Natural aquarium products

tanksalot360 · January 08, 2018, 10:29:40 PM

I'm a huge fan of using natural products in the soft water aquarium. Underwater they release tannins that brown the water which are typically regarded as beneficial, providing a gentle way of softening water, lowering pH, while often boasting antibiotic and antifungal properties. The biofilm that accumulates on these as they decompose is a palatable food source for shrimp, plecos and nano fish or picky eaters. So these items include driftwood, cholla wood, Indian almond leaves, oak leaves, black alder cones, guava leaves, banana leaves, etc. It's important the items are dried, baked, boiled &/or soaked before use. Most items at the store have been prepared for immediate use after a quick rinse.

I'm trying something new so I thought I'd share.
I boiled cinnamon sticks (bark) purchased at the grocery store and a Buddha pod from Critter Jungle. I have NOT yet tested these in the aquarium and will update when I do!
The cinnamon was boiled for 30min and rinsed well (was foamy) before being soaked in freshwater over night. And the Buddha pod soaked for days and didn't sink, so I boiled it for 30min, shaved the soft spongy inside layer out with a spoon and boiled again for an hour to sink it. I will soak this in freshwater over night as well. Many of the tannins are released during this process but many still remain.

I would suggest adding small amounts of natural products at a time as not to overwhelm the tank, but you can continue to add week-to-week to establish a nice litter bed. Or just add new leaves as others disintegrate about every 4-6 weeks.
Stay tuned for the results!

th3budd · January 08, 2018, 10:42:06 PM

Let some algae grow in the water column, add some rosehips and then scoop out some aquarium water and you'll have a nice green tea!

tanksalot360 · January 10, 2018, 12:08:03 AM

Over the following 24hrs, the tea-water was poured off and replaced with freshwater ~4x before adding the wood products to the aquarium. The snails took to cleaning immediately. I will monitor the fish etc but don't anticipate any issues.

I'm interested in who uses similar natural products in their aquariums? ?

daworldisblack · January 10, 2018, 08:37:07 AM

Interesting thread! I have used almond leaves and alder cones before. Way back I used to use black water extract as well. I like the idea but I can't see myself doing this for a display planted tank. I've done a his in breeding tanks primarily. Curious to see how this pans out!

Kalinkacat · January 10, 2018, 10:47:01 AM

What are the round balls? Is that Buddha pods?

tanksalot360 · January 10, 2018, 11:33:31 AM

Quote from: Kalinkacat on January 10, 2018, 10:47:01 AM
What are the round balls? Is that Buddha pods?

The round balls are maifanitum mineral balls for shrimp (and invertebrates)- used to supplement trace minerals - I cannot say they work or not, but they make for cool interactive decor.
The Buddha pod is the large, 6"+ coconut-like seed pod shown in the boiling pot on the stove and waterlogged on the grey rock.

I suppose someone could simmer the tannin water during boiling and concentrate their own black water extract during the preparation.

Black_Rose · January 10, 2018, 08:37:01 PM

I use small and very large Indian Almond leaves in my betta tanks, as well as my tanks with RCS in them.

Also have a piece of rose quartz in one of our tanks, and planning to put some in one of my next setups.

tanksalot360 · February 07, 2018, 12:08:24 PM

I'm happy to hear others use the IAL as well! If you'd like to try some PM me! Maybe we'll see aquascapes in the future using quartz and other colourful mineral stones.

Update:
The Buddha pod has been well accepted and fish and ramshorn snails interact with it constantly. It has remained clean (no fungus/biofilm) and what tannins that have been release are weak, and water clarity appears relatively unchanged since the beginning.

Cinnamon sticks became covered in white biofilm in one tank and not the other. With the main difference being the presence of ansistrus and pond snails - likely cleaning the sticks and preventing biofilm accumulation. These small caves are easy for the bristlenose to flip over and thoroughly clean.

Gilbotron · February 07, 2018, 05:00:35 PM

Quote from: Black_Rose on January 10, 2018, 08:37:01 PM
I use small and very large Indian Almond leaves in my betta tanks, as well as my tanks with RCS in them.

Also have a piece of rose quartz in one of our tanks, and planning to put some in one of my next setups.

Does quartz (rose or white) affect water chemistry? I have about 100lbs of the stuff and was planning to do a scape with a lot of it in the near future...

Black_Rose · February 07, 2018, 09:12:18 PM

Quote from: Gilbotron on February 07, 2018, 05:00:35 PM
Does quartz (rose or white) affect water chemistry? I have about 100lbs of the stuff and was planning to do a scape with a lot of it in the near future...

I haven't noticed any changes to the water chemistry.

I still add Seachem Equilibrium to the water to bump the GH for the endlers in that tank.
KH stays around 3 or 4 with the help of crushed coral.

tanksalot360 · February 07, 2018, 11:09:09 PM

I've used a fine crushed quartz as sand in a tank before. Used to get 80lb bags of a brown silica sand (sil-9) from a construction supplier, when they were out one time I asked for something similar - got crushed quartz sand - worked fine for me! I don't think there's any chance of it dissolving. I guess you could test with some pure water and a TDS meter?

Do I see a crystal cave in your future?

Black_Rose · February 08, 2018, 09:08:57 AM

The only thing I've used that caused water chemistry issues was a rock that looks like quartz and is called Utah Ice (selenite).

Makes your water so hard you could stick a fork in it (tested over 300)

Took 6+ weeks of water changes to get the parameters back to normal.

Gilbotron · February 08, 2018, 01:57:04 PM

Quote from: tanksalot360 on February 07, 2018, 11:09:09 PM
Do I see a crystal cave in your future?

Oooh... hadn't thought of that! Hmmm...

Themarcfish · February 28, 2018, 12:31:57 AM

Pure quartz should be neutral and undissolving. May slightly raise silica content which can contribute to brown diatoms. Effect should be slight.

bergenm · March 01, 2018, 12:42:38 PM

Quartz and sand are both just Silicon Dioxide - should not affect chemistry unless treated.

tanksalot360 · April 01, 2018, 06:50:15 PM

I highly recommend researching before using any of these pods...
I found Cerbera Pods (Cerbera odollam) to contain a human heart-stopping toxin in their seeds. Thus, I had to remove and dispose of the seeds before boiling! I took precautions with gloves - it is the fibrous outer pod that contains the tannins

I boiled and am still alive...
I'll update once I put these with fish.

tanksalot360 · April 24, 2018, 10:26:39 PM

I've placed the Cerbera pods with fish now for 3 weeks in 2 seperate tanks - one with Mayan cichlids and one with Apistos, enders and baby bristlenose - I have no problems to report.
They look really cool in the tanks.

More botanicals include spiky sweet gum balls (I'm excited for these, and so are my shrimp!) and a couple coconuts (great value, coconut lasts for years in the aquarium).
I also got creative and made cinnamon bark & mossball huts (for shrimp, etc.).

Up next: I'm excited to try bamboo leaves!

Of course if there is something you're interested in trying but can't be bothered to order it or prepare it, I may have extra to sell or trade.
With the giant auction coming up I can include some of the less-common items if there is interest.