Tannin Questions

[duanes]

I have collected my yards entire piles of fallen maple, magnolia, and other leaves, saved and used them. Some species may be toxic, so check before use, and I never use pesticides or fungicide in the yard, so not a worry.
After collection, they are boiled and then soaked. The result is concentrated, tea stained water, I mixed with water during water changes.

I also put leaves directly into tanks, for a continuous leaching of tannins, and think it provides a very natural environment. But they do break down over time, creating lots of detritus, that needs to be vacuumed out.


The leaves in the tank also provide a very natural spawning medium for some fish.
Eggs are placed in it, and disappear, and fry find it a great place to hide

 

[Woefulrelic]

Would tannins just ravage my filter socks? I think between that and drip system it might be a fools errand but I want to try it.

 

[duanes]

I also used filter socks, when the leaves are intact, not a problem, and after being boiled and soaked, usually go straight to the bottom of the tank.
But after they break down into small particulate the socks tend to plug quickly.
I would have a sock in the tank, one already bleached and soaking in sodium thio water, and another in bleach solution, because 48 hours was about all I could get out of a 100 micron sock. So changing socks out every other day was not out of the ordinary, especially after the leaves deteriorate into pulp.
I also tried hanging leaves in filter socks in sumps, with a water line pushing water slowly thru the sock, in that way the tannins could leach into the water, but not the particulate.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I have collected my yards entire piles of fallen maple, magnolia, and other leaves, saved and used them. Some species may be toxic, so check before use, and I never use pesticides or fungicide in the yard, so not a worry.
After collection, they are boiled and then soaked. The result is concentrated, tea stained water, I mixed with water during water changes.

I also put leaves directly into tanks, for a continuous leaching of tannins, and think it provides a very natural environment. But they do break down over time, creating lots of detritus, that needs to be vacuumed out.


The leaves in the tank also provide a very natural spawning medium for some fish.
Eggs are placed in it, and disappear, and fry find it a great place to hide

so you've used maple leaves with success? I'm going to have to do some collecting this year

 

[duanes]

Yes maple have worked, although they are a bit flimsy, and tend to break down faster than some of the more dense leaves such as magnolia, or tropical leaves such as almond.
And admit if green tea is left unfinished, I don't hesitate to dump it in tanks, as long as it hasn't had been sugared or had other additions.

 

[JK47]

Kittiee Katt one of the things I used to do was talk to my LFS in advance. When they got wood shipments in I asked for all the scraps at the bottom of the shipping box be set aside and would give them a couple bucks. They usually toss this stuff anyway. Every month or so I would get a nice little bag of driftwood that could be tossed in a media bag and added to a canister or sump. duanes is giving you some very good advice as well. I used many different kind of leaves from around my property so long as it was a hardwood including oak leaves.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Yes maple have worked, although they are a bit flimsy, and tend to break down faster than some of the more dense leaves such as magnolia, or tropical leaves such as almond.
And admit if green tea is left unfinished, I don't hesitate to dump it in tanks, as long as it hasn't had been sugared or had other additions.

I'd be nervous about caffeine with more sensitive species.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Allow me to add some information that may be of no use. I stayed in southern costal North Carolina USA (Near Wilmington and the mouth of the Cape Fear River). The ponds and such were of dark stained water. I fished in some of the lakes and ponds.

My comment being that most of the trees were evergreens, likely southern Pine. There was a business of collecting the pine straw for sale. I have seen it for sale in small bales around here in northern Tennessee USA. While I may be guessing wrong about this, it seemes to me that the pine straw must have contributed to the dark water?? Perhaps pine straw could be used as source? Bear in mind I have not tried this. only speculation.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

Kittiee Katt is giving you some very good advice as well. I used many different kind of leaves from around my property so long as it was a hardwood including oak leaves.[/USER]

Actually a lfs just throws their wood shipments in a giant box (for customers to get splinters and other assorted ouchies while trying to find a nice piece) and that the box has heaps of little chipped bits on the bottom.. I might ask for those next time the box is looking emptyish.

Thank you duanes , for all the in for you put up, magnolia leaves can be obtained for free too.

Hello; Allow me to add some information that may be of no use. I stayed in southern costal North Carolina USA (Near Wilmington and the mouth of the Cape Fear River). The ponds and such were of dark stained water. I fished in some of the lakes and ponds.

My comment being that most of the trees were evergreens, likely southern Pine. There was a business of collecting the pine straw for sale. I have seen it for sale in small bales around here in northern Tennessee USA. While I may be guessing wrong about this, it seemes to me that the pine straw must have contributed to the dark water?? Perhaps pine straw could be used as source? Bear in mind I have not tried this. only speculation.

I'd assume you're probably right, I live in Australia and often see dark streams and creeks with a lot of eucalypt trees growing around them and gum leaves scatterd along the bottoms, but I'd also assume that it wouldn't be the best idea to drop gum leaves in my tank (unless I was keeping naitives, then maybe..) because I'd be worried that the eucalyptus oil in them would leach out and hurt my fish. This is the same reason I haven't cut a big branch off of a fallen blue gum nearby and thrown in the tank I'd think that pine would have a similar effect? But I couldn't say for sure.

Thanks to everyone who's replied, I've gotten a lot of good (and cheap!) ideas.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

I have what I think is a sweetgum tree in my front yard, it looks very much like the pics of sweetgum online. It drops its leaves every year in Autumn, would I be able to use these in my tank when they drop if indeed it is a sweetgum tree? And if I post a pic up, can anyone confirm what kind of tree it is?

Thanks in advance.