Generally, your fish needs certain pH levels to be healthy and highly productive. If the pH of the aquarium is too low (acidic) or high (alkaline), your fish could die.
A 6.5 or 9 pH level in the aquarium is considerably normal for your fish to survive. However, when it becomes greater than 9.5, it can be bad for the fish in your aquarium.
Thankfully, you can reduce the pH levels in your aquarium, using peat moss. With the right peat moss aquarium, your fish has a higher chance of survival.
How can peat moss benefit your fish, and how do they work? Read on to find out!
Benefits of Peat Moss in An Aquarium
Normally, peat moss is just a type of soil available in certain parts of the world, but most popular in Canada and Sweden. However, peat can be good for your fish more than just being soil.
For instance, it can make the water in your aquarium safe for your fish. How?
- Softens aquarium water
If you fill your aquarium with tap water, you should add peat moss to it. This is because tap water isn’t exactly soft water.
Peat moss helps soften water hardness and makes the water safe for your fish. But before you add peat in the aquarium, ensure you check the water hardness level because adding peat can make the water pH too low for a soft water fish.
- Keep ammonia levels at bay
Ammonia in your tank is bad for your fish. It is toxic and can prevent your fish from extracting enough nutrients from feeds. Even worse, your fish can become lethargic, slip into a coma and die.
However, peat moss can help ensure that it doesn’t happen to your fish. Peat keeps ammonia in the tank at a safe level for your fish.
You should note that peat moss in your water can cause partial water changes, but this helps keep ammonia levels down.
- Change water pH level
Peat moss can also help to change the pH level of the tank’s water. You can either use it to increase or reduce the pH level to a safe one for your fish.
You can use peat to absorb alkaline elements in your aquarium and raise the acidic level as needed. However, raising the acidic level can take time as it isn’t immediate.
You’ll most likely only be able to raise the acidic level to a pH of 6. Whichever way it is, you can control the pH level in your fish tanks with peat moss.
- Control water flow rate
If you need to control the water flow rate in your aquarium, peat moss is a good option. It is light, porous, and can fit with most filter systems used in fish tanks.
It helps trap small substances and prevent them from getting into your fish tank. As a result, it reinforces the filter system of your aquarium.
However, when you do this, you should ensure you clean the filter from time to time, so it doesn’t breed bacteria or fungus. You should also carry out constant water changes a couple of times when you use peat moss in your filter.
- Improves aquarium aesthetics appeal
Another benefit of a peat moss aquarium is that it improves the aesthetic appeal of your fish tank. It gives your aquarium a natural look and provides an adequate hiding place for your fish. You can use peat moss as you want till you achieve your desired look.
- Serve as a natural water conditioner
Peat moss can help turn harmful toxins and waste in the water into nutrients for your fish. It replaces chemical treatments with more natural materials that your fish can use.
Therefore, peat moss improves your tank’s overall health over time. With the right amount of it in your tank, your fish can live healthily in your tank.
A rule of thumb suggests that you should use 30 pounds of peat moss in 300 gallons of water. You can either increase or reduce it based on the size you have.
How To Use Peat Moss In An Aquarium
When using a peat moss aquarium, you should ensure you use the right one as there are different variants out there. You should be careful not to get the one filled with bad chemicals for your fish.
Therefore, use only pure organic peat moss and not the ones meant for gardens. You could get:
- Fluval aquatic peat granules
- Sera super peat
- Eheim aquarium filter media peat
Once you have the right peat moss, you can then set it up for use in your aquarium. Here’s how to use a peat moss aquarium:
Method 1: Place peat in the aquarium filter
- Start by placing peat moss in a tight mesh bag. Ensure you put in as much as you need and require.
- Boil the bag for a couple of hours and throw out the water because of the partial water change. Keep changing the water after every hour till the watercolor is mild. You could also put the bag in a bucket of water for a couple of days without boiling.
- If you boil the peat moss bag, you should leave it to cool down before using it in the aquarium.
- Then insert the mesh bag in the filter between the pad and charcoal media
Method 2: Place peat outside aquarium filter
- Boil or soak the peat mesh bag like in method one.
- Then place the peat moss close to filter intake, which helps the tannins spread in the tank water.
- Leave it hanging and steep in water from time to time.
Method 3: Place peat in another container
- Prepare the peat moss mesh bag by boiling or soaking like the first step in method 1.
- Instead of placing the bag in the aquarium, insert it in another container. You can use tap water for the container.
- Pour the water into the aquarium tank at intervals while checking the pH level. Don’t pour the water in at once.
Method 4: Use peat as a substrate
- Start by preparing the peat moss mesh bag as instructed in the first method.
- Then scatter the peat moss over the bottom of your aquarium.
- After, add another substrate layer over it. This could be gravel, sand, or aquarium soil. This helps hold the peat moss down in the aquarium without being tossed around.
Final thoughts
A peat moss aquarium is necessary for your fish’s survival. It helps soften water hardness, control water pH and other things. However, the most important thing to ensure is that you use natural organic peat moss void of chemicals for your fish’s safety.
