Setting up peat moss to lower PH

[meese-a-mew]

Can anyone tell me how to do this step by step?
Does this make the water light brown?
Is this the right moss?

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[emilygupps]

Following. I have a big bale of it too.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Venom_]

You want to get organic peat moss and put in a fine mesh media bag. The peat will discolor water and make it brown but you can boil it to get most of the tannins out

 

[Gillie]

You want to get organic peat moss and put in a fine mesh media bag. The peat will discolor water and make it brown but you can boil it to get most of the tannins out

You really don't want to boil the tannins out if your goal is to soften the water. Tannins are the acids released by, wood peat and leaves that do the softening.
I always pre soaked the peat to drain off the really fine particles, placed it in a media bag soaked it a again and gave it a good wring to remove mor fine particles then placed it in the filter.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Venom_]

You really don't want to boil the tannins out if your goal is to soften the water. Tannins are the acids released by, wood peat and leaves that do the softening.
I always pre soaked the peat to drain off the really fine particles, placed it in a media bag soaked it a again and gave it a good wring to remove mor fine particles then placed it in the filter.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app[/QUOTE
Good info gillie.

 

[Gillie]

If you don't like the stained water, I hear purigen removes it as does carbon, but carbon can harden the water a bit.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Mebbid]

The coloration is the reason it lowers the ph on your water. You can't have one without the other sadly. How much are you trying to drop your ph by?

 

[Gillie]

The coloration is the reason it lowers the ph on your water. You can't have one without the other sadly. How much are you trying to drop your ph by?

See that I wouldn't know I've always kept the color

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[meese-a-mew]

Trying to drop from 7 to somewhere around 5.5


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Coyne]

Wow.. That's a pretty big difference. Most people dream about having a pH of 7.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Gillie]

Trying to drop from 7 to somewhere around 5.5


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

The peat should help, but at 5.5 the acidity will bring you into the red zone for bacteria so you'll have to do more or larger water changes every week.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[PNWaquarist]

Tannic acid isn't very strong and it's extremely unlikely that your pH would drop that far with peat (unless you never do water changes). As mentioned above, you don't want it there anyway.

Fluval sells peat moss pellets that are pretty safe to use directly out of the box (I give mine a quick rinse with water). You can put these in a mesh bag and add to your filter. A couple of weeks ago, I added a small handful of peat pellets to a filter bag and placed it on top of my filter's water return. Since then, my pH has dropped maybe 0.1 units (which is good... I'm looking to go from 7.4 to maybe 7.0). My water is slightly dingy from the peat, but I actually kind of like the subdued lighting.

 

[meese-a-mew]

I want it low because its the ideal PH apparently for GBR


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[PNWaquarist]

That may be true in the wild, but you'll kill the biofilter in your aquarium at pH 5.5, and the resulting ammonia and nitrites will kill your GBR.

Your GBR should be fine at pH 6.5-7.0, maybe even the low 7's.

 

[meese-a-mew]

Ahhh ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Chronos313]

Ya 5.5 as a ph is pretty acidic like everyone says. If your looking at trying to have an ideal situation for your GBR try to range between 6.5-7.0. Especially if your trying to breed them. Otherwise is aim for 7.0 for an ideal PH level. My tank right now with my 4 GBR is at 7.4 and I'm hoping to lower it to 7.0 one of these days if I can get some peat.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice