Marcia
Member
that would be excellent, thank you for doing that for us 😊
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Are all Botanicals safe for fishes?
- Thread starter Marcia
- Start date
Marcia
Member
Well.
I bought a bunch of those pods because they look so pretty…
But once in water they close up 🙈
Gourami photobombing:
I bought a bunch of those pods because they look so pretty…
But once in water they close up 🙈
Gourami photobombing:
Hi all,
I think this one is "Bakuli" (Lagerstroemia parviflora) <"Lagerstroemia parviflora - Useful Tropical Plants">, in which case it would have "winged seeds" a bit like an Ash or Sycamore (but much smaller) contained in the outer capsule ("fruit").
Other Lagerstroemia spp. have pretty similar fruit <"NParks | Lagerstroemia speciosa">.
cheers Darrel
A lot of seed pods do that, it is because they want to shed their seed (often wind dispersed) when it is dry. As an example, in the UK, you can here Gorse (Ulex spp.) pods explosively dehiscing when its sunny. Legumes have smooth seeds (like peas) so the plant is reliant on just flinging them as far as possible.
I think this one is "Bakuli" (Lagerstroemia parviflora) <"Lagerstroemia parviflora - Useful Tropical Plants">, in which case it would have "winged seeds" a bit like an Ash or Sycamore (but much smaller) contained in the outer capsule ("fruit").
Other Lagerstroemia spp. have pretty similar fruit <"NParks | Lagerstroemia speciosa">.
cheers Darrel
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John q
Member
Not a problem, hopefully gives "some" interpretation regards how botanicals affect the ph of our tank water. Just keep in mind this a one off random test and other people's experiences may vary.
So I'll start with full disclosure, I made a couple of schoolboy errors! Firstly I didn't calibrate my ph meter, I realised this gigantic error after I'd started the initial test, and upon testing the meter in ph 7 buffer solution we can see there is some drift (0.04) I can only apologise and ask you bear this in mind with the results below. No calibration will be done over the course of this test.
The drift.
Secondly I should really have filled a tub with water and added nothing to it, this would have been the control marker to see if the ph varied over the course of 4 days.
Again I can only apologise, I'm an engineer by trade, not a scientist 😉
Enter the players.
These 2.5ltr containers were filled with tap water to the top straight line. Water tds was 59 tds, this is about average for this time of year, and sits in the middle of the united utilities water report readings. Average CaC03 claimed by UU is 12 mg/l, I think this equates to 0.7 dkh.
The above containers were left with lids off and ph readings taken after 24hrs.
The letters on above containers represent the botanicals to be tested, which are.
Alder cone.
Casuarina cone.
Oak leaf.
Parviflora pod.
Weights of said botanicals (I consciously chose 1 of each)
Alder cone.
Casuarina cone.
Parviflora pod.
Oak leaf.
200mls of water was poured from each container into a jug, the selected botanical added then dinged in the microwave for 60 seconds, this raised the temperature in the jug to an average of 60 C. This water and botanical was then added to the containers.
The tubs were left open throughout the experiment and rotated daily to try and balance temperature. They were stirred with a knife prior to any readings being taken. The ph meter was left in the tub for a couple of minutes before pictures were take to allow ph to stabilise. Once stabilised switching the meter off and on appeared to give the same readings.
Congratulations if you've got this far, here's the results.
20hrs.
44hrs.
68hrs.
And finally 94 hrs.
Make what you will of the above readings, they aren't exact, but they should give some idea what we can expect with ~0.7 dkh water.
As always if anybody is adding anything to the tank do it slowly and monitor, we can always add more if needed.
Will repeat the above experiment with deionised water later this week.
Toodle pip.
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Hi all,
cheers Darrel
That is pretty close. Because of the negative log10 nature of the pH scale at around pH7 very small differences in the H+ activity have a disproportionately large effect on the pH reading. You could add a <"neutral salt (NaCl),"> it won't effect pH, but it will make the pH readings more reliable.
cheers Darrel
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Marcia
Member
Thank you for that experiment. I’m being careful adding the botanicals specially the Parviflora pods now. Would it be safer for the fishes if I soak the botanicals for a week before adding them maybe?
Marcia
Member
Just want to show how the Jacaranda shells change in the water to bright orange. It lights up a dark corner in the aquarium ☀️
John q
Member
Pre soaking for this amount of time really isn't necessary, all you'll achieve by doing this is to allow all the "good stuff" to leach out of said botanicals and be wasted, unless of course you add the resulting tea directly to the tank?
In a 90L tank unless you are throwing 10/15 pods in at a time I wouldn't have thought you'd have a problem personally, assuming that is you don't use 0 dkh water.
Don't overthink it, add a few botanicals, check the PH, observe the fish; is everything looking good? Great, add more botanicals 👍
Personally I'd just chuck them in, a generous handful at a time each week until I was happy with how many are in there. It's really only the alder/alnus cones that stain the water dramatically that you need to be careful of (mostly because you just won't see anything when the water goes that dark).
Every one of my tanks has lots of botanicals in, most collected from my garden and from parks and I've never had any negative side effects, even though I don't wash them and often add a lot in one go. They float at the top of the water for a day or so and then sink down which gives a very natural look. My fish and shrimps seem much happier and healthier for it, especially when the tanks end up with a good 2-inch thick layer of mixed leaves and pods at the bottom to explore and frolick about in.
I remember being really annoyed by the parviflora pods when I first got them too, they are so much prettier dry. I didn't bother again with them as they never opened up for me again even after being in the water for months.
Every one of my tanks has lots of botanicals in, most collected from my garden and from parks and I've never had any negative side effects, even though I don't wash them and often add a lot in one go. They float at the top of the water for a day or so and then sink down which gives a very natural look. My fish and shrimps seem much happier and healthier for it, especially when the tanks end up with a good 2-inch thick layer of mixed leaves and pods at the bottom to explore and frolick about in.
I remember being really annoyed by the parviflora pods when I first got them too, they are so much prettier dry. I didn't bother again with them as they never opened up for me again even after being in the water for months.
In the form of Gin...
John q
Member
Sorry for the delay.
Same experiment, but only tested 2 cones.
De ionised water, added 0.13 g mgso4, 0.16g caso4 and 0.1g of Nacl. Dgh 3.2 tds around 80.
Acclimatised water after 24hrs.
The botanicals. Alder abd parviflora pods
20 hrs
44hrs.
68 hrs.
92 hrs
After a full 7 days.
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Marcia
Member
It turns out that the Sterculia Pod is a good natural slugs trap 🪤 They congregate inside overnight and it’s easy to remove and evict them in the morning 👍
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