Curing leaves for tank use. How to?

[devder1]

I can understand that. Arizona doesn't have many trees, right?

Well, I can't iron them. They're all curled and brittle! So baking it is. I'm thinking about five to eight minutes at around 200ºF should be good, right?

Oh, 60ºC is 140ºF.

look at the pictures on the auction, he soaks them in a water solution first, then irons them to make them flat and easy to ship.
and yes, i am never going to find big leaves like that here, we have a fair amount of shrubbery, but from an evolutionary stanpoint, big leaves ith large surfce area=large water loss, and not good in a desert, so we are short on leaves, but theres lots of nice driftwood

 

[knifegill]

Oh, yeah! The dried ones I've added to the tadpole tank are floppy now. Duh. Silly me. Baking still seems so much simpler now. I'll bake, then soak them in a bucket until they are soft enough to rinse a couple of times. That should be good. There aren't fish in the tank yet anyway, so if it goes south it's no big deal.

 

[devder1]

Oh, yeah! The dried ones I've added to the tadpole tank are floppy now. Duh. Silly me. Baking still seems so much simpler now. I'll bake, then soak them in a bucket until they are soft enough to rinse a couple of times. That should be good. There aren't fish in the tank yet anyway, so if it goes south it's no big deal.

cool, let us know how it goes

 

[knifegill]

They're in the tank. I'll update IF something goes fuzzy.

First shot: My ghetto filter.

 

[devder1]

looks good, but are they supposed to sink?

 

[knifegill]

Looks like it. They're all over the bottom now. The tadpoles are hiding in them, and I think the daphnia must be picking bacteria or something off of them. Hmmm.

 

[Outlander]

You live in Japan. I want almond leaves very badly but they do not exist on my continent. Unless I want to pay $25.00 USD for half a pound. Yeah, right. They're leaves. People are throwing them away. I'm not paying premium price (that's fish money!) for trash.

HAHA They ain't cheap here either! I'm paying 400~500 yen for 5 leaves!!!!!!! I know... crazy, but the fish seem to be much happier/healthier now, and they're worth it. When you think how much we spend setting a new tank up, 25 bucks is cheap right? And you're getting half a pound for that price which is going to be ALOT of leaves.
On the sinking thing... the ones I use float for a few days and become water logged and then sink.

Best of luck with them.

 

[knifegill]

These trees don't grow in Japan?

 

[Outlander]

Yes they do, but I'm too chicken to use 'wild' leaves lol. Don't want to introduce any nasties into my tanks. I may give it a go though this autumn.

 

[knifegill]

Well, after a few months the leaves have done a good job of falling apart and making a royal mess. They're great cover for catfish and cichlids alike and good for tannins, but I think (to keep them around long-term) they will need to be replaced. I'll have to wait until fall and stockpile.