filtering over peat

[brad]

I finally got my R.O running but want to bring my ph down some more. I'm not a big fan of the tea colour you get from filtering over peat and was wondering if activated carbon would remove colour, and if it does, does it also remove the ph lowering properties? Also, we're talking peat...like the dirt....or the "dried" plants? The local Home Hardware offers both.

 

[curviceps]

hi - I use Seachem Purigen instead of carbon. It removes the tea colour without affecting the pH-lowering ability of the peat, plus it leaves the trace elements alone.

I'm am quite sure that this is also the same with carbon filteration (except, not sure about trace elements).

Make sure that you buy pure peat moss with no soil additives or any other additives for that matter!

 

[Randall]

Treating with peat moss

Hello Brad,

Activated carbon will also remove the 'tea' color from peat moss-treated water and not alter its chemistry, although some black water species seem to thrive in the colored water. As curviceps suggests, you want to use pure peat moss with no additives.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Cathy G]

curviceps - I checked with the Seachem people about using Purigen and peat together. Perhaps I didn't understand something, but they told me not to do it. That the purigen and peat will work against each other... do you have any ideas about this? How long have you been using both?
Cathy

 

[Cathy G]

So, I have another question about how peat works. I understand that it softens water; that it will remove gh/kh to some extent. I figured that those properties are how it lowers pH. But, if you have RO water, by definition it already has no gh/kh, how does the peat lower the pH?
Still trying to figure out these things...
Cath

 

[Randall]

Treating water with peat moss

Hello Cathy,

Filtering water though a RO unit does not remove all of the trace elements from the water. A well-functioning unit, however, should remove over 90% of them. Because RO filtered water is so soft, hobbyists will usually reconstitute their filtered water to a level that is appropriate for the fishes they keep. Reconstitution is generally accomplished by adding some tap water to the mix or by adding a proprietary product that will replenish trace elements and carbonates to the desired level.

When treating soft water, i.e. water with low carbonate (KH) levels, with peat moss, the peat releases its humic acids thereby softening and acidifying the water further. As tannins are released as well, in the process the water becomes tea-colored. Some species of soft water fishes are closely associated with black water biotopes and seem to thrive in the stuff, Nanochromis transvestitus and N. wickleri included.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[curviceps]

Hi Cathy

Funny, coz I asked Seachem the same question, and here is the answer from their support forum:

"Although the Purigen will remove the tannins that are coloring the water it should not change the ability of the peat to reduce the pH."

I didn't do a proper control experiment, ie with and without Purigen, to test this, but my pH has been within my requirements, so I took their response at face value.

Regards
Tim

 

[lab]

Although I have never tried it, I find it hard to believe that activated carbon will not raise the pH of peat treated water. The carbon is supposed to remove organic substances and that is exactly what humic acids are; organic acids. In this case color is chemistry.

If anyone has experienced differently, I would like to hear about it. I agree that the conductivity would not be changed.

Lars

 

[Corie Dora]

Also, we're talking peat...like the dirt....or the "dried" plants? The local Home Hardware offers both.

Zephyr peat moss is the stuff that looks like soil. Don't use that. Its from a different type of peat and has been composted first.

"Sphagnum" peat moss is what you're looking for, sphagnum being the key word.

In most areas only the sphagnum type is available retail, and not a lot of people have even ever seen zephyr peat. You must be located closer to the bogs it's harvested from.

 

[Randall]

Peat moss-treated water

Although I have never tried it, I find it hard to believe that activated carbon will not raise the pH of peat treated water. The carbon is supposed to remove organic substances and that is exactly what humic acids are; organic acids. In this case color is chemistry.

If anyone has experienced differently, I would like to hear about it. I agree that the conductivity would not be changed.

Lars

Hello Lars,

Activated carbon does not remove humic acids from peat-treated water; it removes the chemical tannins that give the water its 'tea' color.

Randall Kohn

 

[brad]

Zephyr peat moss is the stuff that looks like soil. Don't use that. Its from a different type of peat and has been composted first. ".

Both bags say 100% Canadian spaghnum peat with no additives. Though the directs for one is to add to soil mix to increase water retention (looks like dirt to me) and the other is to "cover" the soil to give it a nice look or make hanging baskets. It really is like dried moss.

 

[Roach]

I wouldn't touch that stuff mate. If you're in Oz (and I assume by Home Hardware that you are) I got some similar stuff from Bunnings. I've used it as a fertile layer under sand for a semi planted tank and it works well as a substrate but does 3/8ths of FA for pulling the ph down.

I now use the Sera peat granules in stockings and in my 4ftr it dropped it down to around ph4.8 in no time. Lasts for a while too and you can get it cheap from APW

 

[fishgeek]

the amount peat will lower your pH is dependant on how much buffer is in your water
peat having only limited H+ ions to release can not overcome a well buffered system

on the other hand it can take my r/o water to 4 pretty easily

andrew

 

[brad]

3/8ths of FA

I like that expression. lol.

I'm still not sure if it's the "soil" or the fiberous "dried plants" I need.

 

[fishgeek]

peat is partially decayed vegetable matter, often spahgnum moss

either of the products you listed are sounding ok, as long as they have no fertiliser additive's that will increase nitrogen levels i the water once filtered over it

try small amounts of your water with varied amounts of peat to find out ho much affect it has

alternatively boil a handful of peat till you get black water and use this in differing dilutions with your water as test alliquots to see what works for you

andrew

 

[Mike Wise]

I'm still not sure if it's the "soil" or the fiberous "dried plants" I need.

I am presently using the type thay you call "soil", more of a dark brown powdery substance. It works extremely we for me, but is a mit messy. I have used the more fibrous form, too. It works equally well, is less messy, more expensive, and takes longer to drop the pH (probably because there is less surface area per given weight). Just make sure it isn't the greenish fibrous type used for surface mulch on potted plants.