Liquid peat vs. peat pellets

Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
87
Reaction score
16
Location
Cleveland, OH
Hardiness Zone
5
Does anyone know if liquid peat would have the same effect as peat pellets in a pond? I am trying to lower my pH and hardness naturally using the humic acid found in peat. pH is 9.0 (or more - the test kit tops out here), KH is 720 and GH is 150. These are the mid-afternoon diurnal test parameters. Water changes won't work - tap water's not much better! Goldfish are healthy; plants are suffering.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
2,817
Reaction score
19
Location
North Carolina
the only difference is that the liquid works instantaneously (and is more expensive) and the pellets take longer to distintigrate (therefore cheaper).
 
Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
87
Reaction score
16
Location
Cleveland, OH
Hardiness Zone
5
Thanks, koikeeper.

I added the liquid peat yesterday afternoon and retested the pH this morning - still high. Has anyone else tried peat to lower pH and hardness? Did I let enough time elapse for the peat to make a difference?
 

koiguy1969

GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
10,587
Reaction score
6,408
Location
Michigan zone 5b
the humic acids in barley and peat extracts turn into hydrogen proxide which is what actually kills the alge.. the acid content doesnt hang around long enough to alter p.h much. pellets brown the water, but work alot faster than bales of barley. these are not intended to correct ph problems.. baking soda will get you down to 8.4 ph. no less but up to 8.4 if your ph is real low.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
2,817
Reaction score
19
Location
North Carolina
Hmmm...peat is slightly different than barley. Peat is known for lowering Ph in a natural manner. And baking soda RAISES Ph, it doesn't lower it.

Are you trying to avoid chemicals? You need to figure out what your tap water is doing to your Ph. If you have tap water that is just maintaining a high Ph, then you are fighting a losing battle and you will need to make chemical interventions. What are you using when you do partial water changes to try to remove heavy minerals and water-company introduces chemicals?

Get a Ph stabilizer. There are several on the market that will maintain a stable Ph. Do you know what you're Kh measurements are? Usually those two go hand in hand.

Looking to hear more about your issue...
 

koiguy1969

GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
10,587
Reaction score
6,408
Location
Michigan zone 5b
thats odd because i know several people that swear that baking soda will lower ph to 8.4 or raise it to 8.4 and they are a fish and pond supply...who sell ph chemicals, so would be more than happy to make the sale, but are freinds of sorts and advised me to save the money and buy a 79 cent box of soda......crushed oyster shells will buffer the ph naturally ..no chemicals. alittle soda and crushed oyster shells and my water has maintaineed 7.4 for over a year.granted my ph was low but i was told if in an emergency my ph was real high it would get it down to 8.4 then do partial water changes to get it to where i want it.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
2,817
Reaction score
19
Location
North Carolina
what baking soda basically does is raise your alkilinity, which goes in tandem with your Ph. There are folks that swear by baking soda in a pond. Personally, I'm a bit more skeptical of it. I did some work with the folks at the Southern Regional Aquacenter (they work with the US Agriculture Dept.) and they said it was an old wives tale that baking soda easily controls Ph because you need to use large amounts to make a difference. Plus, once bicarbonate does it's thing ONCE, it does not have the ability to prevent future increases in pH. All acids basically work the same way. It does its thing once and then its ineffective. So baking soda isn't really a good emergency treatment for high pH or a good long term solution.

You need to figure out what is messing your water. It sounds like you are saying that your tap water might be at fault. That means you need to treat your tap water when you introduce it during a water change. There's lots of things you can buy at your local pond shop to neutralize your water, and there's even liquids that help maintain a constant Ph level. If you've got water that is high in minerals or off balance in terms of other things, you need to fix it--and in some cases the easiest thing to do is buy a store bought fix. I know people are not happy about chemicals in their ponds in general, but sometimes they are the best thing there is to keep things in check. That's why these products were invented. LOL!
 
Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
87
Reaction score
16
Location
Cleveland, OH
Hardiness Zone
5
Hi, Koikeepr:

I've been fighting this pH battle all spring and summer. I appreciate your response and assitance. Here's some more info:

I have city tap water - no choice here. The pH in fresh, just-out-of-the-spout water is 7.2. However, after letting it sit 24 hours to equalize, the pH is 8.2 using a drop test. I couldn't figure out why water changes weren't lowering my pH, until a chemist suggested letting the water sit. That explains that...

My pH in the evening and morning is 8.2. During the day (as stated earlier) it is at least 9.0 (test tops out here). I am familar with diurnal changes in pH, so this does not surprise me. Pond water hardness is 150 and alkalinity (KH) is at least 300 (or more...test strip so hard to tell).

I have plenty of established plants in the pond, just to name a few - anacharis, water lettuce, water hyacinth, hardy lily, and some marginals. Marginals are not growing and look bad; leaves are dying. I've read that a high pH keeps plants from absorbing nutrients.

When doing water changes or adding water to the pond, I add a dechlor and a chloramine remover made by PondCare.

I've been doing some reading on adding peat to lower pH AND hardness. So, I thought I'd try it. pH down does scare me; however, I did add it once about a month ago, and it made no difference. I don't want any crazy pH swings. Obviously, my water has good buffering.

Does a store bought pH buffer help in ponds that are already well buffered? Will the pH still have diurnal swings if I add buffer? If I could keep the pH at 8.2, that would be better.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
2,817
Reaction score
19
Location
North Carolina
You haven't mentioned anything in terms of losing any fish. Are you fish happy and healthy? Koi can tolerate a wide range of Ph anywhere from 6-8.5 IF it's stable. Basically, you are saying that your Ph is stable. It may seem high to most, but your are maintaining. If you had highly fluctuatiing Ph I'd be more worried for you, but you seem to be buffering well. Rapidly changing Ph is highly stressful to fish, but you don't seem to have big swings. As you mention, Ph shifts a bit throughout the day and that is normal in any pond.

Tell us about your fish. How are they doing? Are you losing any? Are your test strips fresh? I prefer the liquid tests versus the paper strips as I think they're more accurate. If you could get one of these, you might be better off.

But, yes, if you can keep your Ph at 8.2 without large swings, you are better off than trying to manhandle the water to go lower, because you will likely suffer swings and have to constantly be plying chems into the water to fight for a lower Ph. If that's what's natural to your area, why battle? Luckily koi and goldfish are not as senstive to Ph as some other more delicate species of fish. As long as it's stable your fish will be happy. Plus, I figure you're not the only one in your area with a pond or fish tank...you and your neighbors are all in the same boat.

Does that help?
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,780
Messages
508,556
Members
13,042
Latest member
lucaryan

Latest Threads

Top