blackwater color

[hybridtheoryd16]

why thumbs down for the teabags unless its because leaves out of the yard are cheaper but if you dont have any the teabags work very well

Tea is a leaf as well. So it may work. But i think some tea's have caffiene added to them. And that may be bad for the fish.

 

[dwilder]

yes teabags do work i have never found the caffine to be a problem but you can use decaf if worried oakleaves are free so thats a plus but teabags are a way to stain water

 

[aquaculture]

Anything from an oak tree will darken the water up.

 

[Toby_H]

why thumbs down for the teabags unless its because leaves out of the yard are cheaper but if you dont have any the teabags work very well

As the one who gave a thumbs down at the idea of teabags... I will openly confess I did so simply because it "sounds" like a bad idea to me... I do not "know" of any reason not to try it and I do not have any personal experience suggesting it's a bad idea...

The type of tea may also make a difference... some teas have stimulants (caffeine) while others have mild sedatives (sleepy time teas)... Also any array of different herbs with mild effects can be found in teas...

These are the reasons it "sounds" like a bad idea to me... but personal experience tends to override logical speculation... so although I would use one of the other methods suggested, I will remove my thumbs down on the idea

 

[ceewah]

This is interesting. Does anybody have a picture of their setup with blackwater?

 

[Lupin]

This is interesting. Does anybody have a picture of their setup with blackwater?

Could have told me you'd need some but I stop blackwater setups already and stripped them down. One was for licorice gouramis and two others for loaches.

Edit: AC is down but I just remembered I do have a pic of a whole setup in there for gouramis and it was in 2007.

 

[brianp]

As the one who gave a thumbs down at the idea of teabags... I will openly confess I did so simply because it "sounds" like a bad idea to me... I do not "know" of any reason not to try it and I do not have any personal experience suggesting it's a bad idea...

The type of tea may also make a difference... some teas have stimulants (caffeine) while others have mild sedatives (sleepy time teas)... Also any array of different herbs with mild effects can be found in teas...

These are the reasons it "sounds" like a bad idea to me... but personal experience tends to override logical speculation... so although I would use one of the other methods suggested, I will remove my thumbs down on the idea

You were right the first time. Tea and anything else known to contain substantial amounts of any stimulant (or depressant, for that matter) is a bad idea for the aquarium.

 

[ceewah]

Could have told me you'd need some but I stop blackwater setups already and stripped them down. One was for licorice gouramis and two others for loaches.

Edit: AC is down but I just remembered I do have a pic of a whole setup in there for gouramis and it was in 2007.

Mind showing it?

 

[andyjs]

Cork bark makes the water REALLY brown. I made a tank background out of it a few years ago and even after soaking and boiling it a TON, it still made the water so brown it was difficult to see the fish, but the fish LOVED it. The rasboras wouldn't stop spawning. I actually just fixed up the background again to use it on a little Amazon tank, so I'll fill it up tomorrow and see how much tannin is left in the cork. In a couple days, I'll probably have pictures of a nice brown tank

 

[awsomebichir]

wait im confused..lol..so if i get a oak leef in my yard and i just put it in the tank it will darken up ?