peat question
- Thread starter horsegal192
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i heard some members on this site talking about peat so i looked it up and i dont get it?peat is supposed to make your water softer by making it more acidy?that makes no sence to me.and is it possable that peat will make your water to soft?im not trying to do anything im just confused about this peat stuff
well i think peat lowers the ph of the water. It's best to just leave the ph of your water alone, fish dont care to much about the ph of the water, just thats its stable, and not constanly changing. You wouldnt normally use anything to change the ph unless your trying to breed a certain fish. I dont think peat would make it to soft, but the changing ph could harm your fish.
Hard water can generally be explained as water that has a high mineral content, usually consisting of metal ions like calcium and magnesium in their carbonate forms (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate), but sometimes may also include some bicarbonates or even sulfates. For example, if you have hard water, soap and toothpaste does not lather quickly or sometimes not at all! Soft water is the lack of these carbonates and metals, and soaps easily foam. Water can be softened by peat or hardened by limestone. The degree of bicarbonate/carbonate in the water is usually described by the KH and general water hardness by GH values. Generally, the harder the water, the better the buffer capacity of it, which will minimize huge pH swings. A buffer allows large amounts of an acidic or basic substance to be added to a buffer/water mixture without allowing a large change in the pH. There's a lot of chemistry involved but I won't go into those details to keep it simple, if you really want to know just message me and I'll give you more than you can chew!
Now, the amount of metal ions (Mg and Ca) that can be dissolved in water depends on the amount of free carbon dioxide (CO2) in the water. When there is a lot of CO2, only can the salts of these metals be dissolved as bicarbonates. When CO2 is removed, a precipitate of Ca or Mg is formed and the KH is thus decreased. This would only occur if you boiled the water or CO2 was consumed from plant use. This precipitation would only lower the KH, but the permanent hardness (GH) would remain stable. GH has to deal with the calcium and magnesium salts of suflate, nitrate, and chlorides. These salts are highly soluble in water.
The water hardness is important for the well being of many fish species. GH and KH of natural fresh water around the world varies considerably. In South America the waters are generally very soft (fish like discus, angels, cichlids, tetras, cories, etc.) and in Africa, the lakes are extremely hard (Malawi, Tang., Victoria). Captive bred fish tend to have more flexibility in which waters they can survive when compared to their wild counterparts. For water plants, both the GH and KH are also important. The GH should be contained at soft to middle hard levels. The KH influences the amount of dissolved CO2, which is an essential part of the photosythetic process to derive food to allow for growth. CO2 is more dissolved in hard, acidic water than in soft, alkaline water (Remember CO2 is an acid in water, in a general sense). Ideal levels in a planted aquarium include a slightly acidic pH (6.9), a KH = 4, and CO2 = 15 ppm.
Here's the general jist of the GH levels:
GH levels
0-4 Very soft
4-8 Soft
8-12 Medium
12-18 Hard
18-30 Very Hard
> 30 Extremely Hard
Now as previously stated, you think buffering capacity is good. It is, but it can also be bad in aquariums. Since it can prevent large pH swings it makes water very stable, allowing your fish to be exposed to less stress. But when it is buffered at a very high pH, you'll have a hard time lowering it! For the most part buffering = alkalinity. Aquariums with a low KH will require more attention to water chemistry to control nitrate levels, reducing the tendency for the pH to drop. Water in an aquarium over time tends to acidify from the products of the nitrogen cycle, which allows biological bacteria to purify the water, reducing ammonia to nitrites to nitrates to nitrogen gas. These nitrates tend to build and not be released as gas due to the lack of non-aerobic bacteria able to be grown in an aquarium, unless you have special nitrate absorbents or filters.
Alright, here's a general explanation of how peat works.
As noted and know, peat can both soften and acidify aquarium water. Peat affects both pH and mineral content, but doesn't change the carbonate content of the water. The pH effect is the important effect here, and it usually occurs within a few hours if you have enough peat. To counteract some of the acidification of peat, some people boil their peat which extracts the acid component - humic acid. If the water contains a lot of carbonate, it takes a lot of peat extract to bring down the water's pH. This is due to carbonate's buffering capacity in water. Peat also tends to sequester or grab the calcium and magnesium from the water, thus reducing the mineral hardness. Therefore, peat can reduce the buffering capacity/alkalinity of your water, reducing hardness and making it less resistance to pH swing, while also adding acids to the water. Thus, peat acidifies and softens water.
Now, the amount of metal ions (Mg and Ca) that can be dissolved in water depends on the amount of free carbon dioxide (CO2) in the water. When there is a lot of CO2, only can the salts of these metals be dissolved as bicarbonates. When CO2 is removed, a precipitate of Ca or Mg is formed and the KH is thus decreased. This would only occur if you boiled the water or CO2 was consumed from plant use. This precipitation would only lower the KH, but the permanent hardness (GH) would remain stable. GH has to deal with the calcium and magnesium salts of suflate, nitrate, and chlorides. These salts are highly soluble in water.
The water hardness is important for the well being of many fish species. GH and KH of natural fresh water around the world varies considerably. In South America the waters are generally very soft (fish like discus, angels, cichlids, tetras, cories, etc.) and in Africa, the lakes are extremely hard (Malawi, Tang., Victoria). Captive bred fish tend to have more flexibility in which waters they can survive when compared to their wild counterparts. For water plants, both the GH and KH are also important. The GH should be contained at soft to middle hard levels. The KH influences the amount of dissolved CO2, which is an essential part of the photosythetic process to derive food to allow for growth. CO2 is more dissolved in hard, acidic water than in soft, alkaline water (Remember CO2 is an acid in water, in a general sense). Ideal levels in a planted aquarium include a slightly acidic pH (6.9), a KH = 4, and CO2 = 15 ppm.
Here's the general jist of the GH levels:
GH levels
0-4 Very soft
4-8 Soft
8-12 Medium
12-18 Hard
18-30 Very Hard
> 30 Extremely Hard
Now as previously stated, you think buffering capacity is good. It is, but it can also be bad in aquariums. Since it can prevent large pH swings it makes water very stable, allowing your fish to be exposed to less stress. But when it is buffered at a very high pH, you'll have a hard time lowering it! For the most part buffering = alkalinity. Aquariums with a low KH will require more attention to water chemistry to control nitrate levels, reducing the tendency for the pH to drop. Water in an aquarium over time tends to acidify from the products of the nitrogen cycle, which allows biological bacteria to purify the water, reducing ammonia to nitrites to nitrates to nitrogen gas. These nitrates tend to build and not be released as gas due to the lack of non-aerobic bacteria able to be grown in an aquarium, unless you have special nitrate absorbents or filters.
Alright, here's a general explanation of how peat works.
As noted and know, peat can both soften and acidify aquarium water. Peat affects both pH and mineral content, but doesn't change the carbonate content of the water. The pH effect is the important effect here, and it usually occurs within a few hours if you have enough peat. To counteract some of the acidification of peat, some people boil their peat which extracts the acid component - humic acid. If the water contains a lot of carbonate, it takes a lot of peat extract to bring down the water's pH. This is due to carbonate's buffering capacity in water. Peat also tends to sequester or grab the calcium and magnesium from the water, thus reducing the mineral hardness. Therefore, peat can reduce the buffering capacity/alkalinity of your water, reducing hardness and making it less resistance to pH swing, while also adding acids to the water. Thus, peat acidifies and softens water.