Sweet Chestnut leaves

[ARK93]

My partner has just collected some of these stunning leaves from a woodland in Lincolnshire, England. I believe they are Sweet Chestnut leaves.

My research suggest they are aquarium safe but does anyone know how long they are likely to last in an aquarium? Does anyone have experience using them?

They look great and have a much more tropical aesthetic than oak, so if they're any good I'll collect a few bags full next weekend.

Thanks!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I believe they are Sweet Chestnut leaves.

They are definitely Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa) and aquarium safe. I've used Sweet Chestnut, and they are reasonably persistent, (<"even when they are green">).

I don't use them at the moment, we have some trees on campus, but they are a bit of a walk, while I can get Alder (Alnus glutinosa) "cones", Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Beech (Fagus sylvatica), Camellia x williamsii, Quercus ilex, Q. robur, Q. x hispanica, Q. rubra and Magnolia grandiflora <"without having to walk"> more than ~200 metres.

They don't produce a lot of tannins. As a "big leaf" I tend to use <"Magnolia grandiflora"> or <"Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)">, but mainly because <"they are to hand">. This is the view from the teaching lab. window. The tree on the wall is Magnolia grandiflora, and the large leaf in the bag is Loquat, collected from just past the right edge of the photo.

This is the edge of the carpark with Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) hedges.

cheers Darrel

 

[ARK93]

Thanks Darrel, that's a very useful answer. I haven't got such a great variety available locally, I can find plenty of Oak leaves and Alder cones for tannins and now I can use the Sweet Chestnut leaves for decor I should be all set.

 

[MacZ]

There are basically 2 rules for what leaves and botanicals are safe.

Brown and dry from a decidous tree is in pretty much all cases safe.
Evergreens (trees and shrubs) and coniferous trees are not.

That pretty much sums it all up.

 

[ARK93]

There are basically 2 rules for what leaves and botanicals are safe.

Brown and dry from a decidous tree is in pretty much all cases safe.
Evergreens (trees and shrubs) and coniferous trees are not.

That pretty much sums it all up.

Hi Mac,

I was pretty sure they are safe, I was more curious as to whether or not they are worth adding, if they break down particularly quickly I would stick with Oak for now.

 

[MacZ]

I missed part of the paragraph under the picture.
They are in the middle ground when it comes to degradation time.

There is a handful of species or genera I found decomposing quick (< 2 weeks), and a similar sized group at the opposite (> 8 weeks). Most others are usually in the range of 3 to 8 weeks. These leaves should be in the 4-5 weeks range. Depends a lot on what forms of decomposers you have. Only fish and microorganisms take longer than the full range including larger invertebrates like shrimp or snails.

 

[ARK93]

I missed part of the paragraph under the picture.
They are in the middle ground when it comes to degradation time.

There is a handful of species or genera I found decomposing quick (< 2 weeks), and a similar sized group at the opposite (> 8 weeks). Most others are usually in the range of 3 to 8 weeks. These leaves should be in the 4-5 weeks range. Depends a lot on what forms of decomposers you have. Only fish and microorganisms take longer than the full range including larger invertebrates like shrimp or snails.

Cheers Mac, that's all very helpful. I'm not intending to add any shrimp or snails but I guess it's possible that snails will arrive with my floating plants. In my previous soft water setup I had no snails, I always assumed the softwater made them unlikely to survive.

 

[MacZ]

I always assumed the softwater made them unlikely to survive.

It does. Bigger snails don't survive in my tank, but tiny freshwater limpets have now made the jump from my 10 liter plants-only cube on my desk to the main tank with some frogbit. Took them 10 attempts or so. And I see only one or two a week.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

In my previous soft water setup I had no snails, I always assumed the softwater made them unlikely to survive.

It depends a little bit on the snail, you get some species that can survive in really soft water, but <"they aren't suitable for aquariums">.

Of the species that are suitable for aquariums it is snails from vegetated, standing water (ponds, ox-bows, swamps) that are most tolerant of low pH and / or high CO2. Snails from hard water (like Nerite spp.) are a non-starter.

The species that <"persist for me in the softest water"> is the Red (Seminole) Ramshorn (Planorbella duryi), but they never get very big and <"suffer from shell attrition"> (like below).

cheers Darrel

 

[christian62]

Personnellement, je mets des feuilles de chêne ou des fruits d'aulne.
Mais attention pour les feuilles de chêne, car quand ils pourrissent, ils font monter le ph.

 

[MacZ]

Mais attention pour les feuilles de chêne, car quand ils pourrissent, ils font monter le ph.

I'm not sure, but according to my translation tool you say rotting leaves raise pH. Do you want to say this or is this a mistake?

Because in my tanks they lower it over time when rotting.

 

[christian62]

Non ,ce n'ai pas une erreur.
Il font baisser le ph en premier, et après le pourrissement des feuilles ,ils font remonter le ph.

 

[MacZ]

Non ,ce n'ai pas une erreur.
Il font baisser le ph en premier, et après le pourrissement des feuilles ,ils font remonter le ph.

Interesting. I can't confirm this from my observations. The pH has settled around 5 after 8 months in the current tank and at about 4 in the previous tank after 1.5 years of regular addition of leaves and build-up of mulm in a leaf litter bed.

Can you explain the mechanism behind it?

 

[Mazan]

Yes that is interesting. I have been frustrated that leaves don't seem to lower my pH (it does not increase either).

The species that <"persist for me in the softest water"> is the Red (Seminole) Ramshorn (Planorbella duryi), but they never get very big and <"suffer from shell attrition"> (like below).

Same here, many shells go white, only a few get to a larger size most stay very small.