Oak Leaves

[fishtex]

I've seen reference to using oak leaves to lower PH and of their release of tannins tinting the water somewhat. My tanks do have high PH and I would like a bit of tint just to take the edge off these bright white LED lights. My boiled DW isn't providing the tint I had hoped for.

So the questions are, how many live oak leaves would I use in a 29 gallon planted tank, and do I need to do anything special to them before use? Would peat be a better choice since I may add shrimp in the future?

 

[Alan26]

how it works to lower pH will be dependent on the buffering capacity of your water...the more important thing is to keep things consistent, messing with this too much could cause some problems.


if it were me, I would keep a bucket of water with the leaves in it, allowing them to tint the water, then just add some during water changes to get the desired water tint, and not put them directly in the tank.

 

[_Drago_]

I don't have much to add as I agree with the above. However, to add to their point, I once made the mistake of leaving the leaves in the tank and they rotted which made the tank nasty and threw off the parameters. Make sure to do as said above and leave them to stain the water over time OR boil them and create some black water

 

[coralbandit]

I load my Apisto tanks with maple leaves.
I place like 3 in my 4g shrimp tank.
Not for water ,but the shrimp eat them.
It is clear to see that they do..
In my fish tanks they have never caused parameter issues but I am big on changing water.
I make my water softer with RO ,the leaves are just for fish or shrimp in my case.

 

[fishtex]

Thanks for the tips guys. I like the idea of soaking them outside the tank and using just the desired amount of tinted water.

That said, I admit to putting 4 leaves in my 29g yesterday evening. It may just be my imagination, but the tank looks wonderful today. You can't even see a tint, but it seems to have the desired effect of taking the edge off the 24/7's super bright daytime leds. (I had to tint some new led nightlights in my hallway for the same reason... just don't care for that color temperature)

Anyway, I fished them back out and will do the soak routine instead. Thanks!

 

[fishtex]

I ran across this post in another sub-forum and thought it might be useful to anyone searching info on the use of oak leaves... like me.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f129/perfect-shrimp-tank-355219.html#post3417493

"And not a live plant but also dried leaves, I use Oak leaves, have used a few other varieties of hardwood leaves and Mulberry. Adding leaf litter in tanks has been shown to improve survivability in fry, both fish and shrimp, due to microscopic and tiny critters and ability to grow infusoria.

Be cautious about harvesting leaves from yards and maintained areas, as some systemic fertilizers, pesticides are used and absorbed through the root system and could get into the leaves. Then added to your tank. Also cities (and gardeners) will use liquid spray / foliar fertilizers /pesticides sprayed onto and absorbed through the tree's leaves.

Here is one of the articles I read a while back
Leaves for Aquaria (Full Article) | Details | Articles | TFH Magazine®

I am hoping to buy a Ginkgo Biloba tree this year so I can harvest its leaves and maybe an Alder & Beech tree too. Already have Oak and Maple."