# moler clay ph 5.5 - is this a problem ?



## Billypete (6 Oct 2010)

Hi All .

          Have been reading lots about the use of cat litter as a substrate but am led to believe the ph is 5.5  :?:  Have also come across this :- Moler/Terramol ( Biozorb ) Bonsai soil Â£22.75 for 60 litres incl. delivery  :!: - sophisticat pink without the odour control  I believe 8) 
kaizenbonsai.com/shop/product_info.php?cpath=84_87&products_id=539 

  Is it enough to treat these with a solution such as on jamesplantedtank and would this be a permaneant solution in a heavily planted , high fert/co2/light  tank  :?:  
  Is spagnum moss the same as spagnum moss peat  and why use it  :?:   

  Pete.


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## dw1305 (7 Oct 2010)

Hi all,
I wouldn't see it as a problem, the moler clay is a calcined "diatomaceous earth", so it is almost all silica and shouldn't have very little effect on pH or KH. A low pH is easy to raise with any carbonate compound (calcium carbonate, potassium bi-carbonate etc.) which will by definition raise the KH as well, if you use a calcium or magnesium salt (a 2+ ion) it will raise GH as well. As you add the salts necessary for plant growth (as per James' Planted Tank ) the TDS and GH will be raised, the pH will change dependent upon the salts used, some of the anions will lower pH or have little effect (sulphates, chlorides, phosphates, nitrates), but any carbonates or hydroxides  will raise the pH.

Sphagnum peat is the semi-decomposed remains of sphagnum moss, it has very few salts in it as the peat is formed in rain fed "ombrotrophic mires" and the lack of salts, low oxygen levels and acid water (sphagnum mosses are very efficient at scavenging the few cations available in this environment, substituting H+ ions for K+ etc.), slows decomposition and allows the peat (95% carbon) deposits to build up over thousands of years.  The very light "white" peats from the upper layers are very lightly decomposed with lots of intact hyaline cells and the darker peats from lower down the profile more decomposed, right at the bottom of the peat profile there will be sedge peats derived from the sedges and reeds that colonised the original depression, this can be relatively base rich as it was fed from the ground water, before the rain fed mire developed. There is no clear demarcation between moss and white peat, it is a bit like a coral reef, only the very outer skin is alive.

There are virtually no intact ombrotrophic mires left in Europe (peat is valuable as both a low grade fuel ("Bord na Mona" in Eire and as a growing medium, due to its excellent physical characteristics of low pH and total lack of nutrients) so  it is in fairly short supply, (the Netherlands has no peat bogs left and England only has 2% remaining).
I don't use it any more because of these concerns.

In the tank substrate it adds to the CEC and supplies both tannin and humic acids. You can substitute another organic substance for peat in the substrate, I use Oak or beech leaf mould in the substrate, and alder cones or oak (or "indian Almond")  leaves to supply humic substances in the tank water.

cheers Darrel


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