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BIO-LIF Indian almond leaves

cedartree

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
27
Location
Cedar Park, TX
I recently purchased this product. Would appreciate feed-back from any who have used it. The seller claims this stuff works better than peat. Also says a small amount of carbon can be used with it to minimize the brown/yellow stained water.
Thanks,
Walt


BIO-LIF (6) 10 gram packets- $4.99
Click picture to enlarge

• Pure natural, processed from dried “Indian almond leaves†which is not cultivated with chemical fertilizer
• Superior to more refined similar products such as Atison’s SPA and without the other unnecessary ingredients; Bio Lif is more popular among aquarium maintenance professionals and pro breeders.
• Softens water and aids in maintaining a lower pH. To initially lower your pH you may need to dilute your water with Reverse Osmosis (RO) water initially, as Bio Lif is a buffer (softener, not a direct pH lowering product). This may especially be necessary when KH is above 50 ppm.
• Enhance the natural coloring of Arowana, Bettas, Cichlids, Discus, Angelfish and other soft water preferring tropical fish, especially the red color of fish.
• Excellent for use in breeding fish such as Bettas or as a replacement to questionable Black Water Tonics
• Helps prevent dropsy, by natural bacteria absorption (anaerobic bacteria)
• Naturally increases the acid level of the aquarium water (at a VERY slow rate, unlike pH lowering products such as pH Down which can crash your pH only to see it bounce back up!)
• Improves disease resistance
• Treats 400 gallons (40 gal. per packet)
• Can be used in canister, HOB, wet dry, internal filters and more.
• Better than peat
• Each packet lasts approximately 2 weeks
• Carbon use is not recommended by the manufacturer, however I have used this with small amounts of carbon (about 1 teaspoon per 5-10 gallons) to control the brown/yellow tint this product (& Peat) put in the water.
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
I have used the leaves, but not specifically that product. I believe in the weak antibiotic properties of the tannins. I have not seen any indication of the leaves lowering pH. I still have some, but have been using more oak leaves lately. The almond leaves do not last very long in the tank. THE oak leaves last months... and the are free (for me). The oak leaves do lower the pH (if there are not many buffers in the water). The almond leaves were making such a detritus mess in the tanks that I made extracts instead of using the leaves directly. THe only fish that I noticed an increase in spawning activity with were bettas, gouramies, tetras, rasboras and danios. I cannot say that it helps cichlids all that much, though I do think that I had fewer eggs die with catappa (the other name for the almond leaf) extract in the water.
 

langosh

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
32
Location
czech rep./europe
Do you refer to this product? http://www.easyfish.cz/texty/vyr01.htm It is used quite a lot among the Czech fish keepers and especially shrimp keepers. Well, I´m surprised by your price - it´s cheaper than in our country (about $6,9)...

According to the overall responses, Bio Lif has stronger influence on water parameters than peat. In addition to that, Bio Lif is said to have unbalanced quality of the supplies. I mean every box can have a different impact, so it is recommended to watch your tank closely after applying...

Roman
 

cedartree

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
27
Location
Cedar Park, TX
Do you refer to this product? http://www.easyfish.cz/texty/vyr01.htm It is used quite a lot among the Czech fish keepers and especially shrimp keepers. Well, I´m surprised by your price - it´s cheaper than in our country (about $6,9)...

According to the overall responses, Bio Lif has stronger influence on water parameters than peat. In addition to that, Bio Lif is said to have unbalanced quality of the supplies. I mean every box can have a different impact, so it is recommended to watch your tank closely after applying...

Roman

Hello, Roman

Yes, what I have appears to be the same product. Appreciate your suggestion to use it carefully.

I had the pleasure of visiting Prague on a business trip about 20 years ago. Oh my, that dark, draft beer was absolutely wonderful. :)

Walt
 

cedartree

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
27
Location
Cedar Park, TX
I have used the leaves, but not specifically that product. I believe in the weak antibiotic properties of the tannins. I have not seen any indication of the leaves lowering pH. I still have some, but have been using more oak leaves lately. The almond leaves do not last very long in the tank. THE oak leaves last months... and the are free (for me). The oak leaves do lower the pH (if there are not many buffers in the water). The almond leaves were making such a detritus mess in the tanks that I made extracts instead of using the leaves directly. THe only fish that I noticed an increase in spawning activity with were bettas, gouramies, tetras, rasboras and danios. I cannot say that it helps cichlids all that much, though I do think that I had fewer eggs die with catappa (the other name for the almond leaf) extract in the water.

Ted,

THe almond leaves have been processed into a shredded form and enclosed in a filter bag to be used with a HOB or canister filer. Other than staining the water, don't believe this stuff will leave a mess. The package directions say to use one packet for 150 littres of water and replace every 2 weeks.

What confuses me is that you have to lower the KH down to 50 ppm or 3 dkh
before the product starts driving the PH down. Therefore, assume this stuff only lowers GH and not KH? Is there any chance the tank will crash if I lower the KH down to 50 ppm? Please advise.

Thanks,
Walt
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
I do not think that it will lower GH or KH. If those two values are high, especially KH, the pH will not be affected by the leaf.
 

cedartree

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
27
Location
Cedar Park, TX
I do not think that it will lower GH or KH. If those two values are high, especially KH, the pH will not be affected by the leaf.

Ted,

You've just thrown me a curve ball. :confused: I thought that this stuff, or peat, would not lower KH but would definitely soften water, therefore, reduce GH. Is this not so? I've used driftwood that leached tannins into the tank and that definitely seemed to soften the water. Wouldn't the almond leaf stuff do the same?
Walt

P.S. I can't afford a R/O unit. I once won a 55 gal tank and stand at one of our club's (HCCC) auctions. Don't think I will ever get lucky again and win a R/O unit.
 

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