# Dying your water and using peat



## JustinRice (Feb 24, 2005)

I was at my LPS The other day and i scene a tank set up with dye in the water with peat in the water. it was to resemble the Amazon water conditions. It seemed to have calmed down the RBP's. just wondering if that is a good idea, or is it bad for the fish. made the water look cool and muddy. Thanks


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

I'm sorry to see that nobody has responded yet. I think that it is a very good idea to take into consideration, especially when trying to construct a very natural habitat. It would also aid in keeping the piranha happy. You must remember that price may be an issue for you, since you will have to keep purchasing the product after each water change, because obviously the dye will get sucked through the gravel vac. Good luck on what ever you decide. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail if you have any more questions or concerns. I would be happy to help you along the way.
~Taylor~


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Peat is a good way to lower the hardness of your water, tint it brown and lower the ph, all healthy things to do for a piranha. Peat isn't a great idea to put in your filter however because over time peat will lower your ph below 5. A better idea is to prepare some peat water in a seperate bucket by soaking peat in water in between water changes, and then mix this water with your tap water. This way you can monitor the ph since you know the amount of low ph acidic water you are putting in, and the peat won't be in your tank further messing with ph levels. You would still want to mix with some tap water naturally because otherwise the ph will drop far too low and your hardness will also drop causing you to get unstable water conditions, which are ultimately very unhealthy for your fish.


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## myles (Feb 27, 2005)

elTwitcho said:


> Peat is a good way to lower the hardness of your water, tint it brown and lower the ph, all healthy things to do for a piranha. Peat isn't a great idea to put in your filter however because over time peat will lower your ph below 5. A better idea is to prepare some peat water in a seperate bucket by soaking peat in water in between water changes, and then mix this water with your tap water. This way you can monitor the ph since you know the amount of low ph acidic water you are putting in, and the peat won't be in your tank further messing with ph levels. You would still want to mix with some tap water naturally because otherwise the ph will drop far too low and your hardness will also drop causing you to get unstable water conditions, which are ultimately very unhealthy for your fish.
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HI there im new to the forum by the way im Myles. This peat moss thign sounds very interesting, iv never seen it doen befor. does it make the water look really dirty and ugly or acuaaly a neat effect? and can u see the fish and everyhting ni it clearly? like how murky are we talking? haha.


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## juiced (Jul 26, 2004)

as far as peat lowering your ph down around 5 couldn't you manitain you ph at around 6.5 with a ph buffer that is preset for that level aquarium pharmacuticals has a good product.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

juiced said:


> as far as peat lowering your ph down around 5 couldn't you manitain you ph at around 6.5 with a ph buffer that is preset for that level aquarium pharmacuticals has a good product.
> [snapback]921022[/snapback]​


Well, there's two ways to interpret what you're asking but both aren't really ideal.

One is that you would use peat and buffer your water so the ph doesn't drop too low. That's not really possible since peat absorbs the carbonate hardness of your water and therefore removes the buffering capacity.

The other is that instead of peat you use a ph buffer in a bottle. These are defiantely not ideal because they contain a high level of phosphates that very likely will lead to an algae outbreak in your tank.

The only safe way to use peat IMO is by preparing seperate water and adding it to your tank during a water change so you can closely monitor the ph.

Myles - Supposedly it's just a slight tea coloration. You can still see the fish, it's very much like when you add driftwood that hasn't been treated completely. Welcome to the forum by the way


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

moved to water chemistry forum


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## JustinRice (Feb 24, 2005)

Ok thanks alot guys i will go ahead and give it a try and possibly post some pics later to let you see how it comes out. thanks!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Justin,
That'd be great if you posted some pictures of your little experiment. You can be our guinea pig. Maybe you can give us all a new fascination to concentrate on for out piranha's or other predatory fish. Good luck! I'll be looking forward to your pictures after you try it!
~Taylor~


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## Dawgnutz (Mar 2, 2005)

I added it to my tank. Its called black water extract. Some books on piranha I have read have recomended it. It slighty dimmed the water and added vitamins. I bought a couple 100ml bottles for $3.69 at a lfs.

Contains:B2,B6,B12, Nicotinic Amide, Panthenol, Biotin, and peat extract.

Try www.tetra-fish.com

Thats the company that made it. My question about it is whether or not carbon filters will remove it from the water. Anyone know?


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## JustinRice (Feb 24, 2005)

Apparently i hear it won't. I have carbon in my filter and it seems to be just as dark as ever and its been in there for a week or 2 now. You can Mix Peat in with the carbon and that is suppose to help keep it dark. Thats what i have learned so far and i am trying it out now and seems to be working so far. i will keep you posted!


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## Dawgnutz (Mar 2, 2005)

JustinRice said:


> Apparently i hear it won't. I have carbon in my filter and it seems to be just as dark as ever and its been in there for a week or 2 now. You can Mix Peat in with the carbon and that is suppose to help keep it dark. Thats what i have learned so far and i am trying it out now and seems to be working so far. i will keep you posted!
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Thanks man. I have a undergravel filter with two powerheads, but I'm also wanting to add a canister filter.


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## JustinRice (Feb 24, 2005)

Ok I just tried something else to keep the ph stable and seems to work fine and its cheap!if you put a little crust coral in a old filter bag in your filter it will keep the ph up a little bit and keep it fairly stable and will work against making the water so acidic!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Justin Rice,
Are you planning on posting any pictures? I think we'd all like to see them.
~Taylor~


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