# Peat set up



## clau74 (Apr 21, 2012)

Hi , 
Peat is good for filtering water, but for a planted tank is not ok, use herbal supplement ? ph and gh not lower than using peat, a little. Use rocks in the aquarium?
How much use RO water?


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## ohbaby714 (Feb 23, 2011)

Ok, i think i went through this last year.
My ro water is about 6.8-6.9 and i want it a bit lower so i try experiment with peat.
First i bought some of the peat sticks ( the one they feed koi in pond), put them in mesh bag and leave them in filter.
Result was not good, after a while it turn bad, smell bad, and did bad thing to my water
Next, i tried borneowild humic. My water was 6.4-6.6.....It's very good but also expensive. I have 3 tanks and not about to spent $60 for them every 5-6 month.
Then i found the solution, i found sera super peat. Bought 2 boxes on flea bay for less than $20 shipped.
I put them in a small mesh bag and leave them in my fluval305. Water measure at 6.4-6.6 just like humic.
Have not change it yet for a month now but it's cheaper that i probably change them often.
Very happy with it and a simple solution for me.


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

- Get a tall vase, 
- Fill it half full with dry peat moss bought from garden centres (make sure you get fertilizer-free type).
- pour boiling water enough so all peat are soaked (may need to stir since some will float, if you pour slowly then most will be soaked)
- wait until water is cold to the touch.
- Cut a piece of NEW panty hose, then "put it on" the vase's opening.
- Pour the water out and peat will end up in the panty hose.
- Compact the peat in the panty hose a bit and tie a knot on the open end. This should form a ball shape. I make mine the size of a softball.
- Get a bucket filled with aged tap water or whatever water you will use for water change, gently squeeze the "ball" in the water until the water gets completely dark (shouldn't take more than 20 seconds).
- Put a lid on the bucket, and give it a day.
- After a day or two, put a small HOB with just filter floss and filter the water until you're happy with the clarity.
- Done.

I use 1 ball to treat 2 gallon tank and it should last 5 to 10 buckets of water.

My tap water from sink:
PH 7.8, GH 8, KH 5, TDS 170

After the peat treatement
PH 6.2 - 6.5, GH 4, KH 2, TDS 100

(stop telling me peat does nothing to TDS, GH or KH, try it yourself)

You can do a second squeeze or age it in bucket longer or use more than 1 ball to further lower the PH/GH/KH. 

I call this Poor men's RO (well, RO isn't that expensive), you don't even need to add as much mineral back comparing to RO. The downside is it take some time and a bit of work, not a problem if you only need a few gallons a week and a great way for people who can't get a RO system. I've been using this method for all my shrimp tank WCs. Now I have a RO system, I add 10% to 20% of this water to RO to adjust PH and somewhat TDS, then do the WCs.

Yes, the water is a bit coloured but all my tanks have UGF and it clears up after 20 minutes, what colours the water (tannin/humic etc) is good for shrimp anyway.


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## ohbaby714 (Feb 23, 2011)

Wow, that's a lot of work.
Sera super peat did not turn my water yellow. Plus i use purigen so there are usually clear.

I'm super lazy so RO machine been good for me.


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

ohbaby714 said:


> Wow, that's a lot of work.
> Sera super peat did not turn my water yellow. Plus i use purigen so there are usually clear.
> 
> I'm super lazy so RO machine been good for me.


Yeah, it's some work but a ball lasts 5 to 10 WCs for me so it's not too bad when I didn't have a RO system and my back refuses to carry anything heavy from the supermaket, and it has been working well for me.


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## ryantube (Jan 8, 2012)

Thanks for the explanation. 
But it looks like you use peat to treat water before adding to the tank, not putting peat directly into a canister.

Can I put the ball of peat inside my eheim canister?




randyl said:


> - Get a tall vase,
> - Fill it half full with dry peat moss bought from garden centres (make sure you get fertilizer-free type).
> - pour boiling water enough so all peat are soaked (may need to stir since some will float, if you pour slowly then most will be soaked)
> - wait until water is cold to the touch.
> ...


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## ohbaby714 (Feb 23, 2011)

That is how i do it.
I put mine in a small filter bags (about 2 handfull) and leave it in my Fluval 305.


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

There are many ways of doing it but I prefer the water is treated before they go into the tank. Adding any form of peat in the filter means as peat wears off your PH will go up, and when you add new your PH goes down. As observed, the range can be close to 2 degree so I myself try to avoid that. That said, active substrate or at least inert substrate are a better choice for shrimp tank for that reason (no PH/TDS swings). There is no right or wrong here.


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## Mr. Appleton (Jul 1, 2011)

We have been using a 1G poland spring water jug (or any jug). Cut away the bottom of it and turn it upside down so it looks vaguely like a funnel, drill a couple of holes in the cap to let out the water, stuff some pillow floss down near the bottom to catch loose particles, and pile on several inches of peat moss. It's a crude filter, and we just directly pour water through it into a bucket/tank. It's very fast and takes down the pH of our city water from ~9 to ~6. Have to replace the peat every 20 or so gallons of water you pour through, but it's pretty easy.


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## ryantube (Jan 8, 2012)

Mr. Appleton said:


> We have been using a 1G poland spring water jug (or any jug). Cut away the bottom of it and turn it upside down so it looks vaguely like a funnel, drill a couple of holes in the cap to let out the water, stuff some pillow floss down near the bottom to catch loose particles, and pile on several inches of peat moss. It's a crude filter, and we just directly pour water through it into a bucket/tank. It's very fast and takes down the pH of our city water from ~9 to ~6. Have to replace the peat every 20 or so gallons of water you pour through, but it's pretty easy.


This seems like a good option. Not sure why I have pH rebounce even though I use FSS and inert sand.


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## plamski (Sep 25, 2009)

I just replaced my Eheim peat and did measurements.
20gal long, PH without peat 7.0.After adding 1/2 men fist size peat in to the canister PH drop to 6.1 .It will stay 6.1-6.2 for 5-7 days then ph will go to 6.6-6.7 for 3-4 and will stay there for 12-15 days. Then back 6.9-7 after 2-3 more days. One box Eheim peat $9 will last 10 replacements-9-11 months.
I'm using RO PH6.5 after one week in a bucket it drop to 4.8-5.2.problem is my Eheim 2215 filled up with Eheim Bio media 4-5L of it. Looks like it buffer water to PH7
Substrate ADA Amazonia old -2 years old-no buffering at all.
In other tank with 1 year old ADA PH stay at 6.7 .


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

That is a temporary fix. I would get a RO unit or buy some 5g jugs and go to wally world and use there RO machine


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Mr. Appleton said:


> We have been using a 1G poland spring water jug (or any jug). Cut away the bottom of it and turn it upside down so it looks vaguely like a funnel, drill a couple of holes in the cap to let out the water, stuff some pillow floss down near the bottom to catch loose particles, and pile on several inches of peat moss. It's a crude filter, and we just directly pour water through it into a bucket/tank. It's very fast and takes down the pH of our city water from ~9 to ~6. Have to replace the peat every 20 or so gallons of water you pour through, but it's pretty easy.


Just did this, brought my 8.2 pH tap water (was 7.2 until recently) down to 6.2. I'm going to have to mix with some 8.2 tap water to get it higher. My neo's and Tigers especially aren't digging the 8.2. Hoping a 50/50 mix will get it near 7 and make the tigers and neo's happy. Got a HUGE bag of peat for like $6. Should last for a while until I can get a RO until.

Just tested, it's taken my 8.2pH 8gH 240 TDS tap water to 6.2pH 5gH 135 TDS. Perfect Crystal water. lol. I took a container, cut a hole, put floss in the bottom, then carbon, then a phosphate absorbing pad, ammonia absorbing pad (I bought tonnes of these at Big Al's at 75% off a while and never used them) so it should be removing any phosphates in my local water and nitrates in the water, carbon removing anything bad as well. Beats having to buy RO jugs right now and lug them up 3 flights of stairs and the waste of 4-1 for an RO unit is putting me off one, we use too much water at our place as it is and pay a premium for the amount we use. Going to setup a 10gal with some inert sub and water and try some low grade crystals in it.


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## Jess and Cichlids (Jan 3, 2013)

randyl said:


> - Get a tall vase,
> - Fill it half full with dry peat moss bought from garden centres (make sure you get fertilizer-free type).
> 
> 
> How much did you actually add? i have a twenty gallon tank, and my ph is at 7.8. i would like for it to be around 6.4-6.8. i will be adding peat to my biowheel carbon filter, where i am taking out the carbon and replacing it with the peat. how much?


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

Hi Jess, I replied your PM, didn't know you were referring to my old post ;-) Check GeToChKn's thread : http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=175620&highlight=peat+treated+water

The tall vase way, I use about just 2 hand full, or make a softball size ball. The tall vase way is doable if you don't have many tanks. Otherwise, check GeToChKn's method or derive your own modified method.

PS: don't use the first few squeeze. it may be too strong.


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## pinoyghost2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I have a 3ft long planted tank which my plants are growing like crazy in.
My PH in this tank is below 6, can't even test how low because I don't have a meter, just the test kit which doesn't go below 6.

I keep and breed my Taiwans in this tank. Here is how I set it up.

I put a layer of Shult'z Aquasoil on the bottom (this is a clay based soil, I think you can get it in CA as Turface?) on top of this I used a layer of Shultz Peat Moss (its the finer stuff, not chunks like Laguna Peat Moss)...wetted down with a little water to make sure it didn't float. On top I put an additional layer of the Aquasoil enough that the peat moss will not come/show thru. Fill the tank up slowly by pouring water thru the sponge filter so as not to disturb the soil setup.

I becomes a sandwich  but it has a great effect on the PH levels and produces great plants. I use RO/Mixed water in this tank and have CO2 on it too, but even in another tank without RO and CO2 the PH is 6 or below.


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