Teabag for introducing tannins to aquarium?

Question

For my south american fish (mainly my rams and tetras) I keep them in blackwater conditions because that is the type of water they come from in the wild. I started out with big pieces of driftwood years ago for putting tannins in the water. Those have been in the water so long that they have run out of tannins. I have used blackwater chemicals bought at the store, but these cost a lot of money when you have lots of tanks. I've heard about using oak leaves, but leaves of any kind are impossible to come by this time of year. So while brainstorming I came up with the idea of using tea bags. My only worry of course is the caffeine that tea contains. This is one thing I can not find any information online about the topic.

Would tea have any negative effects on the fish?

Yea, I have used peat. That can be a pain at times. Teabags would be a piece of cake.

I'm not getting new driftwood for a couple of reasons.

1) $$$$$
2) plants on the logs(java moss and fern)

I tried a bag of decaf tea. I put it in the filter of my 10 gal quarentine tank (no fish) and within a couple of hours the water was darker than it ever was with driftwood, extracts, or peat.

I'm almost tempted to taste it. lol


oh and Venice, I don't use carbon. I'm not THAT stupid, lol

Answer 1

Tea leaves contain hundreds of water soluble chemicals and extracts, most of which release within a few degrees of tannic acid. I would really suggest you didn't use them as there is simply no way to know what would get in the tank and what effect it would have. I'm going to test this starting Monday. I have a few students looking for an "aquarium myth busters" project. (Something I recently started, pick a common myth and prove it or disprove it in the lab) I'll put one of them on it and let you know.

I have done this to good effect. Make your own blackwater or peat extract by boiling peat moss. Piles of it in the biggest pot you have. Cover with a few inches of water. Boil at a slow boil and add water a few times as it gets low. Strain it well. Return the water to the stove at a simmer until it reduces to that thick brown / black look of the extract. Sure you have to eyeball the concentration and the dosage for the tank, but you can be off by a lot with no harm to the fish. I will make a huge batch using a large stock pot and it lasts for months with no messy peat in the tank.

MM

Answer 2

First off, is there a reason why you don't just get another new log? Another comment is are you using carbon in your filter? This removes tannins. If you put the peat in a nylon stocking, you wouldn't have the mess, but the tannins would still leech. I just really doubt the teabag thing. For the small amount of tannins that they would put out, they would probably put out equal levels of caffeine, which was your concern, and I, personally, would prefer to err on the side of caution on this one and not use teabags. Of course, as mentioned, you could try the decaffeinated ones. Here is a link to almond leaves sold specifically for creating blackwater. They are quite cheap, only 10 cents a piece. There's also an ebay link for almond leaves. I wholly understand spending a lot of money on this stuff like the additives, but saving money at the cost of your fishes' lives has to have a certain end. Good luck!

Answer 3

You know, I've never considered this - as I usually use peat bricks or logs - but I really dont think it would cause any harm if you made sure to use de-caffeinated bags, maybe collect used bags over time and use them to prepare your water prior to changing it. (Start off with used bags as the tannin concentration will be lower)

I wouldn't consider leaving the bags in the tank and by trying a little at a time you could monitor the effect.

Bark chips are also a good option and available at most garden outlets. You'll see most 'aquarium' stores constantly pushing oak chips - but how many oak trees grow in the Amazon basin?

Tropicals are pretty resiliant so as long as you start slow and introduce the change gently you should be OK - Hell, I might even give this a try myself. "Excuse me, but your tanks water looks like the colour of tea" - "Well, that's because it is tea!"

Earl grey anyone... lmao !