oak and beech leaves

[electric eel]

how do i know how many or how much to use?is it better to make an infusion and add that to the tank or put the leaves directly in the tank.

 

[ste12000]

I dont get what you mean by make an infusion???

 

[bigbird]

Morning,

You are better off to add the leaves into the aquarium instead of the tanin liquid itself, as this can be very strong when you add it sepearetly. Add the leaves direct and then they leach the tanins out naturally and are also used as hidding spots for the apistos.
cheer jk :biggrin:

 

[Microman]

>I dont get what you mean by make an infusion

I should imagine what is meant is to make an extract solution Steve....

I make an extract from alder cones/bark/distilled water and the high levels of tannic acid extracted come in very handy for extreme blackwater species.
Great for use as an anti-fungal treatment when artificially hatching fish eggs also and can be used as an alternative to methylene blue.
Mark...

 

[ste12000]

Right i get it now....Not something ive done myself..i just add the leaves for cover, i never expect them to lower Ph because the tannic acids are not that strong...

Mark ive been meaning to email you, stay online mate.

 

[electric eel]

i'm not 100% sure but i believe when you soak something in water you are making an infusion ie tea.i believe an exraction is made with some type of solvent such as alcohol but its been a long time since i had any chemistry classes.

 

[workn4apistos]

Do the oak leaves have to be dried first? can I just go to the front yard and start pulling leaves off the tree?

 

[electric eel]

they have to be dried and i think it is better if they are naturally fallen.the reason i say this is if you look on aquabid about purchasing indian almond leaves some make a point of letting you know that they are naturally fallen so i assume this is desirable.the only thing i could figure is that the green leaves still have chlorophyl in them maybe this is bad?i wish i could get more feedback on this cause i'm still not comfortable.can you add too many leaves(potentially toxic?)also i have found some huge sycamore leaves that would be awesome for apistos to hide under(they are prob.7 or 8 inches) would it be safe to add a few on top of the oak and beech leaves.i plan on littering the whole bottom of 4 -55gallon tanks with leaves on top of quartz pool filter sand.i want to relocate 4 trios of different apistos(they are currently in 20 highs) to these new setups.i plan on putting in coconut shells,some small breeding caves and some small clay pots with maybe 3 medium pieces of driftwood to break up the territory.i know apisto dave talks about using oak and beech leaves.wish some of you that have a lot of experience with apistos(they are new to me)would tell us in detail about the leaf thing.please!

 

[bigbird]

Hello All,

Yes you are correct. Leaves which fall off the tree naturally, rid themselves beforehand of all toxins. If you pull green leaves from any tree, then the toxins will dry up with them in the leaf. I agree to use oak and beech leaves as they tend not to disintegrate too quick and release the tanins slower.
What I do in SYD is collect the leaf off the neighbours oak tree and keep them for the whole year or when they are needed. Have fun. cheers jk :biggrin: