Oak leaves?

[captmicha]

Does anyone use oak leaves in place of Indian Almond leaves? Or another Eastern American native? How much do you use? Does the tannin lower the pH? My water is sufficiently low to start with.

Does it offer vitamins and stuff or is this just a pH thing? If it's just a pH thing, would buying a black water extract be a good idea? Is that safe with Cloudy Mountain Minnows? They're the only non-Amazonian species I have in that tank.

Would it help if I posted my GH here?

 

[Lupin]

If your hardness level is very low (or in this sense, water is very soft), then the pH can definitely be lowered by the tannic acids. What are your KH and GH? Oak leaves are good alternatives to Indian almond leaves if the latter is not available. Another alternative is peat. The tannins do help minimize the incidence of bacterial infections and skin diseases.

Blackwater extracts are the same tannins from the dead leaves, driftwoods and peat and are more expensive than peat and leaves.

 

[James0816]

Are you looking to lower your PH or to provide a certain biotope look (I.e blackwater)? Oak leaves do a very nice job for both. I've never used the almond leaves so I can't comment on them. If you have shrimpies, they'll love sifting through the leaves at the bottom.

 

[msjinkzd]

I have used both oak leaves and almond leaves. they will both leach tannins nicely. I dont' find a huge shift in hardness using either. I have found that teh almond leaves really lay in the tank bottom alot nicer and last longer than the oak leaves.