Tannin Questions

[Kittiee Katt]

Hi all. I've been doing some reading about tannins lately, and after seeing photos of silver dollars kept in tannin stained water, I'm hooked on the idea for my SA community tank. Only problem is that when I try to find information about keeping tannins in the water, all I can find is stuff telling me how to remove it. Now for my questions:

1. I've read that almond leaves can be used? Where would I buy these, and do they have to be somewhat dried out, or "fresh"? I don't have an almond tree near by that I can just pick leaves off.

2. Roughly how many weekly 50% water changes will it take before the tannins get diluted from, say, a dark tea colour to slightly yellowish? I know this will vary a lot, so I'm just looking for peoples experiences.

3. Is there anything other than almond leaves and driftwood that produce tannins that could be used? I don't want to use driftwood because I'm worried that my SD's will hurt themselves on it.

Also, I've just finished paying for a decent size 'chunk' of driftwood for my bettas tank that I'm about to start soaking, if it's still leaking heaps of tannins when I put it in the tank, will it bother any of the tanks residents? Will it benefit any of the tanks residents? Tank houses: x1 male betta, x1usd cat, x2 kuhlli loaches and 5 white cloud minnows.


Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[tlindsey]

You can also use Blackwater Extract from Tetra to give you the same effect. You would have to add this every wc though.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

You can also use Blackwater Extract from Tetra to give you the same effect. You would have to add this every wc though.

this sounds expensive.. I'm rather opposed to spending money if I don't have to

 

[Dee eng]

Hi all. I've been doing some reading about tannins lately, and after seeing photos of silver dollars kept in tannin stained water, I'm hooked on the idea for my SA community tank. Only problem is that when I try to find information about keeping tannins in the water, all I can find is stuff telling me how to remove it. Now for my questions:

1. I've read that almond leaves can be used? Where would I buy these, and do they have to be somewhat dried out, or "fresh"? I don't have an almond tree near by that I can just pick leaves off.

2. Roughly how many weekly 50% water changes will it take before the tannins get diluted from, say, a dark tea colour to slightly yellowish? I know this will vary a lot, so I'm just looking for peoples experiences.

3. Is there anything other than almond leaves and driftwood that produce tannins that could be used? I don't want to use driftwood because I'm worried that my SD's will hurt themselves on it.

Also, I've just finished paying for a decent size 'chunk' of driftwood for my bettas tank that I'm about to start soaking, if it's still leaking heaps of tannins when I put it in the tank, will it bother any of the tanks residents? Will it benefit any of the tanks residents? Tank houses: x1 male betta, x1usd cat, x2 kuhlli loaches and 5 white cloud minnows.


Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi! Yeah I use almond leaves myself, you can find them online, eBay or your LFS should have some. The almond leavesare dry. I usually put the leaves in hot water over night, I would say for a 50-75g tanks 2-3 leaves would be more than enough. I also throws the leaves in the tank until my next WC, then I'll take them out and just add one leaf everytime I do WC. Or if the water is to black I won't add any new leaves. Hope this helps buddy! Happy fish keeping!

 

[Kittiee Katt]

Hi! Yeah I use almond leaves myself, you can find them online, eBay or your LFS should have some. The almond leavesare dry. I usually put the leaves in hot water over night, I would say for a 50-75g tanks 2-3 leaves would be more than enough. I also throws the leaves in the tank until my next WC, then I'll take them out and just add one leaf everytime I do WC. Or if the water is to black I won't add any new leaves. Hope this helps buddy! Happy fish keeping!

Thanks. It helps heaps

 

[AlG]

R these tropical almond leaves like we have in hawwaii and Asia or normal almonds leaves.... I have an unlimited supply of the tropical ones that would be awesome

 

[boldtogether]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=409

Never done it but I know those who have and it is very cheap and inexpensive.

Hi all. I've been doing some reading about tannins lately, and after seeing photos of silver dollars kept in tannin stained water, I'm hooked on the idea for my SA community tank. Only problem is that when I try to find information about keeping tannins in the water, all I can find is stuff telling me how to remove it. Now for my questions:

1. I've read that almond leaves can be used? Where would I buy these, and do they have to be somewhat dried out, or "fresh"? I don't have an almond tree near by that I can just pick leaves off.

2. Roughly how many weekly 50% water changes will it take before the tannins get diluted from, say, a dark tea colour to slightly yellowish? I know this will vary a lot, so I'm just looking for peoples experiences.

3. Is there anything other than almond leaves and driftwood that produce tannins that could be used? I don't want to use driftwood because I'm worried that my SD's will hurt themselves on it.

Also, I've just finished paying for a decent size 'chunk' of driftwood for my bettas tank that I'm about to start soaking, if it's still leaking heaps of tannins when I put it in the tank, will it bother any of the tanks residents? Will it benefit any of the tanks residents? Tank houses: x1 male betta, x1usd cat, x2 kuhlli loaches and 5 white cloud minnows.


Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[souzie]

I have a blackwater tank and I use a combination of almond leaves, alder cones and peat.

What I do is soak the almond leaves and alder cones for a few days so they can sink and throw it in the tank. I then save the tannin stained water and freeze it to add to subsequent WC's.

The almond leaves and alder cones stay in the tank for a month before they begin to rot and the following month, I repeat the process.

As for peat, I buy the pellets and put them in a mesh bag in my HOB. Those also get replaced every month.

 

[Betta132]

If you want free blackwater, find some oak trees in Fall. Fallen oak leaves release a lot of tannins, just be sure they're all the way dry and not housing any spiders. Formerly dry leaves that have just been drenched in rain are also fine, and usually less likely to have spiders.
Leave them in the tank until they completely disintegrate. They won't hurt anything, and the decaying leaves grow all sorts of little aquatic bugs that your fish will snack on.
Don't boil them, it kills off all kinds of useful bacteria and potential bio-film, and it's only needed if you think there might be toxins. Just don't collect leaves from anywhere near toxins. They take a little while to sink when you put them in the tank without boiling first, but even the most stubborn leaves will sink after a couple of days.

A lot of fish are less timid in tannin-drenched water. Great for keeping shy fish and actually seeing them now and then. Your tannins will gradually increase, and eventually you won't be able to see too well if you put a whole darn lot of leaves in, but it won't hurt the fish and you can just do a water change when it starts getting a bit tricky to see.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=409

Never done it but I know those who have and it is very cheap and inexpensive.

This could work, I can get oak leaves for free from my pops yard. Thank you heaps for that.

If you want free blackwater, find some oak trees in Fall. Fallen oak leaves release a lot of tannins, just be sure they're all the way dry and not housing any spiders. Formerly dry leaves that have just been drenched in rain are also fine, and usually less likely to have spiders.
Leave them in the tank until they completely disintegrate. They won't hurt anything, and the decaying leaves grow all sorts of little aquatic bugs that your fish will snack on.
Don't boil them, it kills off all kinds of useful bacteria and potential bio-film, and it's only needed if you think there might be toxins. Just don't collect leaves from anywhere near toxins. They take a little while to sink when you put them in the tank without boiling first, but even the most stubborn leaves will sink after a couple of days.

A lot of fish are less timid in tannin-drenched water. Great for keeping shy fish and actually seeing them now and then. Your tannins will gradually increase, and eventually you won't be able to see too well if you put a whole darn lot of leaves in, but it won't hurt the fish and you can just do a water change when it starts getting a bit tricky to see.

The link posted above is about this. But thank you for taking the time to post that up.