Re: [Killietalk] pelletized peat moss---a new medium?

["Lorraine" <overall077 at lycos_com>]

I use the fluval peat pellets, which are just as you described for all my
peat spawners to spawn in. I find it much cleaner than peat all over the
tank.The eggs are also easier to harvest, although you do have to move the
eggs to regular peat for incubation.
My F.thierryi who seemed able to find almost all their eggs when I used
regular peat don't seem to be able to hunt them out as well.

I don't use it for filtration, so I can't comment on  its efficacy there.

Lorraine 
In sunny Colorado
http://lorraines-killies.com

-----Original Message-----
From: killietalk-bounces at aka_org [mailto:killietalk-bounces at aka_org] On
Behalf Of Bruce J. Turner, Dept. Biological Sciences, VPISU, Blacksburg, VA
24061
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 1:14 PM
To: killietalk at aka_org
Subject: [Killietalk] pelletized peat moss---a new medium?

Some weeks ago, while purusing the local department stores for out-of-season

bargains, I came upon a product 
which I had not seen before, pelletized peat moss.  I am not talking about 
Jiffy pellets here, but a product that 
looks like dark brown coarse gravel.  The manufacturer, a Canadian firm, 
states that these pellets are prepared 
only from pure Canada sphagnum peat moss, and they represent about a
threefold 
volume contraction from the 
original peat.  I have been experimenting with various types of peat moss to

soften my well water, so I decideed 
to try these as well, figuring that the compressed volume would make them
more 
valuable as a filtration 
medium, even if they subsequently swelled in the water.  I have now tried
them 
twice, in two different replicate 
experiments, and have found the following:

1.  They have no measurable effect on the pH of my well water, even when
that 
water is turned very dark brown 
by the filtration through the peat pellets.

2.  They rapidly remove Ca hardness---more effectively than plain peat moss 
even if the compression ratio is 
taken into account.  If one doesn't care about dark brown water, this is the

most efficient peat-based medium I 
have ever used for water softening.

3.  They have only a slight effect on CO3 hardness!  I found this very 
surprising, but have now repeated the 
observation.  I start with a KH of 16, and end with a KH of 14 - 16.  In my 
hands, ordinary peat moss, including 
stuff labeled as "Canadian sphagnum peat moss" reduces KH and GH in rough 
proportion.  I have never seen 
any agent do this before, and am puzzled about the chemistry that might be 
involved. (I might add 
parenthetically that no one seems to know exactly how/why peat moss softens 
warter---is it an ion exchange 
effect, differential ab(d)sorbtion of divalent ions, or what...).

Im thinking that if onecould deal withthe dark brown water, these pellets 
might be a good thing to use for 
filtration of troublesome water, for the KH provides buffering power, and
that 
could be quite valuable in soft 
water.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used these pellets
and/or 
knows anything about them...

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