Leaf litter
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Topic author - Posts: 238
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Leaf litter
Like most people, i have a yard full of maple leaves and wanted to stuff in some leaf litter in the tank with some fallen branches. What temp should i bake these things to make them safe for my guys?
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Re: Leaf litter
I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200F. Watch closely so nothing starts burning. Haven't had any bugs or mold after baking like this. Nor has anything started to burn.
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Topic author - Posts: 238
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Re: Leaf litter
Right on! Thanks!AgentK25 wrote:I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200F. Watch closely so nothing starts burning. Haven't had any bugs or mold after baking like this. Nor has anything started to burn.
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Re: Leaf litter
I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!
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Topic author - Posts: 238
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Re: Leaf litter
Thanks GB!GotButterflies wrote:I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!
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Re: Leaf litter
Hmmm...I didn't bake mine at all. I picked the leaves off the branches after they had died this fall - so they were pretty dry already. Then I just left them in a big shallow container to fully dry, and crunched them up into a big Ziploc bag. Is there an advantage to baking them, other than just to dry them?
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Topic author - Posts: 238
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Re: Leaf litter
I believe baking kills off any insects or things you DONT see.. that way you have a minimal chance of bringing things into your tank environment. Plus it would kill bacteria. Idk. Just follow suit since im still learning. Tbh, i dont REALLY get it, since in the wild theres noone to bake things for them. But id hate to have something i cant see like mites or other things invade my tank and harm my guys.curlysister wrote:Hmmm...I didn't bake mine at all. I picked the leaves off the branches after they had died this fall - so they were pretty dry already. Then I just left them in a big shallow container to fully dry, and crunched them up into a big Ziploc bag. Is there an advantage to baking them, other than just to dry them?
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Re: Leaf litter
I just freeze leaf litter for a couple of days.
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Re: Leaf litter
elly_bananas wrote:Thanks GB!GotButterflies wrote:I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!
Yw!
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Re: Leaf litter
Oh okay, I put mine in the freezer to store it, so that would probably kill off anything nasty.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers
Re: Leaf litter
About 40 seconds in the microwave works, too. I place them on a plate, sandwiched between two paper towels and that helps to absorb the moisture. Then let them air dry for a few minutes. If they are still not completely dried out, you can give them 20-30 additional seconds.