# having trouble with peat moss etc...



## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Hi Phillip, and welcome  
People usually place the peat under the gravel so they won't float. I personally don't like using it.


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## phillip (May 5, 2004)

i have placed it under the gravel, but for some reason the peat moss is soo fine that some didn't go under the gravel and are now floating.
is it possible for the peat to float through the gravel? or do u think that after these floating peat moss are on top and scooped out then the rest will stay sinking?


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Sorry man, I really have no idea on this. Maybe someone else could help you


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## pauline29 (May 2, 2004)

Adding peat moss to soften the water is a great idea besides giving it a tea like colour which also mimics the origin of these discus.

However, it would be neater and cleaner if you put peat moss in a soft wire mesh or an old pantyhose and left it in yr canister filter. That way it's easier to manage and you don't get debris floating around yr tank. Why is it you have vermiculite with the laterite? Was it premixed or did you add some? Doesn't seem to do much and gives water chalky colour. 

When you do your routine cleaning of filter, you can just add another fresh pack of peat moss and tossing the old one in the garbage. Simple!


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## newmang (Dec 4, 2003)

I made the same mistake. In hindsight I should have waterlogged it before putting it in the tank. But it's terribly difficult stuff to wet. Some people recommend boiling it. In future I will probably try putting it in an old stocking (the wife's!) and keeping it submerged in a bucket for a few days first.

But still, it wasn't fatal. Most still stayed trapped under my soil/gravel substrate and the floating stuff I skimmed off the water surface.








phillip said:


> hello all i am new to this forum.
> i just added peat moss, virmiculite and laterite into my tank to set up for a discus/plant tank. I need to know if anyone used peat moss because when i added it today most of the stuff keeps floating up, i am thinking of syphoning the tank and cleaning the gravel to get rid of the peat moss. I do not know wat to do? will it eventually sink?
> thankyou in advance


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## catnaxis (Jun 17, 2005)

*I am new too*

I just did the same thing with the peatmoss and I do know better in the fact that it is going to float somewhat but I am going to skim what floats off the top....
I should have just put it in my filter like I have in the past Oh well hindsight is always 20/20.....................lol


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

Vermiculite floats too, how did you manage to keep that down in the gravel?


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## catnaxis (Jun 17, 2005)

OK BIG mistake made the peatmoss will NOT stay down.........
time to drain the tank and start over :-S.. All I want is a tank that has loads of plants with 6 discus ..


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

*Mistakes are how you learn!*

So after reading some info on the internet about how peat moss can be beneficial to a planted tank, I stuck about 1-2 inches of it under a layer of flourite in a 10 gallon tank. You know - if anything is worth doing, it's worth OVERdoing - that's my philosophy anyways.... :icon_roll 

On top of that, I was careless about putting the water in, so of course all the peat moss floated to the water column. Man did that suck. I netted it out, put 3 50 gallon filters on it, and finally got it clear after a day. The kitchen looked like a rabbit hole. 

I will never EVER use that much again. 

If you decide to put it in your filter, you still need to soak it first, otherwise the water will form tunnels in it and it won't be as effective given you'll have such reduced surface area.


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

catnaxis - How soft is your water without the peat? Discus will adjust fine up to a pH of 7.0. Discus also do not NEED to be kept at 85 degrees. I keep rummynose, diamond, and ember tetras in my 75 gallon and I do not have a heater or thermometer on my tank. The fish and plants are super happy.  I'd estimate that the water stays around 70 degrees most days. 

The reason people worry about high temps and super soft water for discus is that they will only breed in these conditions. If all you want is pretty fish to look at your options open up a lot as far as water parameters go.


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