# Tannin Power!



## kitkatbar (Oct 19, 2011)

So, I've been reading about tannins and they sound like a really nice way to make your fishy's environment more calm and natural feeling for them.

I've read a few things online and was wondering if anybody knew about these...

*Using green tea to get the tannin
*Using Oak Leaf to get the tannin
*Using Rooibos tea to get the tannin

I mention these because I'm interested in doing this and these are the resources available to me...

But, how do you use them?? Do you soak the bag or leaf in the aquarium overnight? or do you do some kind of acclimation thing or what? Has anyone done this? Is it good to do on a consistent basis?


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## Bettas Rule (Aug 18, 2011)

kitkatbar said:


> So, I've been reading about tannins and they sound like a really nice way to make your fishy's environment more calm and natural feeling for them.
> 
> I've read a few things online and was wondering if anybody knew about these...
> 
> ...


I just wash oak leaves off with water to get any dirt or debris off . Then I drop them into the tank. The fish love to hide under them and around them. They are always more active when tannin's are present in my experience.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I use native Oak leaves for my tannin needs-about 8 different species in/around my house.....naturally dried and fallen from the tree.....I use roughly 18-20 crushed per gallon of water for treatment...the longer it steeps the more tannins are released the darker the water

In the spawning tank I will added 8-10 whole-they usually will sink after about 4-5 days and slowly release the tannins-I don't generally remove the Oak leaves-but I also have NPT and as they decomp you can see them-I like the added ferts they provide for the plants and the natural CO2 produced with decomp-but in a regular substrate tank you may want to remove them after a few weeks or as you see them starting to break down and replace.

The tannins can change the pH-and so you want to avoid any sudden changes or large water changes unless you properly acclimate first-especially if you use a lot of the tannins-its a good idea to have your replacement water pre tanned to use for the water changes....

You don't want to heat the tannin source over 110F-this will kill the antibacterial/fungal properties...

The processed tea bag-are great to get the stained water that can help with stress and/or the more natural look of amber water, however, due to processing they may not have the antibacterial/fungal properties needed for treatments-but still good for stress if you don't have raw IAL or Oak leaf.....


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## kitkatbar (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, Bettas Rule and OFL!

There are a lot of oak trees where I live. For a 3.5 gallon tank how would you suggest integrating oak leaves? I'm concerned about them rotting, but i could just remove them during weekly water changes...


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

In an unplanted regular substrate tank-that is what I would do...remove and replace with your weekly water changes or as you start to see them break down...if the tank is tanned fairly dark- I would pre-tan the replacement water used for water changes too or make smaller volume changes...in the 25% range-more or less since you can have pH changes with the use of the tannins....the pH change can be more-so the longer or more mature the system....since the break down(decomp) of organics itself can produce CO2 naturally and this alone can lower pH over and above the acid from the tannins...its not as complicated as it sounds.....its an all natural process-allbeit slight...but you do need to be aware so not to make any sudden/extreme changes especially with long term tannin use.....


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## kitkatbar (Oct 19, 2011)

Got it...I might wait on this awhile because I'm not sure how it would work. Sounds kind of intricate. Would be a good sticky or something =)


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## roubidoux (Aug 30, 2011)

Will the filter remove the tannins? I have an Aquaclear filter in my 10 gal and would like to put oak leaves in it. We have tons rights now!


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

If the filter has active charcoal/carbon-that will remove the tannins....


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

If a filter removes tannins from water, does that mean a cycled tank can't have tannins in the water? I didn't realize tannin use was limited to NPT tanks or unfiltered tanks.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

No, no....its not the filter that removes the tannins per se'...it is the carbon/charcoal in the filter..if you use carbon/charcoal-its optional and not needed anyway....charcoal/carbon is more a personal choice since water changes will do the same thing and the carbon/charcoal needs to be active too...it is used up fairly fast and can't be recharged....sorry I wasn't very clear on that......


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## roubidoux (Aug 30, 2011)

ok thanks!


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

Thanks for the clarification. I can look up my filter to see what inside it, but I doubt it is an activated carbon media. It's one of the premade filter cartridges for Whisper filters.


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