what do you think ?

[HAAi]

hi folks
next week i will get my first discus tank i just start to make the setup yesterday
but i have a problem i hope you can help me
the ph of the water is ranged between 7.5 sometimes less sometimes higher
i tried to get drift wood but i didn't find any or find some but they are so small or have so funny shape can't fit the tank setup
and i hate to use any chemicals or treatment in any of my tanks
so i asked one of the discus fans through some forum he suggest to me to use the peat moss instead of gravel
and when i asked why and what will the peat moss do ?
he told me that the peat moss can decrease the PH value and will give amazonic feeling -as he wrote it-from the water color
what do you think
is it true ? can i really use the peat moss as fish tanks substrate
thanks folks waiting your replays

 

[HAAi]

sorry i forget to mention the peat moss he meant not the usual planted tank peat moss i told me to use the normal plant peat moss
are they the same ?

 

[3dees]

peat is not a substrate. it's usually put in a filter. it will lower your ph, but you must change it often and it can lead to ph spikes if not used correctly. if your water has a ph of 7.5-7.6 then don't worry. thats fine for discus. the important thing is a stable ph. you said your ph may go higher or lower. how much? never use chemicals to change your ph.