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Posted by Maxx MacLeod on March 12, 2003 at 20:13:09:
In Reply to: Re: Fungus posted by mcbond on March 12, 2003 at 14:11:07:
Michael-- To answer your question about PH and sphagnum peat moss, yes, it will change the color of the water. The tanins and the tanic acid will change the color and also drop the PH. Some people don't like the slight color change, but the reason I suggested this is because it's pretty hard to accidentally drop the PH too low using moss. But there are other alternatives. You can go to an aquarium store and buy "PH down" products and "buffers". If you go about it this way, I'd talk to a fish place that really knows about water chemistry and possibly, also take a water sample in for them to test (some places do this for free). If you have hard water where you live, it can be tricky to get the PH down. Also, these chemicals all cost money. I've always found that it's easier to just add moss. As far as the "tea bags" go, I was just describing a way that you can add the moss. One way is to put peat moss in a porous bag (women's nylons work great) and just float it in the water. But this can look goofy if you have a nice tank, unless you hide it somehow. Another way that I've used is I boil a bunch of moss for an hour or two. Then I pour it through an old towel to strain out the particles and sticks. You're then left with a nice, dark peat tea that you can add to the tank. If you get an inexpensive indicator strip from the pet store, you can check your PH as you add moss. A PH of 6.0, if you can pull it off, would probably work well for you. The salt will probably do wonders for you too. Good luck! --Maxx P.S. You can also try drying the turtle out periodically and topically adding some betadine to the spot and let it dry for a short period of time (ie., an hour) and then put your guy back in the water. Be careful with this. Betadine is bad for softshells if you go crazy with it. Just use a small amount on the spot. You can put it on with a Q-tip.
