Oak Leaves

I have an oak tree in my yard and have heard that putting oak leaves in the tank is beneficial. A couple weeks ago, I broke a couple of branches with leaves off and have them sitting in a cool, dry place.
How do I do this? Do I just put them in the tank? Do I need to prepare them? How many should I use for a 10 gallon or a 29 gallon?

sharkweek178 said:

I have an oak tree in my yard and have heard that putting oak leaves in the tank is beneficial. A couple weeks ago, I broke a couple of branches with leaves off and have them sitting in a cool, dry place.
How do I do this? Do I just put them in the tank? Do I need to prepare them? How many should I use for a 10 gallon or a 29 gallon?

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First, do not use leaves you remove from the tree because they have sap in them, and it may take some time for them to completely dry. It is safer to pick up fallen leaves. These should then be laid out to become brittle (some people rinse them off; do not on any account use any that have bird droppings) as then they are totally dry. Do not boil them, this will break down the cells and make them basically a useless mess. I store them in a clean plastic bag, I have had some for several years. Provided you do not use any pesticides, fertilizers or other chemicals in the yard they will be safe. Or you can collect them in a forest that is totally wild, again to avoid any industrial contamination.

You can use as many as you want, even to the point of completely covering most of the substrate. When you add dried leaves to the tank, they will float for a few days until they become waterlogged. At that point, once they sink, you can place them on the substrate where you want them. Over time they naturally decompose...this is the benefit, as this produces infusoria which is ideal food for grazing fish and all fry. I raised pygmy cory fry, Farlowella fry, and other cories solely on this food, adding no other but what was naturally in the tank and primarily from the decomposing leaves. I have read that they have a bacterial benefit too. Enough of them will begin to tint the water like blackwater, but this too is beneficial for the fish.

I take them directly off the tree, and have for years. But I don't do it until the leaves are dried on the tree, to avoid the sap issue. Where I was living, that would be after hallowe'en, as oaks stay on for a long time.It's a different approach from @Byron , as I never use them off the ground. I imagine both ways work.

Beyond that, everything I do is as @Byron does. I've used these leaves for an easy 20 years. I usually fill 2 plastic garbage bags with them every year, and use them through the year.

So basically, I want brown leaves, nothing green, right?

sharkweek178 said:

So basically, I want brown leaves, nothing green, right?

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Yes. If they are completely dead, whether on the branch or on the ground, dry them and no problem.

Oak is especially good (dried) as they release tannins, but also decompose slowly. Maples fall apart really fast, as a comparison. Oak leaves are tough.

I have been using Magnolia grandiflora leaves from my backyard for years now, but I have also used oak leaves for extended periods of time. Yes, what you want is dried out, old (brown) leaves, such as those naturally fallen to the ground.
In addition to tannin releasing benefits by the leaves, they have several other benefits. Some fish (cories, for instance), love to play between and under them. Some plecos love to rasp on them, becoming a source of probably both nutrition and entertainment. The picture below shows a magnolia leaf that has been in the tank for 1 week (right), the other a new one about to enter the tank. Shown is the result of busy bushynose plecos (x2), even though other foods are given to them.
I place several leaves in each of my tanks and replace them weekly or as needed (I look at them and decide). Fish appear to love them. Almond, Magnolia, Oak, Maple leaves, and almost certainly many others are all good so long as they are dried out (brown). Good luck!

The rule I read is picking dried leaves from the ground, those that break when bent, not bend, are good for use.
They shouldn't have any spots, those could be mold.
I dry them in air or dry places with draft and never store them in plastic. Glass jars work great, linen bags work too. They last year's.
To avoid leaves staying on the surface, I take small jars, fill with water and leaves and keep them for weeks or months. Based on what i want the leaves for, i wash them before usage ( just for tanin and fish benefits) if i want to feed them to otos or snails, i keep the slime coat on. Some people use the water, but it is anorganic and full of rot. So I wouldn't.
Pouring boiling water on the leave will make it sink quickly, but the leave disintegrates way quicker than when presoaked. Oak leaves go quicker and are tastier than beech that lasts weeks longer to go. Summer oak is the best but good luck identifying it.
Picking alder cones is recommended, from trees directly. But I never seen one for real

I also have a question on relatively this topic. Do tannins lower the pH?

Whether tannins lower pH or not depends on the hardness of the water they go into, and how buffered the water is. It'll be different for different people here, since our water can really differ.

The main reason to add leaves should not be lowering pH. Even in soft waters the effect of leaves on pH is usually small to negligible, even with large amounts of leaves. Several people have experimented rather extensively on this. It is the other benefits that are worthwhile pursuing.

Don't put goofy stuff like tree leaves in your aquarium. That's an egg head fad that new age fish keepers came up with to sound smart. Keep your aquarium clean and your fish healthy.

@Back in the fold It's time you "woke" up! ;-)

The killie guy that suggested I try oak leaves was 96 in 1995 when he told me that trick. You newfangled whippersnappers with your clean tanks, I say, rocking angrily in my chair.

GaryE said:

Oak is especially good (dried) as they release tannins, but also decompose slowly. Maples fall apart really fast, as a comparison. Oak leaves are tough.

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Turns out that the oak tree in my yard has white spots on the leaves. So I'm not going to use those leaves.
I went to a nearby park and saw what you're talking about in action. The maple leaves are turned and falling while the oak leaves are still mostly green. I got a few brown leaves but I'll go back next week to see what they look like then.

GaryE said:

@Back in the fold It's time you "woke" up! ;-)

The killie guy that suggested I try oak leaves was 96 in 1995 when he told me that trick. You newfangled whippersnappers with your clean tanks, I say, rocking angrily in my chair.

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I am "woke" to the fact that I can get under your skin. What fun !