EHEIM Torf Peat Pellets are Magic!

[ianeberle]

I've been trying to lower my pH lately using natural methods. I tried Indian almond leaves, but they didn't do anything but darken the water. Then I got some EHEIM Torf peat pellets, put them in my AquaClear HOB, and it dropped my pH from 7.6 to around 6.8 in just a couple of hours. After 24 hours, it's still safely 6.8 without any fluctuation.

EHEIM says to replace the peat every 3 weeks and I used about 1/4 of the box, so I can get about 3 months of this stuff for $15 on Amazon.com.

Another thing that's great is unlike Indian almond leaves, the pine cones or regular peat moss, this stuff keeps the water crystal clear.

Mainly letting everyone know because I've never seen this stuff mentioned before here on this forum

 

[Rivercats]

I've never heard of them before and it's always good to put this kind of information out there for others.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Should soften the water considerably as well. Peat is cool!

 

[starlight682]

thanks for the info with my ph being in the mid 8's i've been trying to lower it naturally with out much success only have gotten it to 8 i'll have to pick some of this up
thank you

 

[ianeberle]

That's what I shared this for! I heard about it on another forum, but I've never seen it mentioned on here... It's officially been mentioned here

 

[Andrew McFadden]

All of the items you've mentioned use to be used a lot back many years ago. As technology grows and we learn more new things people have faded away from them. Almond leaves are not easy to come across at less you know someone that grows them. There are other natural things aswell if you look hard enough but the ones you mentioned are or were the most popular.

I tryed to use peat to lower my ph on my 180 gallon and it would have coated me an ARM and a leg I used 1 whole box and it didn't budge my ph. So that's why o went with fish more suited for my water chemistry. But for a smaller tank it would probably have a big outcome.

 

[ianeberle]

An 180 gallon would be quite excessive with the amount of peat you would need. You'd be better off with a substrate that lowers pH. My tank that I'm using this stuff in is 10 gallons, so it's affordable.

 

[jetajockey]

Glad to see they worked. I'd give it time, it may still tint your water. It even says that it does on the product page. Still a nice product for breeding setups anyhow.

 

[ianeberle]

Glad to see they worked. I'd give it time, it may still tint your water. It even says that it does on the product page. Still a nice product for breeding setups anyhow.

On Amazon, their product description says "keep crystal clear water".

And yeah, I actually needed this to lower my tap pH from 7.6 (yours is probably similar) to 6.8-ish. The cherry shrimp I bought from you did fine in 7.6 but I just got some OEBT shrimp yesterday and they like lower pH. And the OEBT and cherries are getting along quite well! It's hard to get a good picture of them together because they move around so much, but here's the best I could get:

 

[jetajockey]

Torf Peat Pellets - 1L

from bigals it says

EHFI TORF peat pellets will help lower pH and soften your aquarium water. This product will help achieve the results many strive to accomplish. This product will release tannins into your aquarium water, giving it a rich golden appearance.

A google search for others using it would probably give more info but I haven't bothered.

The water here is actually super soft, 1gh/kh and mid 6's, 30 tds. I have to buffer it, its crazy.

 

[Borderlesscott]

You can also by peat balls on eBay, very good also.

 

[Rivercats]

Our water here is ultra hard which is part of the reason I went with an organic soil base substrate that was high in peat. It took it awhile to kick in and really help lower the water and I had to use RO until it kicked in which was a pain. Since I too have a big tank (220g) the product wouldn't be very economical to use but I might consider trying it in one of the smaller tanks just to see how it works with my water, which is Ph 9, GH 13, KH 11.

 

[Borderlesscott]

Peat Balls from tynevalleyaquatics on eBay are very reasonably priced.

 

[Rivercats]

Peat Balls from tynevalleyaquatics on eBay are very reasonably priced.

I actually still have some of these left from using them the months before my peat substrate kicked in. I like them alot!

 

[deb_unlimited]

Using peat

I'm researching for a Dwarf Gourami tank and found that they like a lower pH and that peat will get you there. My question is do you still use activated charcoal in your filter? I have an Aquaclear HOB, sponge, charcoal pad and ceramic media. Where do I put the peat? Thanks for your help! Okay, I found some info...do not use with charcoal. That makes sense since charcoal filters things OUT of the water. Do you put the peat pellets in the filter?

 

[Rivercats]

In a planted tank you don't want to use carbon because it can remove certain minerals/metals in ferts. As for peat if you can't put it in your filter put it in a media bag or a knee-hi nylon tied off and hang it in the path of the outflow of your filter.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

In a planted tank you don't want to use carbon because it can remove certain minerals/metals in ferts.

This information is questionable, many articles say the same. Their are other articles that disagree. I for one run carbon and have no I'll affects on my plant growth.

 

[Rivercats]

Actually I've tried carbon in my filter before and I did notice a difference in the plants. I dose PPS-Pro with dry ferts. So in a tank like my 220g with so many plants it not worth using when I get such good results with Purgen.

 

[Scott F]

Rivercats,

Look at the pics of your tanks and they are fantastic !!!

 

[Rivercats]

Rivercats,

Look at the pics of your tanks and they are fantastic !!!

Thanks it's almost the way I want it.