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Oak Leaves and Rainwater

Dave S.

NECPS President
I have a few containers that I use to collect rainwater for my cps. I have some oak leaves in one container which has turned the water a light brown due to the released tannins.

Would this type of acidic water benefit cps more than plain rainwater?

If so, which plants do you think would benefit the most?
 
Sarracenia, Dionaea, Drosera, Pinguicula, Heliamphora and Cephalotus all like acidic conditions, but it is under debate whether acidic water actually makes any difference. The media they are in already is acidic by nature so you won't spot any difference in growth in my opinion.
 
i've heard of ketapang leaves being used to make fish tank water more acidic and brown but i've never heard of oak leaves , the oak leaves and water are harmless to cps i think so if yoiu use it i don't think anything bad is going to happen . can you use leaf mold for cps ?
 
Hi,

Using oak leaves is an old trick of breeders of soft acid water tropical fish -- killies, tetras, dwarf cichlids, small gourami species, etc... To work, you need to start with rather soft water. Many fish breeders will have an inch or so of leaf litter on the bottom of their tanks. I don't know what they would do to CP's but oak leaves are great water conditioners for acid loving fish.

Bobby
 
I get leaves, mostly pecan leaves, in my rainwater buckets. I have often worried and wondered about it because it does stain the water but I also know the leaves are acidic. So I've always hoped it would not do any harm. I try to remove all the leaves as quickly as possible.
 
I also get tons of pecan leaves from my neighbors' tree in my outdoor water trays and plastic containers every fall. I usually only remove leaves that are covering my Drosera sp. or Utricularia. I do not bother removing leaves that are in the water.

One method described by a fellow grower to grow Aldrovanda involves adding a couple inches of leaves to an aquarium of rain water and allowing the water to age for a couple of months.
 
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