Sorry for the long detailed post. But, you all should know my always doing this by now. I am not trying to hijack the thread, just to help some.
For about a decade I ran a stained tank for Altum Angels. This is the water type in which they live. It is also an extremely low pH in the wild. Sometime is is actually a fw 10ths under 4.0. When I was buying them as recent imports i had the tank set at 4.2 and the TDS between below 30 and above 20 ppm.
My tap is actually about 7.0 and 83 ppm. So, I had to work to get the water stained, the pH down and the TDS as well. So, I needed to get 3 pieces of equiment and then safe things to use to get the water stained and the pH down.
1. A small UV set-up to get the water sterilized for pathogens as wild altums have no natural immunity to most of the pathogens that are normally present at low levels in our tanks. But most of our fish also have better developed immune systems in terms of these while the Altums do not. Once the fish went into the tank I was able to remove the UV after about 2 weeks. This was a safety measure.
2. A digital 3 way continuous monitor for cinductivity.TDS/Temp/pH. I also used this when batching changing water so I could set the paramters to correct for any change over the week in the parameters. It is not possible to use color based test kits when one has stained water.
3. An RO/DI unit to make pure water for the tank. They help in lowering one's pH in a stable way which requires greatly reducing KH levels. Pure water has virtuall no KH.
4. It took more than the RO/DI water to do this. So I have muriatic acid to help lower the pH as needed.
Staining the water is one thing but using botanicals etc. to lower and hold the pH down is another story. Toward this end I used an assortment of thing all of which are clearly appropraiate for tank use:
1. Catappa leaves- thees stain but their abiltiy to manage lower pH in a tank is a bit overstated inmo. It contibutes to lowering but there are better things for this.
2. Alder cones- the also stain nicely but they beat heack ut of almond leaves for getting and holding the pH lower. I put the cones into a bag in the filter not in the tank, I changed them about ever 2-3 weeks when they turned to mush.
3. I was taught by the wild agel site (long gone) experts in the use of Rooibos tea whih is not really a tea but is in the legume family. The only place in the world it grows is S. Africa aned even there is is very fussy, it can thrive on one side of hill but not on the other. Rooibos is a great stained and I brewed it and added that to the water. it also has some very good properties but it will not lower the pH, it may actual raise it by .10. Below is the handout I use when selling Rooibos or giving out samples (this pcictures are not included):
Rooibos Tea
Is beneficial for fish, 100% caffeine and tannin free and you can drink it too.
Will stain water like peat, almond leaves or alder cones and can be used with them.
Will not soften water or lower pH. It is more likely to bump pH up by 0.1.
Can be brewed like tea and poured into the water or can be put into a bag in one’s filter. Once brewed it can be stored refrigerated for about a week.
When brewing, allow it to boil for a bit after the tea is added to the hot water.
It is hard to overdose. Start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gal. (38 L) of water and adjust from there to find the color you like.
Buying Rooibos helps to support the local farmers in South Africa.
Rooibos tea (meaning red bush in Afrikaans and pronounced roy + boss) has nothing to do with traditional tea, which comes from the Chinese plant Camellia sinensis in the family Rosaceae. Rooibos comes from the plant, Aspalathus linearis, a legume in the family Fabaceae- it is related to peas and beans. The bush is more like a broom than a bush. The top of the bush is cut off, dried and oxidized before packing in tea bags or sold as loose tea.
Wikipedia (at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos) states:
“Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries, particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves. Rooibos also contains a number of phenolic compounds, including flavanols, flavones, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones”
.
In fish keeping we are interested in the plant phenolic compounds that act as antioxidants and antibacterials (it won’t harm filters). This is similar to the humic acids found in natural tea stained water. Oak leaves contain the plant phenolic quercetin (from the Latin name for oak trees, Quercus robur). Rooibos contains some quercetin plus the compound aspalathin, closely related to quercetin.
Research at the University of Stellenbosch indicates that rooibos has natural stress relieving properties. It is safe to use and is beneficial for both keepers and fish. The "organic" label is unnecessary as rooibos is grown naturally without insecticides and herbicides, they are just simply not needed and can actually harm the plant. Here is an email I got from an Altum keeper:
“Hey Chris, just wanted to let you know that my big bag (almost gone, I guess we are using it more than my altum!) Last night I wrapped some (rooibos) with sphagnum peat moss in a fine mesh bag that my wife made for the purpose and I simply put it in one of the overflow boxes. You gotta see how nice the water and the fish look today.”
4. I have used mostly Maylasian wood in my tanks for a longtime. It releases tannins into the water but this ends with enough time.
So, in your case the first issue is what do you actually need to be doing to your water? If all you want to do is stain but not change the other oparameters then I would use the leaves, Maylasian wood and Rooibos tea. But of you are softening and dropping the pH then you need all the other items above, imo.
I am not inclined to experiment with changing parameters in terms of what I will use. What you are contemplating using I would never even consider.I use wht I know works, what I know is safe and what I know is beneficial for my fish.
I adopted the use of the Rooibos tea because it was recommended by one of the mods on the wild angel site who was a professor of biochemistry at the university above. His field was potato viruses, The tea often grew alongside the potato farms, But he he had colleagues who were working on Rooibos. I bought 18 kilos and if you want some i can send it. I would only ask that you pay for the shipping which can be the cheapest way. I have lots of it left and no longer use it as the Altums are gone.
If you want to have more info or have Qs about any of the above I am happy to work with you.
edited to fix the typos in the final sentence.
