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Re: Peat Questions



Stuart writes:

> I am interested in using peat both as a means of acidifying / softening 
water 
> and potentially as a substrate addtion.  My problem is that I am not sure 
> which form of peat available in Australia matches that which is used 
> elsewhere.  I have found various descriptions which lead me to different 
> conclusions.
>  
>  I am able to buy Peat in four forms.
>  1) An expensive granulated form from an aquarium / LFS.
>  2) In a mini-bale from a gardening supply store.  This is black and 
crumbly 
> and resembles dirt with some decayed organic matter in it.
>  3) As sphagnum moss from a gardening supply store.  This consists of pale 
> brown or green branched, fibrous strands of moss.
>  4) As compressed bricks or pellets from a gardening supply store.  These 
are 
> dry, hard and pale brown and supposedly swell to many times their original 
> size when placed in water.
<snip>>  

You want the sphagnum peat, not the sphagnum moss.  The difference is the 
peat rotted out in the bog before it was collected.  The moss that is still 
green doesn't have the correct chemistry to do what you want.

>It is my understanding that peat bogs are formed from sphagnum moss.  But I 
am not >sure whether it is the surface or the decayed matter that is useful 
in an aquarium >situation.

Sphagnum peat bogs are.  There are a number of other peats, mostly related to 
rotten trees.

Bob Dixon