EnhancingThe Mood
- Thread starter Scatocephalus
- Start date
Cool beans man. What type of oak are they? I want to get some Live Oaks, but I guess they don't live that well up here as compared to Louisiana. Do all Oak tree leaves lower the pH, or are safe as compared to some other type of tree? Or do Oak leaves just decompose slower than other tree leaves? We've got TONS of acorns around here, so I'm assuming have lots of Oaks as a result...haha.
Do you just pluck them from the tree? or collecting them from the ground after they fell? What will happen if you add them when they are still green?
I'm tempted to give this a try in the 300gal. The water is soft, but the pH is in the lower 8's. Perhaps that what I need to do to drop it.
Do you just pluck them from the tree? or collecting them from the ground after they fell? What will happen if you add them when they are still green?
I'm tempted to give this a try in the 300gal. The water is soft, but the pH is in the lower 8's. Perhaps that what I need to do to drop it.
Peanut_Power;1622343; said:
I think the best feature of oak leaves is that they are relatively thick and tough compared to other types of leaves. They don't break down as fast and last longer. I do think that they are also more acidic than other types. I know my pH has dropped over the past couple of days.
The type of oak that I currently have is Pin Oak. I have also used Scrub Oak in the past. Oak trees retain their leaves until spring when the new leaves cause the old leaves to drop as they bud out. This last batch I plucked off the tree. The Scrub Oak leaves I simply picked off the ground.
NEVER use green leaves. They are full of sap and green leaves will rot, slime out and mess up your water.
I have also used Maple leaves but they break down very quickly.
I would strongly recommend NOT using Walnut leaves. Black Walnuts release a toxin into the ground that kills other plants so that the Walnut tree will have no competition. I would risk the chance that the leaves may add the toxin to your water.
Well, I'm not happy about the way the tank currently looks. I want to add a bunch more leaves. I'm going to refrain from posting full tank shots until I get to that point. I will however post a coupl of fish pics.
Keep in mind that the water is as brown as mud so the pics are very dark.
Female "lenticulata"
C. kelberi... the tanins in the oak leaves have made this fish screaming gold!!
Keep in mind that the water is as brown as mud so the pics are very dark.
Female "lenticulata"
C. kelberi... the tanins in the oak leaves have made this fish screaming gold!!
That sounds cool. So just stick with Oak trees eh? Hmm...Oak trees are Acorn trees right? LoL...just want to make sure I'm correct on that. Gonna take a WHOLE BUTTLOAD of leaves to do the 300gal, but there are a lot of Acorn/Oak trees around luckily.
That 'lent' is looking DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!! Still got the spots huh? Hopefully she will get the red down the back, with the black bands, that would be HOT!!
The Kel is looking spectacular as well! Hott as GOLD! BTW....how you take shots if the tank is so dark? Bright lights and flash?
That 'lent' is looking DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!! Still got the spots huh? Hopefully she will get the red down the back, with the black bands, that would be HOT!!
The Kel is looking spectacular as well! Hott as GOLD! BTW....how you take shots if the tank is so dark? Bright lights and flash?
