leaf litter

[heslipst]

revisiting

Revisiting the leaf litter discussion. Does anyone has any experience drying out leaves? Being new here in Milwaukee, I am astounded to find VERY few oak trees ... there aren't even any on Oak Leaf Trail! The leaves that i have found are still.... a "little" green. Would anyone advise drying them out in an oven perhaps? ... or is this a fire hazard waiting to happen?

Thx,
Steve

 

[farm41]

Let them dry naturally, don't use any leaves if they have green in them.

 

[Zapisto]

Oaks are fairly uncommon here, does anyone know if Big Leaf Maple leaves could be used instead? These are readily available pretty much always here. If so would they make the p.h more acidic?

Big Leaf Maple leaves is not good at all.

 

[Rikadyn]

what is the common amount of leafs used in the litter set up. i keep picturing in my head like a wall of leafs in the tank . also for about how long does a "set" of leaves last before needing to be replaced?

 

[farm41]

I drop a couple handfuls into a 10g tank. They can last a couple of months, but the leaves do start to break down after that long, not that big a deal.

 

[Rikadyn]

would pear,apple or cherry leaves work? yet to find an oak on my property

 

[Rikadyn]

the irony of having that many fruit trees, yet no oaks, just maples has crossed my mind...

 

[cootwarm]

I found my oak leaves in the wooded part of the city park as I have none on my property either.

Michael

 

[Rikadyn]

i think my old HS has Oaks, but not sure i want to wander the property gathering leaves.... still would like to know if like Cherry or Apple leaves would work...

 

[Neil]

I don't know about fruit tree leaves, but if your HS has oak trees, I would find a reason to visit your ole' stomping grounds.
Neil

 

[MaryPa]

I gathered some oak leaves a couple weeks ago but they all have critters buried in them,so I tossed them out :cry: Would they have been ok with the critters in them?I`m not really sure what it wa just dark spots.i`d hate to put something bad for my fish in the tanks.

 

[cootwarm]

Hi MaryPa,

You just need to boil them for a minute or two, that'll kill any critters.

I just picked a couple bags myself. It takes awhile as I was looking for those with no blemishes. I figure if I'm going to keep leaf litter in my tanks, it might as well look good. I've also found that the blemishes are the first part to rot away. I found a good assortment at my local park. It's called "Oakledge Park", there must be almost a dozen different varieties of oak trees that were probably planted almost 100 years ago. I found the best ones along the tennis court fences where the wind blew them (nice and dry).

I want to make another trip in a couple days, before the snow flies. They only last in the tank about 3 or 4 months, then they need to be replaced.

Michael

 

[farm41]

You can also nuke em in the microwave, for 30 seconds or so.

 

[MaryPa]

Coot thanks i never thought about boiling them....Why doI think of maple trees when I see the word Vermont :lol: