peat moss

[sasikan]

hi i read some ware that you have to boil your peat moss before adding it to your fish tank /filter i have never done this, what does it do and is it ok not to boil?

 

[Mike Wise]

I have never used peat moss; only sphagnum peat - a very different substance. I don't boil my peat. Instead, I circulate water through the peat and use the blackwater in my tanks. One gets much better control of water values in this way.

 

[Microman]

I have used moss peat for years, regularly running my RO water through it prior to introduction to my tanks.
Ive never bothered to boil any form of peat, no need...
Mark...

 

[gerald]

Mike, Please explain how they're different and why it matters to fish keepers. I always thought "peat moss" is Sphagnum, and the product labelling just depends on whether the moss is in long fluffy strands or ground up fine and compressed. I do understand that "peat" in the soil-science sense refers to the mucky brown topsoil that forms from any partially-decomposed plant matter (not just sphagnum) in saturated/anaerobic soil.

I have never used peat moss; only sphagnum peat - a very different substance.

 

[Microman]

You are right Gerald... In the UK we have Sedge Peat and Sphagnum Peat moss, Aquarists tend to use the latter.

Sphagnum moss is the moss that lies on top of peat bogs, its not actually peat.
Mark...

 

[sasikan]

thanks for the info, i am trying to lower my ph with peat moss ,will sphagnum peat do a better job?

 

[tjudy]

Long fiber sphagnum moss is the precursor to sphagnum peat. In order to become peat is has to decompose a bit. I use the long fiber stuff in aquariums as substrate for egg scatterers and to fill caves for cave spawning species (try it... the fish love it). THe long fiber stuff does not acidify the water as well as peat does.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I don't boil it either, I use the "sphagnum peat in a pillow case" method I got from Microman.

There is a much fuller explanation of the process of peat formation, ion exchange and why not all peats are equal, in this thread: <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/showthread.php?11247-Another-Peat-Filtration-Question>

cheers Darrel

 

[Bilbo]

I use the standard garden peat which looks like brown fibrous dirt to lower the pH and create black water when required.

I use sphagnum moss in the same way I would use java moss. It sinks and looks like a bunch of dead twigs and leaves in miniature. It is great stuff for breeding tetra's or rasbora's. The water goes more yellow than brown but sphagnum moss seems to be great stuff for growing micro organism's to feed tiny fry. The sphagnum works really well in an apisto breeding tank also. Like most of the others I don't boil either of them before use.

 

[killiguy]

As a killi keeper I always assumed boiling the peat helped saturate it so it doesnt float all over he place when put in containers for the fish to spawn in.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

As a killi keeper I always assumed boiling the peat helped saturate it so it doesnt float all over he place when put in containers for the fish to spawn in.

I think you've got it and that is almost certainly is where "you need to boil it" came from originally.

cheers Darrel