4).
> The result? In 24 hours, I had a pH of 5.8 and a measurement of 10 ppm.
> I know from keeping delicate killies that the garden centre peat I'm
> using is clean of insectides, fertilizers, etc. 
> It seems too easy. Any comments?
> -Gary >>
>>

I am curious about the color.  I'm sure it is pretty dark.  Anyone know
whether adding a box filter full of carbon to clear it up would have a
negative affect on this now wonderfully soft, acidic outcome?  If not, maybe
we can build our own de-ionizing units out of spare aquariums (Anyone else
have one of those?) without figuring out what to do with all the sodium or
pottasium they tend to leave.  I got nine cubic feet of Canadium sphagnum for
$8.00 last summer.  At that price it would also be cheaper.  Put the peat in
some kind of cloth bag (They sell small bags for filmedia at my LFS), set the
tank up high, or even up in the attic, and drain it into your Apisto tanks as
you need it.  When it starts to get a little tint, change the carbon.  When
the pH or hardness goes up, change the peat.  After a while, you would have a
feel for how long the set-up works without fiddling with it.

I suspect the pH would eventually reach somewhere between 4 and 5.  This may
sound low, but I've heard of Apistos being found at that level in the wild,
and also that some of the tetras that occur with them in the wild won't spawn
at any pH higher than 5.  So that would be okay.  Or, you could mix it with
your Montreal tap water to get the level you are looking for.

Bob Dixon