# Is there a peat free aqua soil?



## Peethe (1 Sep 2021)

Hi there,
I’m looking at starting up a new low tech tank and I’m wondering is there such a thing as a peat free aqua soil?
I’ve used topsoil and pond compost before but fancied trying one of the off the shelf products this time.
Thanks 👍


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## Toby C (1 Sep 2021)

Most aquasoils contain peat, which reduces KH and buffers pH down (to between 6-7) 

is there a reason you want to avoid ones with peat? An option is you really want to avoid them is to use an inert substrate with root tabs / supplement the water column.


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## Peethe (2 Sep 2021)

Hi Toby,
Thanks for the reply, the reason is that peat extraction is an environmental disaster and I’d like to avoid adding to that.
Another reason is in Edinburgh our tap water doesn’t really need buffering down.
I might stick with the tried and tested topsoil with gravel over the top then.
Cheers


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## Wolf6 (2 Sep 2021)

Back in the old days there was something similar to ADA power sand, but it was simple baked clay enriched with?? that you put underneath your gravel. It worked pretty well as far as I recall, but these were the 'before-CO2-days' and I cant seem to find it anymore. That could be a peat free alternative if you could find it?


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## Tim Harrison (2 Sep 2021)

There is such a thing as peat from sustainable sources, moss peat that can accumulate around 60 times faster than it is harvested.


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## Karmicnull (2 Sep 2021)

Tim Harrison said:


> Also. there is such a thing as peat from sustainable sources, moss peat that can accumulate around 60 times faster than it is harvested.


I had no idea.  Where can I find out more?


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## Tim Harrison (2 Sep 2021)

Now you ask I'm not sure as far as the UK is concerned. I did have some compost with a "contains peat from sustainable sources" label but this might also have been outlawed in this country.
Anyway, you could try this, it's advertised as being 100% peat free...






						Aquatic Compost 20 Litres | Compost | Squire's Garden Centres
					

Aquatic Compost 20 Litres only £7.99. Buy in-store or order online for local delivery today from Squire's.




					www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk


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## zozo (2 Sep 2021)

May I ask what should peat-free soil contain?

Thinking about it if you dissect aquatic soils that contain peat you usually end up with percentages of something like Coarse sand, clay and peat.
Then if you leave out the peat you and up with sand and clay, to make this less compacted, at least next to the buffering capacity that is the peats main property loosening the soil. you could add Coconut fibre instead. And also this has some buffering capacities and releases tannins to the water similar to peat.

As a matter of fact, afaik all coco fibre sold as a growing medium is pre-soaked in seawater for a period to be fully buffered with magnesium. This is because it has a magnesium buffering capacity.

Just get Clay and Sand and Coco coir and mix your own...


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## Tim Harrison (2 Sep 2021)

zozo said:


> that is the peats main property loosening the soil.


That's very true, without peat or some sort of alternative organic matter, once mineralisation has occurred, loam based aquatic soils have tendency to end up very cloddy, pretty much clay like sediment.

Diana Walstad has used potting compost which contains spent mushroom compost so I guess you could add some of that. Although it'll undoubtedly contain some peat it's already been mined and used once, so no harm done in terms of the waste hierarchy at least.


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## X3NiTH (2 Sep 2021)

zozo said:


> afaik all coco fibre sold as a growing medium is pre-soaked in seawater for a period to be fully buffered with magnesium



Canna coco fibre isn’t salt loaded its flushed through so it doesn’t add any TDS, mineralisation of the fibre will be from whatever ferts you add.


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## zozo (2 Sep 2021)

X3NiTH said:


> Canna coco fibre isn’t salt loaded



I didn't say that...  It seems untreated Coco fibre buffers loads of magnesium... Then if you use untreated Coco fibre as a growing medium for plants it will deplete magnesium from the fertilizer solution till it's satureted.

But i guess nowadays it's hard to find any coco coir that ain't pre buffered.  In the early days  >30 years ago I know it was prebuffered with soaking it a period in seawater. And it was advised to ask for buffered coco coir if you intend to use it as a growing medium.

At least that is what I was told...


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## Greengeek (2 Sep 2021)

This is a interesting topic,  I work in horticultural industry and the UK government plans to ban peat use among amateur gardeners by 2024, I wonder if this will effect the products sold for Aquascaping as well.


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## X3NiTH (2 Sep 2021)

zozo said:


> I didn't say that...



Yeah you didn’t sorry, it’s just that not everybody removes some or all the sodium though. Sodium free would be preferable.


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## zozo (2 Sep 2021)

Calcium, Magnesium, and Coco – Botanicare
					






					www.botanicare.com
				




Even tho both are salts when we add it...


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## X3NiTH (2 Sep 2021)

I wouldn’t use buffered coco fibre in an aquatic environment with very soft water it will swap ions very quickly, in moderately hard water I would use it as a substrate as the rate of change between the water column and substrate will be much lower.




This test I performed with Vicat Prompt cement shows how freely the unbuffered coco fibre allowed ions released from the curing hydraulic cement to flow into unbuffered water than compared to using fine gravel as infill. Surface area of the fibre is massive so huge capacity for holding ions if the conditions allow it.


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## PARAGUAY (3 Sep 2021)

Interesting conversation l remember Geoff Hamilton very ahead of his time against use of peat and no time for " sustainable source". It had to be said he grew everything with coir. Interestingly a lot of critics were pro all chemical use for gardeners. 
             I bought some multi purpose from a small garden centre this year in very small print could hardly see it said contained peat from sustainable source. Do we trust this. ?Obviously made by one of the big manafacturers with the garden centre name on.l suspect many of the supermarket brands contain coir


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## Peethe (3 Sep 2021)

Tim Harrison said:


> There is such a thing as peat from sustainable sources, moss peat that can accumulate around 60 times faster than it is harvested.


Hi Tim, I’ve never heard of that, do you have a source or a link to this?


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## Tim Harrison (3 Sep 2021)

Peethe said:


> Hi Tim, I’ve never heard of that, do you have a source or a link to this?


Most of the examples I've come across concern the Canadian Sphagnum peat moss industry.  I think the main point is, it's not just unsustainable harvesting or mining over centuries that has seen the demise of peatlands but also land drainage for agriculture, and urban sprawl. In the past many wetlands were lost because they were considered wastelands and the complex interaction of goods and services they provide were poorly understood.

Understandably, those that remain have become a precious environmental resource especially in the UK and Europe. However in Canada, for example, peat harvesting on an industrial scale can be sustainable if the landscape is managed appropriately.









						The truth about peat moss
					

Jesse Trail asks us to re-examine our concerns about peat extraction, querying whether the peat moss industry might actually function as conservation stewards of these unique wetland ecosystems




					theecologist.org
				




The IPS is a wealth of easily accessible info. I was taught by Prof Jack Riley, Vice President.








						IPS - International Peatland Society
					

A unique network of peat and peatland experts focusing on economy, environment and society - in sience, ngo's and business.




					peatlands.org


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## Simmo (3 Sep 2021)

Peat bogs hold a lot of carbon, if they are drained or exploited they will hold less carbon. Or something like that! Basically it’s a global warming argument as well as habitat conservation.


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## Tim Harrison (3 Sep 2021)

Simmo said:


> Peat bogs hold a lot of carbon, if they are drained or exploited they will hold less carbon. Or something like that! Basically it’s a global warming argument as well as habitat conservation.


Just one of many services or functions wetlands provide...


			https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/services_00_e.pdf


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## dw1305 (3 Sep 2021)

Hi all,


Tim Harrison said:


> Although it'll undoubtedly contain some peat it's already been mined and used once, so no harm done in terms of the waste hierarchy at least.


My very short lived research career both started and ended with <"Spent Mushroom Compost">. It is better than <"green waste compost">, but it is still pretty salty and alkaline and I wouldn't recommend it. <"Westland Aquatic Compost"> might do?


Simmo said:


> Peat bogs hold a lot of carbon, if they are drained or exploited they will hold less carbon.


I don't think there is any sustainably harvested peat, whatever the industry in Finland, or Canada, might say.


Peethe said:


> I might stick with the tried and tested topsoil with gravel over the top then.


I pyo my soil, usually from molehills. Because it is all limestone here I travel about <"10 miles to the east of Corsham to the greensand."> 

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison (3 Sep 2021)

dw1305 said:


> but it is still pretty salty and alkaline and I wouldn't recommend it


Yes you're right about that. There was a pretty good discussion on the use of spent mushroom compost as a substrate on ASW, but unfortunately the forum no longer exists.


dw1305 said:


> I don't think there is any sustainably harvested peat, whatever the industry in Finland, or Canada, might say.


If I'm honest that's  my gut feeling too. But I guess the same could be said of pretty much every natural resource. There will always be something of a trade off, but I think better understanding of ecosystem goods and services is informing natural resource management and developing best practice. The Canadian model of peat extraction might at least be a step in the right direction.


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