# crushed leaves



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

so by now every body should now that im a landscaper soooooooooooo

could i use crushed leaves as a substrate in my fish tanks instead of flourite or any other type of plantable bottom

im thinking 1 inch of crushed leaves with 1 inch of small gravel on top

would there be a problem with my water chem

dangers to piranhas

somebody explain any problems i might have or would this in theroy work


----------



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

ill awnser my own question i think its fine it you can use peatmoss for substrate you can use leaves so it will be fine and i guess ill find out on my own if you can

someone can add if you want


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

I think you would have a problem with the leaves leaching out possible toxins and harboring disease (you would have to know each and every type of leaf and research what it contains)...plus when they start decaying, you will have some serious water chemistry issues.


----------



## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

eventually they will decay in to nothing, and then waht? Also i would forsee them traping large ammounts of organic material and preventing it from reaching your filters, further foluing your water. What kind of leaves are we talking about here?


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Not sure why this topic was moved... and I can't find the forum to which it was moved...
But it sure seems as though it belongs in the "Water chemistry forum" to me, as it 
has to do with pH and water softness...

And yes, crushed leaves would soften the water and decrease pH by providing tannins into the water.

I've seen it done with success.

I've seen some beautiful Discus tanks that have been done like this, they were gorgeous tanks and a good simulation of the Amazonian waters.


----------



## IVIorgan2 (Jul 19, 2006)

I wouldn't try this. Your phosphates and nitrates would be through the roof


----------



## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

IVIorgan2 said:


> I wouldn't try this. Your phosphates and nitrates would be through the roof


Why you say that ??


----------



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

Piranha_man said:


> Not sure why this topic was moved... and I can't find the forum to which it was moved...
> But it sure seems as though it belongs in the "Water chemistry forum" to me, as it
> has to do with pH and water softness...
> 
> ...


i can deal with low ph i have piranhas right so thats good and to the nitrate guy i have aquarium plants up the wazoo now about it decomposing it would just turn to dirt 
and i though you could use dirt or peat for a substrate?

also i would be using pin oak leaves all pin oak leaves i think or maple

i know my water would be a beautiful tan color great for my fish

would enough plants keep the phospates and nitrate down ?


----------



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

the only problem that i think could seriously be an issue would be it lowering my ph i could use seachem reef builder to bring my kh up so the tank does not crash as my tap water here is a kh of 3
and a ph of 8 wich is deff weird as all hell 
i have done this before but with dirt and some leaves the tank looked very very cool and the fish seemed to be so calm after they loved it i had 4 pirayas and a super red at the time but inever check my water chem then so i dont have a clue what it did to it it just seems like a cheap and effective way of feeding my plants and also most ponds all have this due to fall soooooo

would this work


----------



## Devon Amazon (Apr 3, 2005)

Yes you can use beech or oak leaves...boil them first to remove any nasties!

Another good option is indian almond leaves, also called kampeta, They do a great job of softening and conditioning the water

They are very popular with breeders in asia, used mainly on arowana and betta.
They are also useful for aclimiatising wild fish to tap water

I use them in my discus tank
Check ebay for them


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Piranha_man said:


> Not sure why this topic was moved... and I can't find the forum to which it was moved...
> But it sure seems as though it belongs in the "Water chemistry forum" to me, as it
> has to do with pH and water softness...


If you're posting in it, you obviously found it. When you click on the original link, it takes you to the forum it was moved to...all you have to do is look at the top of the page at the menus to see where you are. Of course when you reply it has that same info directly above your reply box. (*Piranha-Fury Forums > Piranha Hobby > Aquatic Plants > crushed leaves* is what I see right now).

It was moved because the original post asked about a plantable bottom and the plant guys would have more knowledge about this type of substrate...a link was left in the original forum too so it would get double traffic rasp: ).

I would wait for Dippy Eggs to weigh in on this as he has a bit of experience with using a little bit of peat in some of his planted tanks...there are some things you have to watch out for and I'm sure the same would apply for using leaves.


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

pirayaman said:


> the only problem that i think could seriously be an issue would be it lowering my ph i could use seachem reef builder to bring my kh up so the tank does not crash as my tap water here is a kh of 3
> and a ph of 8 wich is deff weird as all hell
> i have done this before but with dirt and some leaves the tank looked very very cool and the fish seemed to be so calm after they loved it i had 4 pirayas and a super red at the time but inever check my water chem then so i dont have a clue what it did to it it just seems like a cheap and effective way of feeding my plants and also most ponds all have this due to fall soooooo
> 
> would this work


Piranhas prefer lower pH.
Especially if your tap is 8!


----------



## Devon Amazon (Apr 3, 2005)

pirayaman said:


> the only problem that i think could seriously be an issue would be it lowering my ph i could use seachem reef builder to bring my kh up so the tank does not crash as my tap water here is a kh of 3
> and a ph of 8 wich is deff weird as all hell


Weird as hell is the word....

Check the best before date on your test kit!
Borrow/buy another kit and get a second opinion...thats crazy


----------



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

Devon Amazon said:


> Yes you can use beech or oak leaves...boil them first to remove any nasties!
> 
> Another good option is indian almond leaves, also called kampeta, They do a great job of softening and conditioning the water
> 
> ...


thanks devon i can deff find an oak tree at one of my customers houses ill just collect from under it

this 210 is gonna be amazing


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

different ways to simulate habitati heard to use oak leaves and to boil them first

i found that at some site so ill try to find you a link


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

pirayaman said:


> oh and giggles i did not post why has this topic been moved it seem like you were refering to the poster of this topic im pirayaman


Actually, that was me...I got confused. Adjusted my original post accordingly.









Are you still planning on capping the leaves with gravel or other substrate?


----------



## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

dont use leaves, if you can afford it use black moon sand i think it will bring out their colors really nice,if you cant use black gravel thoroughly rinsed, available at any petshop


----------



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

to reply thanks sean great i meen great web link wow

and to scotty im guessing you use sand well heres something for you wen you go to empty that tank at some point smell your sand this will make you never use sand again ever

this tank is gonna be the most natural tank any bodys ever seen it got to the store yesterday and im picking it up today at 12:00 so i will get started on it its gonna take me a couple of days for the silicone on my additions to dry also have to build a stand so its gonna be awesome im like high just thinking about it oh yeahhhhh



BioTeAcH said:


> oh and giggles i did not post why has this topic been moved it seem like you were refering to the poster of this topic im pirayaman


Actually, that was me...I got confused. Adjusted my original post accordingly.










Are you still planning on capping the leaves with gravel or other substrate?
[/quote]

im thinking crushed oak leaves mixed with flourite and thats all i will say for now hahahhahahahahahhah evil laught best tank contest will be mine hahahahahah


----------

