Black water extract - IAL vs Peat

[henward]

Ok

i wanna make concentrated mass amounts of blackwater extract.

do you think there is any difference in ketapang leaves vs Peat moss tannins?

if there isnt, i would probably just get peat.

[Joshlikesfish]

You can do oak leaves. They're free

[kiwiplymouth]

Is it JBL 'aquatrop j' that you are trying to replicate?

[henward]

peat is cheap enough, id ont mind using peat.

i am too scared i get the wrong leaves:D

peat is very cheap and can make hundreds of litres of extract, i am just wondering if the both have the same effect in terms of content?

[Artem]

I think you should do the peat extract and add a few ketapang leaves now and again.

Peat simulates the conditions of a blackwater biotope.

Ketapang leaves are found in some areas of blackwater rivers, but not all. It has been noted that fish around ketapang trees tend to be more vibrant thus it would make sense that adding these leaves would make our fish more vibrants, yes? However a blackwater biotope is not dependant on having ketapang leaves.

As always, its up to you really.

[GZ_Loach]

Leaves make a natural decoration

[henward]

ahh

good comment!

ok, so black water is cos of peat but some blackwater rivers have ketapang, whcih apparently makes fish more vibrant.

so... to make black water you dont need ketapang, so the blackwaters in asia, are not all due to ketapang?

also, leaves

i was thinking of leaving the whole leaves in the tank, but will it rot and cause amonia spikes?

[Artem]

Not quite; in the wild a Blackwater river is caused by decaying matter leaching tannins into the water and exchanging ions.

It turns out that peat does the exact same thing as decaying matter. And seeing as its cheaper and more abundant, why not use it?

If you do leave leaves in the tank then yes, you will get an ammonia spike. The only thing you can do is have snails in there which will eat the leaves, it just depends if you hate snails)

[David R]

With the fish you're keeping and the size of your tank leaves will be nothing but a hassle IMO. The problem I had with peat is that its really hard to filter out the fine particles. Best thing for making blackwater (if all you want is the colour) is Alder cones. Its nearly about the right time of year to collect them too.

[Bilbo]

As above. Alder cones are everywhere at this time of year and do a great job. The best bit is they dont breakdown to sludge and can easily be netted out.

[David R]

I found its best to boil them and add the concentrate to the tank until the desired colour is achieved.

[henward]

eah i wanna boil to m ake the extract