Are all Tannins created equal?

[Pepere]

Ok, the query about are all leaves acceptable to use in a tank has got me thinking.

After all, in Nature no one is making sure certain leaves dont get in the water.  Even poison Ivy leaves might get in…but I am not fishing them out if I see them there.

so what about using Salada or Lipton tea bags?  Theyare leaves after all, and you certainly dont need to soak them in hot water to steep them.  I make iced tea in the summer by simply throwing 3 tea bags in half a gallon of water in my fridge and it gets dark enough next day…

And I have used soaked teabags to treat minor eye infections in myself as well as fingernail bed infections…

 

so, any pros and cons to putting a tea bag in the fish tank?  They are just leaves after all.

 

maybe the caffeine will hype the fish?

[face]

i can't find it anymore but i remember reading about having multiple different tannins being good.

as for the tea i know green tea works red bush tea is apparently good to

 

you always have to remember in nature the water volume is massive and fish rarely live there total possible life span so a small amount of poison isn't a big deal but in a small water body like a tank with pets it can be

 

[Biotope Biologist]

People use tea all the time to get their water to the “blackwater” stage more quickly. Just make sure it’s not caffeinated and doesn’t have any other spices in it. 
 

as far as leaves some produce toxins but for the most part if you’re collecting oak or maple leaves in the wild just make sure to boil them. People in frog tanks and blackwater tanks alike are shifting towards locally sourced leaves as it’s a bit costly to shop tropical leaves and botanicals.

[TeeJay]

This is very interesting. Never thought of tea before.  Am a tea junky but if I were to try this I'll have to buy decaf bags for this. I do use the almond leaves, alder and philo cones  as well as a few other botanicals. May be worth a look into 

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/3/2022 at 4:09 AM, Pepere said:

so what about using Salada or Lipton tea bags?

just make sure it's organic tea, and something like rooibos tea is usually recommended.  It's because of the particular things that result from the brew.  I'm sure racheal's video talks about it.  PH, compounds, etc. is all a factor.