How many oak leaves in a tank?

beviking · Post by **beviking** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 10:55 am

Is there a magical number? 6 in a 15gal tank o.k.? Or should I just have a couple?

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:03 pm

There is no magical number. 2-3 leaves should be fine...they do not get eaten all that quickly...they will last several months each. You can put in more if you want to create a "leaf littered creek in the woods" effect. However, these leaves do lower the PH dramatically if you do not have a buffer in your tank (calcium is a buffer for example).

Mustafa

thgng · Post by **thgng** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:31 pm

There are no oak leaves in my area.

What other leaves can i use to lower my pH ?

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:43 pm

Just about any leaf will lower the pH of water as it decays. Oak leaves have two qualities that makes them useful:

They decay slowly. This prevents fouling of the water.
They do not contain toxic chemicals.

Since you are in SEA, do you have access to catappa leaves? I have heard good things, but never used them.

thgng · Post by **thgng** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 7:05 pm

Thanks Bradimus... i hope I can find some.

Does anyone know if it's safe for shrimps ?
Should I put in some coral chips to buffer the pH a little ?

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:45 am

thgng wrote:There are no oak leaves in my area.

What other leaves can i use to lower my pH ?

I use oak but also alder (Alnus glutinosa) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaves. Oak leaves lower the pH the most. As Mustafa said, if you have soft water check your pH often when you put these leaves in the tank.

BTW - I have a couple of Macrobrachium banjare, they adore getting under the leaves

beviking · Post by **beviking** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 7:52 am

Thanks for the replies! My water is pretty hard (GH 11, KH

so I don't expect pH to shift much.