filter through peat

[[email protected]]

makes for tea colored water. gets some muriatic acid. dilute (always acid into
water) and drip it slowly into stream of returning water until desired pH is reached.

actually... first, what is your pH?
Ingrid

"SkyCatcher" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you actually
>do this & what type of peat do you use?
>
>I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as this is
>very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
>
>Any help gladly received!
>
>Sky
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Roy]

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 14:55:23 GMT, wrote:

>===<>makes for tea colored water. gets some muriatic acid. dilute (always acid into
>===<>water) and drip it slowly into stream of returning water until desired pH is reached.
>===<>
>===<>actually... first, what is your pH?
>===<>Ingrid
>===<>
>===<>"SkyCatcher" > wrote:
>===<>
>===<>>Hi,
>===<>>
>===<>>I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you actually
>===<>>do this & what type of peat do you use?
>===<>>
>===<>>I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as this is
>===<>>very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
>===<>>
>===<>>Any help gladly received!
>===<>>
>===<>>Sky
>===<>>
>===<>
>===<>
>===<>
>===<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>===<>List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
>===<>http://puregold.aquaria.net/
>===<>www.drsolo.com
>===<>Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
>===<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>===<>Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
>===<>compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
>===<>endorsements or recommendations I make.


BEFORE I would fool with ph I would make sure I was checking it at the
right time of day. Its going to be lower during sunlight hours and
will peak in the evening hours.......10 or 11 am is a good time to
check your ph. I checked mine last night and it was higher, but still
ok, but just a few minutes ago at approx 11am it was good and lower
than it was last night.

You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
my ph is so high..........do you have concrete blocks inside the pond,
is the pond concrete, all of which will increase ph levels unless it
neutalized before using, and even then it can still increase alk
levels. IIRC alk levels can go up as ammonia levels increase.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[SkyCatcher]

Hi,

I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you actually
do this & what type of peat do you use?

I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as this is
very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?

Any help gladly received!

Sky

[BryanB]

Er... You mean Baking *Soda*... Baking *powder* will only make your
flower biscuits rise.... (Pun intended.)

(And, it's always been my belief that these are only quick fixes; they
do nothing to solve the problem of what's actually raising or lowering
the pH. Of course, I'm not above using the quick fix from time to time...)

--Bryan


On 8/26/2004 9:06 AM Roy let loose a lemur across the keyboard and it
typed:<BR>
>
<Snip>
> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
> alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
> of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
<snip>
--
************************************************** **********
* Can't see the Forest | Bryan B. *
* Through the Trees? | "Ho, Ho, Ho!" Santa *
* Take it out! | accused as he went *
* (Damn Viruses!) | through his list. *
************************************************** **********

[SkyCatcher]

Hi,

The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap water
is 7.

How much white vinigar would be needed for 10,000litre pond to get to 7?

Sky.

"SkyCatcher" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you
actually
> do this & what type of peat do you use?
>
> I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as this
is
> very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
>
> Any help gladly received!
>
> Sky
>
>

[Nedra Crow]

SkyCatcher,
I think that 8.5 is perfect for pH. Who in the world told you to lower it
to 7?

Nedra in Missouri

"SkyCatcher" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap
water
> is 7.
>
> How much white vinigar would be needed for 10,000litre pond to get to 7?
>
> Sky.
>
> "SkyCatcher" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you
> actually
> > do this & what type of peat do you use?
> >
> > I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as
this
> is
> > very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
> >
> > Any help gladly received!
> >
> > Sky
> >
> >
>
>

[Roy]

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 19:46:48 GMT, BryanB
> wrote:

>===<>Er... You mean Baking *Soda*... Baking *powder* will only make your
>===<>flower biscuits rise.... (Pun intended.)
>===<>
>===<>(And, it's always been my belief that these are only quick fixes; they
>===<>do nothing to solve the problem of what's actually raising or lowering
>===<>the pH. Of course, I'm not above using the quick fix from time to time...)
>===<>
>===<>--Bryan
>===<>
>===<>
>===<>On 8/26/2004 9:06 AM Roy let loose a lemur across the keyboard and it
>===<>typed:<BR>
>===<>>
>===<><Snip>
>===<>> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
>===<>> alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
>===<>> of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
>===<><snip>


Well thats what I thought also, but its listed as baking powder in
quite a few articles numerous times on a supposedly reliable website,
so I assumed thats what they meant. I have always read and heard
baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, as thats what I use in out hot tub,
but I swear the website lists it as baking powder.....

PS In case yu want to double check it its the Pond Professor
website.......and all of the artilces dealing with ph issues list it
as bp........

I'm with you though, I would use sodium bicabonate (baking soda) PH
adjusts usually is not necessary if its buffered and no items are
placed in thre water to raise it or lower it, and at most its just a
temp fix until you make figure out why the ph is swinging high or
low....


Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Roy]

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:50:08 +0100, "SkyCatcher" >
wrote:

>===<>Hi,
>===<>
>===<>The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap water
>===<>is 7.
>===<>
>===<>How much white vinigar would be needed for 10,000litre pond to get to 7?
>===<>
>===<>Sky.
>===<>
>===<>"SkyCatcher" > wrote in message
...
>===<>> Hi,
>===<>>
>===<>> I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do you
>===<>actually
>===<>> do this & what type of peat do you use?
>===<>>
>===<>> I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden & as this
>===<>is
>===<>> very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
>===<>>
>===<>> Any help gladly received!
>===<>>
>===<>> Sky
>===<>>
>===<>>
>===<>


Fish and most plants are quite happy in 7.0 to 8.0...When it gets
above 8.0.... I would look for ammonia buildup or nitrogen out of
whack.......I would also take my reading for ph earlier like about 10
am, as in some parts of the country the sun is low and most plants
this time of year in the northern section or in shade may start to
reverse their cycle, so the ph is going to be higher later on in the
day or very early in the am.

I can't say how much vinegar it would take, but if you do go and play
with your ph add a small amount at a time, and wait for changes to
take effect, which cold be a few hours or longer. Nothing worse than
adding too much and getting it low and then have to play the chemical
balancing game which you usually wind up loosing anyhow and the fish
get stressed more with the ups and downs.......so add very little and
then check......

Just my 2 cents worth.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Nedra Crow]

Before you (Sky) start messing with the pH, please check to see what the KH
reading is.
If your KH reading is low... i.e. under 100 I would go ahead and add baking
soda at 1 cup
per 1,000 gallons. Your pH will balance out at 8.4 so that is an added
benefit. You can get the
KH testing kit for about $8.00.

Nedra


"Roy" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:50:08 +0100, "SkyCatcher" >
> wrote:
>
> >===<>Hi,
> >===<>
> >===<>The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the
tap water
> >===<>is 7.
> >===<>
> >===<>How much white vinigar would be needed for 10,000litre pond to get
to 7?
> >===<>
> >===<>Sky.
> >===<>
> >===<>"SkyCatcher" > wrote in message
> ...
> >===<>> Hi,
> >===<>>
> >===<>> I've read that you can filter through peat to reduce pH. How do
you
> >===<>actually
> >===<>> do this & what type of peat do you use?
> >===<>>
> >===<>> I can only think of the big bags you get at B&Q for your garden &
as this
> >===<>is
> >===<>> very fine how would you stop it just being washed into the pond?
> >===<>>
> >===<>> Any help gladly received!
> >===<>>
> >===<>> Sky
> >===<>>
> >===<>>
> >===<>
>
>
> Fish and most plants are quite happy in 7.0 to 8.0...When it gets
> above 8.0.... I would look for ammonia buildup or nitrogen out of
> whack.......I would also take my reading for ph earlier like about 10
> am, as in some parts of the country the sun is low and most plants
> this time of year in the northern section or in shade may start to
> reverse their cycle, so the ph is going to be higher later on in the
> day or very early in the am.
>
> I can't say how much vinegar it would take, but if you do go and play
> with your ph add a small amount at a time, and wait for changes to
> take effect, which cold be a few hours or longer. Nothing worse than
> adding too much and getting it low and then have to play the chemical
> balancing game which you usually wind up loosing anyhow and the fish
> get stressed more with the ups and downs.......so add very little and
> then check......
>
> Just my 2 cents worth.
> Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
> Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
> I had no input whatsoever.
> Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Crashj]

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 22:53:50 GMT, "Nedra Crow"
> wrote:

>Before you (Sky) start messing with the pH, please check to see what the KH
>reading is.
>If your KH reading is low... i.e. under 100 I would go ahead and add baking
>soda at 1 cup
>per 1,000 gallons. Your pH will balance out at 8.4 so that is an added
>benefit. You can get the
>KH testing kit for about $8.00.
>
>Nedra
<>
My Tetra Koi test kit says to use one drop per KH number to measure
the hardness. To get to 100 is going to use up the whole bottle! There
must be a better way or some other test kit chemistry?
So I guess I need to add some marble chips or oyster shells to get the
KH up? pH measured 9.0 in the late afternoon. I do not plan to worry
about the alkalinity until KH is in range.

--
Crashj

[Nedra]

Sorry Crashj. I meant 100 ppm. This should take about 6 drops from the
bottle.... depending
on the water. Aquarium Pharm has a really neat 23 page booklet with their
Master Test Kit that
explains all this stuff.

Nedra

"Crashj" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 22:53:50 GMT, "Nedra Crow"
> > wrote:
>
> >Before you (Sky) start messing with the pH, please check to see what the
KH
> >reading is.
> >If your KH reading is low... i.e. under 100 I would go ahead and add
baking
> >soda at 1 cup
> >per 1,000 gallons. Your pH will balance out at 8.4 so that is an added
> >benefit. You can get the
> >KH testing kit for about $8.00.
> >
> >Nedra
> <>
> My Tetra Koi test kit says to use one drop per KH number to measure
> the hardness. To get to 100 is going to use up the whole bottle! There
> must be a better way or some other test kit chemistry?
> So I guess I need to add some marble chips or oyster shells to get the
> KH up? pH measured 9.0 in the late afternoon. I do not plan to worry
> about the alkalinity until KH is in range.
>
> --
> Crashj

[how]

"Roy" > wrote in message
...
> snip
> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
> alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
> of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
> my ph is so high..........

Hi,
Vinegar and citric acids are organic, this means that in addition to
lowering pH and KH they add organic compounds that must be dealt with
biofiltration. Muriatic acid is inorganic and cheap but requires more care,
RTFL. Never add water to acid, only add acid to water. Two and a half ounces
per 1000 gals is the maximum to use at one time. Dosing at mid day is
recommended. Check the next day and dose again if needed.
Check pH at dawn and again in mid afternoon, if the results vary by half a
unit you probably need to adjust the KH.
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

[[email protected]]

both lemon juice and white vinegar are organic acids which are quickly broken down by
bacteria. not a solution. Ingrid

BryanB > wrote:

>Er... You mean Baking *Soda*... Baking *powder* will only make your
>flower biscuits rise.... (Pun intended.)
>
>(And, it's always been my belief that these are only quick fixes; they
>do nothing to solve the problem of what's actually raising or lowering
>the pH. Of course, I'm not above using the quick fix from time to time...)
>
>--Bryan
>
>
>On 8/26/2004 9:06 AM Roy let loose a lemur across the keyboard and it
>typed:<BR>
>>
><Snip>
>> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
>> alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
>> of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
><snip>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[[email protected]]

please top post or trim the messages. Ingrid

(Roy) wrote:

>On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 19:46:48 GMT, BryanB
> wrote:
>
>>===<>Er... You mean Baking *Soda*... Baking *powder* will only make your
>>===<>flower biscuits rise.... (Pun intended.)
>>===<>
>>===<>(And, it's always been my belief that these are only quick fixes; they
>>===<>do nothing to solve the problem of what's actually raising or lowering
>>===<>the pH. Of course, I'm not above using the quick fix from time to time...)
>>===<>
>>===<>--Bryan
>>===<>
>>===<>
>>===<>On 8/26/2004 9:06 AM Roy let loose a lemur across the keyboard and it
>>===<>typed:<BR>
>>===<>>
>>===<><Snip>
>>===<>> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down from high
>>===<>> alk side and use baking powder to rasie it from acid to base side. Non
>>===<>> of these are harmfull or will cause any problems, but I would see why
>>===<><snip>
>
>
>Well thats what I thought also, but its listed as baking powder in
>quite a few articles numerous times on a supposedly reliable website,
>so I assumed thats what they meant. I have always read and heard
>baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, as thats what I use in out hot tub,
>but I swear the website lists it as baking powder.....
>
>PS In case yu want to double check it its the Pond Professor
>website.......and all of the artilces dealing with ph issues list it
>as bp........
>
>I'm with you though, I would use sodium bicabonate (baking soda) PH
>adjusts usually is not necessary if its buffered and no items are
>placed in thre water to raise it or lower it, and at most its just a
>temp fix until you make figure out why the ph is swinging high or
>low....
>
>
>Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
>Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
>I had no input whatsoever.
>Remove "nospam" from email addy.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[[email protected]]

pH 8.5 is excellent.

"SkyCatcher" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap water
>is 7.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[[email protected]]

DO NOT USE MARBLE.. dont even use oyster shells. your pH is high already. get
aquarium pharm total alkalinity test kit. I suspect your calcium is fine already.
unless your city is adding NaOH to the water.
Ingrid

Crashj > wrote:
>My Tetra Koi test kit says to use one drop per KH number to measure
>the hardness. To get to 100 is going to use up the whole bottle! There
>must be a better way or some other test kit chemistry?
>So I guess I need to add some marble chips or oyster shells to get the
>KH up? pH measured 9.0 in the late afternoon. I do not plan to worry
>about the alkalinity until KH is in range.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:50:08 +0100, "SkyCatcher" > wrote:

>The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap water
>is 7.

If your tap water is 7.0, I'd go the KISS method and just do water change
outs. 10% every day for 4 times and I bet your pH is down to 8.0 a more
plant happy pH. Plus, this won't shock your fish, doesn't cost a lot nor
any hazardous materials training needed. ;o) Then do 10% change outs
weekly.

It would be helpful to know what your total alkalinity (KH test) is of both
pond and tap water. As you may still need the Baking Soda. ~ jan
~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[SkyCatcher]

That is what I have decided to do (10% wc) - I test the kH accordingly -
thanks for all the advice folks.

Sky

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> >On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:50:08 +0100, "SkyCatcher" >
wrote:
>
> >The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap
water
> >is 7.
>
> If your tap water is 7.0, I'd go the KISS method and just do water change
> outs. 10% every day for 4 times and I bet your pH is down to 8.0 a more
> plant happy pH. Plus, this won't shock your fish, doesn't cost a lot nor
> any hazardous materials training needed. ;o) Then do 10% change outs
> weekly.
>
> It would be helpful to know what your total alkalinity (KH test) is of
both
> pond and tap water. As you may still need the Baking Soda. ~ jan
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

I meant to say, every other day, but daily won't hurt either. ~ jan

>On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 06:28:30 +0100, "SkyCatcher" > wrote:

>That is what I have decided to do (10% wc) - I test the kH accordingly -
>thanks for all the advice folks.
>
>Sky
>
>"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
>> >On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:50:08 +0100, "SkyCatcher" >
>wrote:
>>
>> >The pH is 8.5 - reading taken at 2pm & 6pm. It used to be OK & the tap
>water
>> >is 7.
>>
>> If your tap water is 7.0, I'd go the KISS method and just do water change
>> outs. 10% every day for 4 times and I bet your pH is down to 8.0 a more
>> plant happy pH. Plus, this won't shock your fish, doesn't cost a lot nor
>> any hazardous materials training needed. ;o) Then do 10% change outs
>> weekly.
>>
>> It would be helpful to know what your total alkalinity (KH test) is of
>both
>> pond and tap water. As you may still need the Baking Soda. ~ jan
>> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~
>

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Crashj]

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 14:53:22 GMT, wrote:
>please top post or trim the messages. Ingrid
>
(Roy) wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 19:46:48 GMT, BryanB
> wrote:
>>
>>>===<>Er... You mean Baking *Soda*... Baking *powder* will only make your
>>>===<>flower biscuits rise.... (Pun intended.)
<>
>>>===<>> You can use lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust ph down
<>
>>Well thats what I thought also, but its listed as baking powder in
>>quite a few articles
<>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
<>
Better yet, bottom post *and* trim your posts.
The posting position is a battle that will never be won, but trimming
should be done in either case. Just leave a few lines so we remember
what the subject and drift are.

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet?
--
Crashj "who is willing to grin and bear it here" Johnson

[Crashj]

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 02:41:41 GMT, "Nedra" >
wrote:

>Sorry Crashj. I meant 100 ppm. This should take about 6 drops from the
>bottle.... depending
>on the water. Aquarium Pharm has a really neat 23 page booklet with their
>Master Test Kit that
>explains all this stuff.
>
>Nedra
>
>"Crashj" > wrote in message
...
<>
>> My Tetra Koi test kit says to use one drop per KH number to measure
>> the hardness.

The Tetra kit also has a nice instruction booklet, but I could use a
review with a chemist at some point. Time to go read an actual book?
--
Crashj

[Crashj]

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 14:55:58 GMT, wrote:

>DO NOT USE MARBLE.. dont even use oyster shells. your pH is high already. get
>aquarium pharm total alkalinity test kit. I suspect your calcium is fine already.
>unless your city is adding NaOH to the water.
>Ingrid
>
>Crashj > wrote:
>>My Tetra Koi test kit says to use one drop per KH number to measure
>>the hardness. To get to 100 is going to use up the whole bottle!

I know I mentioned it in the original post; my KH is 5. and pH is 9.0
Of course, I have not measured in a couple of days and the pond is
clearing nicely.
--
Crashj

[-viable-]

Skycatcher dunno if you ever got your answer to the question you had;


There isnt a lot of scientific info on it, but a few things that are
well known are these:

The hotter the water while in contact with the peat, the more complete
the process. A guy named Mark at a now defunct webpage called MARKSFISH
explained how, he would make a 10 to 12 gallon per hour peat filter, out
of a bucket. he would put from 3 to 5 inches of poly filter material in
the bottom of a bucket and cut a single hole in the bottom, middle;

then he would pour hot tap water, through about a 1/4th to a 1/3 of a
2.2 cubic fot bale of peat, he placed on top;

This would drop 8.something water with a kh of about 12, to 5.5 ph with
a kh of about 3.

It's the heat that really makes the process kick off; if you just use a
soak of peat, it really, really, takes a WHOLE lot longer. it took me
three weeks to bring about 10 gallons of water down by simply soaking
about 8 ounces of peat in it; from around 8.5 to 7.


This of course isn't acceptable.


There are people, undergravel filter aficionados, who actually place a
layer of peat between layers of gravel, and have their U.G. filter pull
the water through that.

I hope this has been some help;


--
-viable-