Coco husk vs. Peat in tadpole tea?

[Cody]

I only have four tads ATM, but a crap load of eggs and I'm starting to panic. I was using peat to make a tadpole tea (a handful in a bag in the water for a day). I then use that, some java moss, and an oak leaf in individual cups for auratus tads. Feeding spirulina and chlorella (sp?) to them every two to three days. Just to make sure, all that sounds good?

Anyways, I ran out of peat and wan't to steer clear of using peat products so I was wondering since coco-husk is full of tannins would it work for tadpole tea? Or is there more going on in the peat than just a pH adjuster?

[bgexotics]

I just use Kent Blackwater extract. I add 1-2 drops to each tadpole cup to make the water look slightly tan. I also use a small clump of java moss in each cup. I was feeding a spirulina/veggi fish flake powder, but it seems like alot of people are having good results with the frog and tadpole bites. I bought some to try out and see if I can get my tadpoles to grow a little faster. Also I have discovered these clear 9 oz. plastic cups from Sam's club make excellent cheap disposable tadpole cups. I have alot of tads now and don't feel like washing cups.

[Dane]

Coco takes much longer to leach out tannis than peat. Oak leaves are another option.

[Dancing frogs]

What's wrong with peat?
A possible problem you could run into is sometimes there is salts in the coco fiber from a brine soak or something like that.

[Spar]

i just made it from oak leaves. boiled leaves in spring water for 5 minutes, let them soak over night in the water, and tea was made.

i mixed this with 1/2 fresh spring water. pretty much a perfect light tan water.

[Cody]

Cool. Thanks guys. I'm going to just use oak leaves, I completely overlooked that in my panic :lol: . Any type of oak work? I get laurel oak leaves.

[Spar]

just chemical-free oak is all that matters i am sure.

Out of paranoia I boiled mine for 2 minutes first in tap water, and then moved them over to the boiling pot of spring water. May be a worth-while decision to do if you are even slightly unsure of where they came from.

Anyone ever experimented on how many times you can reuse the leaves for making Tea? I am on batch 2 so can update as to if that even works.

[Arklier]

I just use Tetra Blackwater Extract. Much less trouble, and it works great. I know several people on the forum use it, along with the Kent brand. Plus not all of us live in areas where oak trees are readily available.

[Spar]

i just got in 4 pounds of almond leaves and am thinking about making a tea from that. I am pretty sure that is what blackwater extract is derived from. Straight from the Amazon (Suriname). Even has that as the return address

I doubt it will be much different from oak leaves, color and smell wise, but may be more natural.