Tres
02-22-2016, 06:28 PM
Would members consider it beneficial to use peat to soften and acidify the water in the water aging barrel for a grow out tank if I'm trying to err on the side of caution?
I understand that clean water and stability are the most important things, but after watching Al Sabetta's (Brewmaster 15) lecture on youtube I was thinking it might be beneficial if I can soften/acidify the fresh water down to a ph of say 6.0. Al advises there that discus are more resistant to external bacterial infections at lower pH water. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXe3VKh7qF8 (And I read the low pH/etc threads).
I'd be growing out juvenile F1 greens bred and raised in 2 degree hardness water, while my own tap water has a hardness of 14 degrees and aged pH around 8. I'd be transferring them to a planted display tank eventually which uses RO water, and as per Al's comments, being that it'd be a planted tank instead of a bare-bottom sterile tank, I'll plan to keep the pH of that around 6 there as well.
Softening/acidifiying the changing water doesn't sound too cumbersome, I'd just rotate out legs of pantyhose full of peat with the water in the barrel being circulated by a powerhead for 24 hours between water changes on a 40 gallon breeder tank, and possibly add muriatic acid if the peat alone doesn't bring it far enough down.
I understand that clean water and stability are the most important things, but after watching Al Sabetta's (Brewmaster 15) lecture on youtube I was thinking it might be beneficial if I can soften/acidify the fresh water down to a ph of say 6.0. Al advises there that discus are more resistant to external bacterial infections at lower pH water. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXe3VKh7qF8 (And I read the low pH/etc threads).
I'd be growing out juvenile F1 greens bred and raised in 2 degree hardness water, while my own tap water has a hardness of 14 degrees and aged pH around 8. I'd be transferring them to a planted display tank eventually which uses RO water, and as per Al's comments, being that it'd be a planted tank instead of a bare-bottom sterile tank, I'll plan to keep the pH of that around 6 there as well.
Softening/acidifiying the changing water doesn't sound too cumbersome, I'd just rotate out legs of pantyhose full of peat with the water in the barrel being circulated by a powerhead for 24 hours between water changes on a 40 gallon breeder tank, and possibly add muriatic acid if the peat alone doesn't bring it far enough down.