peat question

[Mr Burns]

if i add a layer of peat under my eco-complete to make it more acidic, will the peat ever need to be changed? would the acidic shift caused by the peat be the same as could be accomplished with co2 injection? the reason i'm asking is b/c the tonina sp. i'm hoping to get seems to strongly prefer an acidic substrate.

 

[Endgame319]

No, its not permanent. What you could do is use peat as filter media and then change it once in a while. IMO you shouldn't put peat under your eco.

 

[Mr Burns]

i wasn't sure if the effect would be the same as using co2 b/c it sounded like the tonina needs an acidic substrate.

 

[Endgame319]

I dont know what you mean by "acidic substrate", but if you use both co2 and peat as filter media, your water will be acidic enough for the tonina. Eco complete doesn't need anything added to it. Hence the "complete"

 

[Mr Burns]

it'd be like a farm's planting fields having an acidic soil pH.... i just need to know if using CO2 alone will create the proper conditions for the tonina. i really really don't want to have to use peat...

 

[Mr Burns]

nevermind...i finally found some credible info about somebody growing tonina very successfully with just eco-complete. they said the biggest thing is to keep it in direct light, no shading...which is hard b/c other plants around it are fast growers. i'll have to keep the scissors sharp!

 

[Endgame319]

What is your pH now? What about your kH? Unless its unbelievably hard and basic then you shouldn't worry. And its not possible to have the substrate more acidic than the rest of the water column, at least not to my knowledge.

 

[betowess]

Rex use to recommend adding a very slight layer of peat below flourite, to help kick start (iron absorbtion?) the plants. Don't know about Eco, except everybody says its the best. Never used it yet. Also, most plants on land prefer slightly acidic soil, so my wife tell me. She's a horticulturist.

 

[madasafish]

CO2 itself is perfectly sufficient to lower pH. The more CO2 you add, the lower the pH will get! It's a lot easier with a pressurized CO2 system; not sure whether you have a DIY or Pressurized system.

 

[Mr Burns]

it will be a pressurized system...i know co2 lowers ph, but i wasn't sure if the peat did it in a different way that was necessary for these plants, like a different chemical reaction that the roots needed.

 

[madasafish]

I don't think so. But we seldom talk about the pH of soil itself here. It seems that the pH of the medium (water) is more important to the plants. This makes sense, as terrestrial plants in *just* soil must get many of the important ions they need from the soil and the water in it (since they cannot get them from the air), but plants in an aquatic setting can get these ions from the water and the water-logged substrate.

And, the CO2 will be sufficient to supply what the peat would have offered IMO. The main ion that peat gives off is H+ (the hydronium ion so prevalent in peat bogs), and this can be produced with a more acidic water.

 

[Mr Burns]

awesome...that's exactly what i needed to know. thank you!