Sphagnum Peat Moss

by mat1t Sat Jan 23, 2016 7:22 am

Could anyone of you guys please recommend a BRAND of peat moss suitable for aquariums?
I am looking to purchase peat moss in bulk. It seems to me I cannot find any place to buy it here in Canada.

by **The PlantGuy** Mon Jan 25, 2016 7:02 pm

any garden center will have it in the spring....not sure its suitable for aquariums though.what are you trying to do?

by GaryE Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:52 am

It's hard to get fiber peat moss of the sort the Germans have - I have never found it.
I use a lot of spaghnum moss in tanks, for breeding fish and water softening. I also go though a fair amount of good old, no additives large bales of garden peat moss, for water treatment.
Both are easy to find.
But that excellent European fiber peat is only available here at really high prices in tiny quantities.

by **The PlantGuy** Tue Jan 26, 2016 6:44 am

i;ve bought sphagnum peat moss for Drocera media ..it was tightly compacted....I'll take a picture of it when i get home..

by mat1t Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:00 pm

GaryE - Would you please actually tell me exactly what brand you use? And where you find it as well? I would really appreciate it.

The PlantGuy - A picture will be much appreciated.

by l_l_l Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:21 am

I'm wondering if this is something that could be used in a filter?
http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/0594311P/no-jiffy-peat-pellets-36-pack-reviews/reviews.htm

by GaryE Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:51 pm

Honestly, I buy whatever brand is at the garden centre - the cheap, unadulterated no additives peat moss, and large bags of Fafard brand spaghnum (since that's what's sold here).

by mat1t Fri Jan 29, 2016 8:02 pm

Thank you. At what store do you manage to find the Fafard brand? I've been looking for it, but I can't find it at all.

by GaryE Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:45 am

It's getting hard to find. And expensive. It is used for orchids, and for lining hanging baskets, but it is being replaced by fiber matting for the latter. The store I bought two large bags at has gone bankrupt and I haven't had to go looking for more yet.

by mat1t Sat Jan 30, 2016 8:40 am

Thanks I_I_I for your suggestion.

I am wondering whether or not it might be safe for the tank inhabitants to drop a media bag filled with a couple of Jiffy pellets directly into the water.
Putting aside the obvious water parameter modifications that this may imply. My main concern is if any of the pellet ingredients may be harmful for the inhabitants health.

by alexmtl Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:17 am

I have very little experience with peat, but I thought I would put my view into the mix (so to speak).

Peat without additives is ideal since there will be no introduction of chemicals, namely in fertilizers or pesticides. Using commercial peat and potting preparations is risky since not all ingredients will be listed and there is no control over what is being introduced.

From what my experience has been with agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, most commercial preparations are safe for home gardener use and do not have long residual in the environment. They are denatured by sunlight, water and heat. Many of the pesticides which I studied while in research formed compounds once solulized with water and breakdown was rapid with metabolites generally undetectable beyond 14 days. The active pesticide was rendered inert and transformed into an innocuous compound for eventually breakdown by microbes and other chemicals (the horror stories in Silent Spring do not exist in this day and age).

Fertilizers tend to remain longer. The longer acting ones are chemically bound so that they release over a longer period of time and are driven into active release by water. Therefore it is the fertilizers which may be of larger concern, and how they interact with pH and carbonates. Certain formulations are meant for acid soil conditions and perhaps a few are may be for alkaline. Perhaps there may be lime added and listed in the ingredients for these plants but in the run of the mill potting peat, most likely slightly acidic.

Based upon what I know about soil additives, the key would be soaking in water to allow the additives to render inert, form compounds or dissolve. By pouring out the water, you most likely get rid of the additives. What you have left will be peat that is most likely usable for the aquarium with some assurance that most chemicals are out. If you use hot water and soak over a week, I would consider that you will have extracted most of the chemicals.

What you would have left is, peat. That is a lot of work but at least is some comfort that you have flushed the chemicals. Well, that is what I would do, if I needed peat.

by mat1t Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:09 am

This is one product I found, but haven't tried yet: http://www.pthomeandgarden.com/product/717-peat-moss

Could the soaking in water method be applied to this product as well?