# Is blackwater extract any good?



## 1rhom (Nov 6, 2009)

Is this stuff worth using?


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

I would use peat moss instead, but BWE works fine. Make sure you pull the carbon out of your filters if you try either route.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i think the blackwater extract that they sell at the lfs is a rip off and the effect usually doesn't last, some people use peat, but it is unpredictable because you don't really know how fast the acids are leeching from the peat. i make my own "blackwater extract" by boiling peat moss in water and then straining out the peat moss and larger particles so that i'm left with a dark brown liquid. it is dirt cheap and i can control the amount that is going into my tank so i don't have to worry about ph swings.


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## 1rhom (Nov 6, 2009)

joedizzlempls said:


> i think the blackwater extract that they sell at the lfs is a rip off and the effect usually doesn't last, some people use peat, but it is unpredictable because you don't really know how fast the acids are leeching from the peat. i make my own "blackwater extract" by boiling peat moss in water and then straining out the peat moss and larger particles so that i'm left with a dark brown liquid. it is dirt cheap and i can control the amount that is going into my tank so i don't have to worry about ph swings.


That's a good idea!! How much do you add and how much does affect the ph?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i boil about 4 or 5 cups worth of peat moss in a full pot of RO water and then i slowly added it to my tank over time while checking my ph every day, i stopped adding stuff when it looked the way i wanted it to and it had dropped the ph down a bit. i just kept track of how much i had added and then i replace what i took out when i do water changes so that i can stay at a constant level.

my water comes out of the tap between 8.2 and 8.5 (i'm on a well), after adding my "blackwater extract", my tank has been around 7.0 and it stays stable.


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

joedizzlempls said:


> i boil about 4 or 5 cups worth of peat moss in a full pot of RO water and then i slowly added it to my tank over time while checking my ph every day, i stopped adding stuff when it looked the way i wanted it to and it had dropped the ph down a bit. i just kept track of how much i had added and then i replace what i took out when i do water changes so that i can stay at a constant level.
> 
> *my water comes out of the tap between 8.2 and 8.5 (i'm on a well), after adding my "blackwater extract", my tank has been around 7.0 and it stays stable.*


It barely shook the pH in my tank (0.2). It comes out of the tap at 8.2. I have 2 huge 4"x12" bundles of the stuff in my sump too.

I even tried your boiling method after I heard about it in your black water tank thread. That only took it down about .4.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

your water must have some crazy buffering capacity...


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

^^^ Appears that way


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i do it more for the look than anything... if someone just wants a little tint to the water, you really don't need to use that much, and it may not do much at all to your ph, which may be a good thing if you don't want to deal with the hassle.


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

^^^ I love the look, and its not even a PITA. Just chuck the peat in and change one of my sock thingers every couple weeks.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

I got a box of peat granuals (enough to fill an xp3 tray) for 10$ at my lfs. They work well (when i used them), but you could also use a filter bag of peat


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