Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => General Fishkeeping advice => Topic started by: fishtales on November 24, 2019, 11:20:50 AM
-
So I started adding leaf litter to my tank about a month ago.
I tested my PH about half an hour ago. First time since adding everything. It reads 7.6ph up from the usual 7.4. If anything I thought the stuff I added would have lowered my ph.
-
First of all, test pH at the same time of day. pH naturally varies throughout the day especially if you have plants.
If your KH is reasonably high, that will stop the pH falling even with tannins in the water. With a GH of 8, KH is probably similar and this would be enough to keep the pH stable.
What substrate do you have on the bottom of this tank? Cuts from sharp particles letting an infection get in is the usual cause of damaged barbels.
-
Hi @fishtales
It's probably the oak leaves that are raising the water pH. Different leaves affect pH differently. Take a look at:
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/2016/10/28/free-tank-decor
Scroll to the end of the article and you will see how oak and catappa leaves affect pH over time. The 'pH in RO' figures indicate what would happen if the water had no pH buffering, i.e. KH = 0dH. The second table, 'pH in tapwater' is the one that's more relevant in your case. Note how oak leaves progressively increase pH throughout the 311 hour period (approx. 13 days). During the one month period since you added the leaves, it is not surprising that pH has increased. Note also that, over time, catappa leaves have the same effect.
Hope that helps.
JPC
-
The main things to be aware of:
Collect them where there is no chance of them being contaminated with things like insecticide, or even car pollution.
Only take leaves off the ground; don't pull them off the tree - they must be free from sap.
Wash, dry and store till needed.
-
yes, just from the ground. The leaves must be totally and utterly dead when you collect them.
-
Hi @fishtales
The power of leaves in aquaria lies in the fact that they contain what are known as humic substances. It's a fascinating subject. The acknowledged expert in this field is Dr Christian Steinberg.
JPC
-
Just curious to underatand if beech is perhaps the exception to the rule of picking leaves from the ground as it retains its leaves on the tree till next growing season?