Re: pH hell [2nd reply]

["alex pastor" <alexp@idirect.com>]

>Thank you thank you thank you.  What an absolutely marvelous, well thought
>out and well presented reply.  You have confirmed to me what I suspected.
I
>am not a technomaniac but I love it when my fish are doing all the natural
>things that they can do when their environment is comfortable for them.
>
>Your explanation of competing buffers is exactly what I suspected.
>Hallelujah that it has now been confirmed!  I think eventually everything
>will work out just fine.  Sooner or later the competing buffer will
depleted
>due to water changes.  Until that time I will just have to watch the pH
>carefully.  O.K. I'm getting a handle on this.
>
>Question: if I fill a knee-hi stocking (like panty hose) with peat moss
(the
>good stuff from New Brunswick) and put it into an 18 gallon muck bucket
>which I fill with hot water from the tap, do I have to do anything beside
>let it sit in it?  Or do I have to put in some type of powerhead to move
the
>water around?  I have never tried this before, but I went out and bought 3
>cubic feet of the stuff today.  (It's not the dry variety.  It weighs a
ton.
>My cousin 'fixed' his shoulder carrying it home. hehe  (I get goofy when
I'm
>exhausted))  Then after two days will the water be ready for use?
>(Unfortunately I have to keep it in the bathtub - kind of makes it hard to
>take a shower, but I'll do anything to make my fish feel good.)
>
>I have to say though that after I lowered the hardness in one of my other
>tanks (which thankfully did not give me any pH bounce problems) my Golden
>Phantom Tetras developed super bright red-pink caudal regions.  It was an
>overnight phenomon.  Now they don't look anything like the washed out fish
>in the Baensch atlas.  (It says they breed at pH 5.5 GH 1.  I hope that is
>not totally true because the females are absolutely full of eggs.)
>My pygmy corydoras are all over each other all the time.  What a bunch!
>
>So once again, thank you.
>





-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com.
Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!