Using tree seeds to lower KH values ?

K

kvr

AC Members
Apr 17, 2001
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Ghent, Belgium
allserv.ugent.be
I recently read in a publication of our aquarium-club that someone tried to use the seeds of Alnus glutinosa to lower his KH. He explained that he put in a handfull of the seeds into the filter compartiment and left them there for one week. After that week, the KH value had decreased to "undetectable". Luckily, there were no fish in that tank during the experiment :)

Has anyone ever heard of this or used this way of lowering KH values. I believe it also lowered the pH, but I can't remember by how much.

Here's a picture of those seeds, still hanging on the tree :
aulne3.jpg
 
humic conjecture

I'm trying to think of the actual mechanism by which alder seeds could take up calcium/magnesium and thus "soften" the water. The seeds have very low metabolism, until they sprout, so it's not a metabolic demand, the way active, dense plant growth can use Ca and Mg in the water.

The only alternative I can think of is the release of tannins and other humic acids, which tend to have many ion-exchange sites on their big molecules, where Ca especially gets exchanged for H+ That H+ released into the water makes humic substances "acid."

Wouldn't some boiled peat tea be easier? Seriously, kvr, I've read of Europeans using alder "berries" to acidify water for breeding tetras, but don't you think there's some magic involved?

explanatory note for fellow Americans: most of us are blissfully unaware of water-dwelling Alders in our lowlands, but Alders still have magic resonance for Europeans. The alder was a pre-Christian oracular tree. If you cut a switch, the green pith could be pushed out to make a Panpipe or flute--- or a magic wand. Alder wands are used for divining in the rural U.S.
 
Last edited:
kvr said:
I recently read in a publication of our aquarium-club that someone tried to use the seeds of Alnus glutinosa to lower his KH. He explained that he put in a handfull of the seeds into the filter compartiment and left them there for one week. After that week, the KH value had decreased to "undetectable". Luckily, there were no fish in that tank during the experiment :)
Click to expand...

This is new, but it's worth a try... have you guys tried it?
 
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