Blackwater conditions and Cichla....
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
jcardona1;3420949; said:LOL id hate to be the guy counting these. im sure the aquarium hobby is a good source of income for these guys in other countries. making a killing off crusty old dried leaves, who would have thought!
i wish there something locally we could use
there is oak leaves.I use them and i have had great results with color.
Both Oak leaves and Almond leaves are readily available on both Ebay and aquabid -
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?waterc
I myself have never messed with blackwater treatments for my cichla. I have however used it for other wild caught species...angels, Discus, etc. Great results and would definitely recommend it. The only point I will emphasize besides what everyone else has stated, is stick to it. Keeping it consistent, and steady...great results. Low pH, warm temp 84º-86º doesn't hurt
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?waterc
I myself have never messed with blackwater treatments for my cichla. I have however used it for other wild caught species...angels, Discus, etc. Great results and would definitely recommend it. The only point I will emphasize besides what everyone else has stated, is stick to it. Keeping it consistent, and steady...great results. Low pH, warm temp 84º-86º doesn't hurt
Superlaz;3422808; said:Both Oak leaves and Almond leaves are readily available on both Ebay and aquabid -
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?waterc
I myself have never messed with blackwater treatments for my cichla. I have however used it for other wild caught species...angels, Discus, etc. Great results and would definitely recommend it. The only point I will emphasize besides what everyone else has stated, is stick to it. Keeping it consistent, and steady...great results. Low pH, warm temp 84º-86º doesn't hurt
This is great advise
jdmjunkiemonkie;3421091; said:
you collect them properly dried. for the amount you may need I don't think it would be convenient in a drier of some sort. If you do do this make sure they are collect from an area that does not use pesticides of any sort or pesticides in a near by area.. make sure there is no brown spots and carefully inspect them.. you don't want anything hatching while storing them in your house, garage ect.. I assume.
jcardona1;3421571; said:dammit i missed that part LOLi bought grade B. as jdm said, anything special you need to do get the leaves ready for a tank?
i would just give them a quick rinse and thats it, which is prob not even needed.
Mr Pleco;3421644; said:Was that statement scarcasm? "we don't have chlorine, chloramines, or metals in our water"Are you running an RO unit?
NYC tap :
Nitrates-10MCL plus a lot of chemicals
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstat01b.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mdbp/qrg_st1.pdf
I don't use ro as of now but would love to in the future. I called up my local water company and had them send me the reports.. the readings are extremely minimal.
alright you tree experts! what do you think? oak leaf? i see acorns on the tree so im pretty sure its an oak. if so, JACKPOT!!!!!!!! this is my neighbor's tree 
jcardona1;3427391; said:alright you tree experts! what do you think? oak leaf? i see acorns on the tree so im pretty sure its an oak. if so, JACKPOT!!!!!!!! this is my neighbor's tree
View attachment 403573
looks like you struck the jackpot. now i have to find out if the tree's by my work are oak trees. if its not a oak tree you might just have to sell me some
quick update! the experiment has begun! leaves arrived yesterday, just threw some in the 400g and the 55g grow out. ill let you know what happens. the water has already started to turn "black" 
jcardona1;3427391; said:alright you tree experts! what do you think? oak leaf? i see acorns on the tree so im pretty sure its an oak. if so, JACKPOT!!!!!!!! this is my neighbor's tree
View attachment 403573
yes these are oak leaves but they need to be dried and not fresh. Make sure no pesticides or lime from lawn maintenance companies are used near the area of collect.
jcardona1;3448618; said:quick update! the experiment has begun! leaves arrived yesterday, just threw some in the 400g and the 55g grow out. ill let you know what happens. the water has already started to turn "black"
Take some pictures, I would love to see the dark water... Ever fix the camera?
jcardona1;3448618; said:quick update! the experiment has begun! leaves arrived yesterday, just threw some in the 400g and the 55g grow out. ill let you know what happens. the water has already started to turn "black"
JC Take a ph measurment today and keep track of this level as well as conditions in the black water. This is the #1 way to drop ph and the safest imo. But do remember low ph below 6.0 is warning area. It is not very uncommon to keep P bass in the home aquaria at high ph like 7.3 +. It's much more stable when dealing with the water supply from the city for most of us with out well water or Ro/DO set ups other great way to lower ph, the average ph is high any how.
