Preparing Peat for the Aqaurium
by Paul Barrow
First published in the TTAA Newsletter

Despite its many uses, peat does have disadvantages. It is costly to buy from aquarist shops, it clogs siphoning tubes, its fine dust reduces the efficiency of sponge filters and it can cause too great a change in water chemistry and colour. With a little time and effort these problems are easily solved.
Buying Peat. For someone who uses very little peat it is best to buy a commercial aquarium product. For those aquarists who need large amounts, the garden centre is the place for peat. I used a product called HUMAX for many years. This came in a large plastic sacks containing many kilos - enough to last anyone a lifetime. Any product called PEAT MOSS will do as long as it has no added chemicals. Some products have things such as lime added and these types are best avoided. 
Preparation
To overcome the problems associated with lumps and dust, the peat has to go through a two-part sieving treatment. To get rid of twigs, fibres and large lumps a sieve with a mesh of 5mm to 10mm is required. Place a handful of peat into the sieve and slosh it around a bucket of water until only the unwanted pieces are left behind. Collect the sieved peat from the bucket and place it into a finest meshed net you can buy. Sieve out the dust by rinsing the peat under a tap until the water runs clear. What remains is peat that is perfect for siphoning and has no fine particles.
Dried peat has the overwhelming ability to float! No matter how long it is soaked, some will refuse to sink. To solve this and reduce acidity the peat needs boiling for at least 5 minutes; this drives out the air and the majority of the tannin, the substance which causes the acidity and brown water.
Peat cannot by place directly into a pan because it will boil over like milk. To overcome this you have to pack the peat into a nylon stocking and boil this ‘sausage’ for 5 minutes. When the time is up, drain off the water and place the pan under a running coldwater tap to cool the peat.
WARNING! It takes a long time for the centre of the ‘sausage’ to cool to a safe temperature. Do not try to squeeze water from the it for at least 15 minutes.
When you have finished the preparation the peat must not be allowed to dry out or it will float again, keep it in a bucket of water.