2011 October meeting pics

[ddavila06]

All peat is sphagnum, but not all sphagnum is peat. Just like all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs (well, I do know some people where that is true )

If it looks like dirt, it's peat moss; if it looks like dry moss, it's sphagnum moss. Peat is sold in bails, usually anywhere from 1 to 4 cubic feet, and is usually outdoors in the garden center. Sphagnum is rarely sold in quantities larger than 1 cu. ft., and is usually found near indoor potting mixes to be used as a mulch for potted plants or to make a pot out of a hanging wire basket (by stuffing it in between the wires tightly enough so that it will hold potting mix).

i know exactly wha tyou are talking about!
now my question is, do you think i can stuff some of this in my fluval filter (inside the canister) or would it make little to no differences in such small quantities...?

 

[mscichlid]

I've used in both types in a m350 attached to a 55 gallon barrell (in a mesh bag). I have also used it in AC's with newly aquired wild fish.

 

[mrkillie]

i know exactly wha tyou are talking about!
now my question is, do you think i can stuff some of this in my fluval filter (inside the canister) or would it make little to no differences in such small quantities...?

Depends on the buffering capacity that your water has. If you have hard alkaline water, generally a small amount will do little to change the chemistry in the short term. If it is moderate hardness, then a small amount will make a larger change. If you are looking to have an effect on a large tank and are using a canister filter, some folks have added an extra canister in series with the filter and just stuffed that thing full of peat. Eheim used to make a special top for their canisters to make it easy to do that-I don't know if they still do. I've been using mostly sponge filters and Marineland Penguin or Emperor HOBs for the last 15 years or so.

 

[ddavila06]

Depends on the buffering capacity that your water has. If you have hard alkaline water, generally a small amount will do little to change the chemistry in the short term. If it is moderate hardness, then a small amount will make a larger change. If you are looking to have an effect on a large tank and are using a canister filter, some folks have added an extra canister in series with the filter and just stuffed that thing full of peat. Eheim used to make a special top for their canisters to make it easy to do that-I don't know if they still do. I've been using mostly sponge filters and Marineland Penguin or Emperor HOBs for the last 15 years or so.

i have no idea what my hardness is...dam :angry: i will try anyways, sounds like a fun experiment

 

[JasonC]

http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/showthread.php?11711-Peat-Moss-Methods/page2&highlight=peat

Think this is the method I am going to try, except on a *much* smaller scale... maybe a 30 gal tote instead of 6 55gal drums.

 

[mrkillie]

Of course, you can always collect rainwater, which is both soft and acidic, and then you won't need peat or sphagnum. Always filter the rainwater before adding it to your tanks, as you never know what is getting washed into that collection barrel from the atmosphere or your roof.

 

[ddavila06]

went to the home depot and was looking for it.
asked "do you have sphagnum moss?" sure here he said, pointed me to sphagnum peat moss sold by the bale! lol,
"i said no peat but just sphagnum in smaller size" he said, this is it, i walked away!

i looked inside and found orchid moss and the back reads: "this hight quality natural organic imported sphagnum moss is excellent for most orchids...blah blah blah...

now water changes and then filter tops up and add some of this stuff