Ordered some peat moss to do a black water setup but can't find any info as to how much I should use. I want the tannins and lowering pH isn't a high priority. Any suggestions?
Peat moss for black water
- Thread starter bbortko
- Start date
Unless you have unstable water ph impact would likely be insignificant. I started out trying to use too much to find a happy medium. I never did find an amount that was too much. My method was boiling it then straining the liquid. Depending on how you do it like leaving it in a sump it would be different. I wouldn't worry about overdoing it and it's pretty easy to add more.
I was working with 350 gallons of water though....
I was working with 350 gallons of water though....
Really depends on how dark you want your water, and your starting water conditions. If left unchecked, peat WILL lower your ph and therefore ph should be monitored after using it for the first time until your tank stabilizes. What I do: boil 1 mesh bag of peat in 1 gallon of RO water for 1 hour, let cool, add during a water change, add 3 mesh bags of peat to filter, change during filter cleanings. This to most people would considered a lot. It ends up looking like this.
Spot on. I should have mentioned all of the stuff regarding buffering and all. Mine is none, so ph will drop.
You also add peat to your system which will lower the ph way more than just adding tannins. Leaving peat in a bucket with a bubbler would be more effective for lowering ph. I just like the dark natural water so boiling it and adding the water was enough. Beetlebug is also much more knowledgeable about it than I, he went deep into it all for his U. Fernandez
how big are your mesh bags? I have a couple that once held a litre of purigen that I plan on using in either my sump or overflow. I also will have some Indian almond leaves, was going to go this over peat but peat is a lot cheaper and easier to get, 240g seems like a lot of leaves and money.
Psittacus, severum, sd, clown loaches, Venezuelan pike and datnoids.
I don't know what my hardness is but it's fairly hard so I assumed pH wouldn't change to much but tannins are my only desire, if pH drops some I should be ok as I'm in the upper end of the ideal range.
I use AC110 mesh bags. Not sure exactly how much they hold, I would guesstimate that I put about half a litre in them. I don't put too much in them though. I don't want to pack them with too much and have some of the peat not leach. The absolute easiest source of tannins I have found is oak leaves. If you live anywhere near deciduous forests, oak leaves will provide a ton of tannins per leaf if that makes any sense. I went out a couple times and collected them from a nearby state park, boiled and added the water to the tank. One thing I forgot to mention, some brands of peat will leach fertilizers into the water if ferts are used to grow the peat. When I first started using the peat I use now, I soaked some for a day and then tested for nitrates and I recommend you do the same.