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Humic substances - the unknown wonder weapon in the aquarium

What do I care about humic substances? I've never heard of that before, what is that supposed to be? Is this a new fashion in aquaristics? It will pass again ..

However, if you look at natural waters, you will notice that there are almost none without humic substances - even in the Arctic you can find them in the water! So these substances are somehow important ... after all, our aquarium animals are water dwellers that have adapted to their environment over millions of years and are therefore accustomed to humic substances - and may even need them?

What can humic substances actually do?

Humic substances have recently become the focus of various researchers, and their effect on fish and aquatic invertebrates is now being increasingly studied and researched. In the following, we summarize these findings.

In nature, there are no waters without humic substances! Likewise humic substances should not be missing in the keeping of invertebrates in the aquarium.

Humic substances are absorbed and act in the body of aquatic animals

We now know that - contrary to what textbooks claim - humic substances are absorbed by animals in water and that they play an important role in the metabolism of fish and invertebrates in water. Aquatic animals deliberately go to humic sources, and it can be seen that animals live significantly longer in the presence of humic substances. Humic substances put aquatic animals under positive stress, thereby strengthening their immune systems. In order to fight bacteria, viruses, and other invaders, the immune system must be trained, and humic substances do just that. Humic substances can even activate genes that prolong life. In addition, humic substances help animals better tolerate salt stress and stress from pollutants such as heavy metals (copper, cadmium, etc.) because they increase stress resistance. This stress resistance is even passed on to future generations!

Humic substances protect against acidity

Humic substances can do even more. In soft water humic substances protect the animals - there are waters with a pH of 3-4, which are so acidic that actually every animal in there should die, but the animals do not. Especially in the Amazon you can observe this incredibly often. Shrimp also often live in very acidic and soft water in nature, and the low pH does not harm them either. The presence of humic substances allows fish and shrimp to absorb nutrients that are present in the minimum and keep them in the body.

Humic substances make more fertile and contribute to health

This is due to the fact that the metabolism is stimulated and the stress resistance of aquatic animals is increased - so the animals produce more offspring, and the survival rate in the offspring is higher.

Humic substances also stimulate the activity of genes that are active against cancer and that strengthen health. Humic substances can be used  for disease prevention as well as for treatment in case of infections and inflammations. For example, fin rot heals significantly faster when humic substances are present, and the resistance of aquatic animals to disease is significantly increased.

Tylos also react positively to humic substances in the water.

What dosage is necessary?

It is not necessary to have so many humic substances in the water that you only see brown broth - the positive properties already come about when even small amounts are added. Of course, some effects, such as resistance to pollutants, are enhanced when more humic substances are present, but the positive effect of a small amount cannot be dismissed!

Problems with commonly recommended solutions

Many commercially available humic preparations are based on peat extracts. Here the problem often lies in the not reliably consistent quality, in addition the solutions are often quite weakly dosed - then the preparation is little more than expensive water. Some preparations are okay in terms of dosage, but color the water very strongly, which looks really unattractive, especially in show tanks and in aquascapes.

The use of brown coal in the aquarium is also not recommended - it can contain high amounts of heavy metals, which should be avoided at all costs, especially in shrimp aquariums. The pollutant content of natural peat can also be alarmingly high. In any case, stay away from fertilized peat from horticulture!

The often recommended additions containing tannins such as cinnamon sticks, sea almond tree leaves and sea almond tree bark, alder cones and so on do contain tannins and flavonoids, but all the other valuable functions of humic substances cannot be completely replaced by them. Also, with natural products, the active ingredient content cannot be controlled without great effort, so you introduce a very uncertain amount of substances into the aquarium and risk tea-brown water and an overdose or an underdose and a much too weak effect.

Behind the so natural sounding oak extract for pH lowering often hide mineral acids such as sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid. Here then almost all minerals are missing, which actually make the natural products so valuable.

 

A good alternative is needed!

A good humic preparation made from high quality ingredients like the Crusta Humin Liquid from NatureHolic, on the other hand, makes the dosage very easy for you. Only strictly controlled ingredients are used here, and the solution is standardized. The dosage - and the effect! - is therefore reliably always the same.

Crusta Humin Liquid use in our large invertebrate facility.

Crusta Humin Liquid has been used for over a year in one of Germany's largest invertebrate facilities in Mannheim, Germany, where it has proven its worth in daily practical use. The animals and also the plants are visibly more vital, their colors shine intensively, and they feel visibly well in the natural, life-friendly water. Their immune system is strong, they get sick less often and their offspring grow up faster! The reproduction rate has also improved significantly!

Two drops per 10 liters of aquarium contents per week are sufficient to prepare the water in an animal-friendly way and to make your shrimps feel at home. The water is not visibly colored, the view of your plants and animals remains unclouded.

With NatureHolic CrustaHumin Liquid we have another part of the interlocking three-phase-liquids: With CrustaHumin you bring valuable humic substances with their multiple modes of action into the aquarium. Together with NatureHolic ToxEx Liquid and NatureHolic BacterLiquid this results in an effective trio that can be used against all kinds of water problems - in acute cases as well as prophylactically.

ToxEx Liquid eliminates pollutants such as heavy metals, chlorine and end products from the breakdown of proteins from the water, with CrustaHumin you introduce the humic substances necessary for survival into the aquarium in a targeted form, and by adding BacterLiquid you ensure that biofilms can form on the surfaces in the aquarium and that these biofilms are colonized with the "right" bacteria. A comprehensive and powerful trio that works hand in hand - for good, invertebrate-friendly water.

 

 

Humic substances and tannins - the differences

The positive effect of some plant ingredients is also known in aquaristics, and plant parts or plant extracts have been used in the hobby for a long time. Experiences of breeders and keepers say that, for example, aquarium water to which humic substances and/or tanning agents have been added is significantly more animal-friendly than clear tap water.

In aquaristic literature, however, practically no distinction is ever made between humic substances and tanning agents, nor are their effects more precisely divided. There are, however, important differences here, and it is therefore quite advisable to take a closer look and to underpin the many years of practice with a little theory.

 

How are plant extracts obtained?

There are various ways in which plant extracts can be obtained: by infusion (cold) or brewing or boiling (hot). The best known methods are (without claiming to be complete) filtering through peat or adding peat extracts, as well as adding extracts from oak, willow or alder bark, and of course adding alder cones, walnut shells, sea almond tree leaves, sea almond tree bark, oak leaves, beech leaves, etc., or adding brown coal to the aquarium. Also, aquarium roots such as moor pine or mopani bleed tannins, which can be easily seen in the water coloration caused by fresh roots. However, according to experience, these have bled out completely after 3-4 days at the most.

There is no water in nature without humic substances! If we want to keep our animals species-appropriate, we should revive our "biologically dead" tap water with humic substances!

 

Why are plant extracts used?

First of all, let's summarize what the aquaristic literature basically says about "plant parts and plant extracts in aquaristics". They are mainly used to acidify the water or to lower the pH value, to make the water suitable for animals and to keep it in a certain range due to the buffer effect, to alleviate stress in the aquarium inhabitants and to "tan" and strengthen their skin and also the egg shells, i.e. to make them resistant to the penetration of unwanted germs. Another goal is to bind unwanted pollutants and favorably influence the osmotic value of the water. Also, as a side effect, the plants should be supplied with immediately available nutrients and bacteria should be inhibited in their growth. Also, the water acquires a beautiful amber tone, which makes the colors of the animals shine even more intensely and gives the aquarium a somewhat softer look.

However, not every ingredient of plants and herbal products has all these desired effects in their entirety! For this reason, we need to break down the ingredients a bit and distinguish between humic substances and tannins in particular.

 

Experience shows that humic substances in the form of foliage unfortunately bleed out completely after a few weeks. Leaves may look nice, but after a short time they no longer provide the important humic substances.

Humic substances

The dark colored amorphous (unformed) humic substances are formed when organic material decomposes. Humic substances are high-molecular cyclic compounds containing carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H) and nitrogen (N). The proportion of humic substances in soil is about 5%; peat (which is formed from incompletely decomposed plant residues in a wet environment) contains about 50% humic substances.

Peat and young lignite are considered the most important natural sources of humic substances. Humic substances have a long shelf life and are biodegraded only very slowly.

The soil's own humic substances are divided into humic acids (humic acids, fulvic acids / fulvonic acids, humatomelanic acids), humates and fulvates, as well as into humins and humic carbon.

Humic acids form colloidal solutions in water with a pH of about 3.5. If the environment is alkaline, on the other hand, a true solution is formed. Important for their function are the carboxyl and hydroxyl groups contained in humic acids. They determine the acidity and are also responsible for binding pollutants. Due to the acidity, they also have a significant bacterial and fungal inhibitory effect.

Fulvic acids are similar to humic acids, but they have a smaller molecular mass in comparison and are more acidic (pH below 3). Their content of carboxyl groups is higher and they contain less nitrogen than humic acids. Fulvic acids are important pH buffers in addition to their bacteriostatic and fungicidal effects.

It is controversial whether humatomelanic acids actually represent a separate group. In principle, they are humic acids that are soluble in alcohol and form colloids in water.

Humates and fulvates are the salts of humic and fulvic acids. They contribute to improved chelation and thus enhance the ability of plants to absorb nutrients. This is particularly true of nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron and molybdenum.

Humins and humus carbon are not soluble, therefore they do not play a role in aquaristics.

Scientific studies prove that the reproduction of water fleas (which also belong to the invertebrates) when using humic substances is increased up to 30%!

Tannic acids

Tannic acids are natural ingredients of various plants such as alder, oak, beech, sea almond, cinnamon and so on. These are aromatic compounds that contain phenolic groups. For example, tree bark contains varying proportions of 5-15% of tannins, and oak wood still contains 5-10%. Tannins oxidize rapidly under the influence of light, forming dark-colored compounds. In water, tannins form colloidal solutions that react acidically. The best known tannins are tannins and flavonoids. In the aquarium, like humic substances, they make the water more acidic and thus inhibit pathogens, among other things; they also give the water an amber tone and provide an appropriate osmotic value.

However, as can be clearly seen here, humic substances have many other positive properties in addition to their slightly coloring and acidifying effect, which tannins lack. So throwing a few alder cones into the aquarium may simply not be enough!

Tests have shown that without humic substances in the water, offspring of livebearers stop growing completely. If you add humic substances again, the young fish start to grow and develop again .

Significance in practice

Humic substances are found in every natural surface water. They play an eminently important role in making water suitable for animals. In natural waters, due to their solubility, one finds mainly fulvic acids and humic acids as well as humatomelanic acids. Water standing in a peat bog can assume a pH below 4 and contain around 500 mg/l of humic substances. Streams flowing from a peat bog can still contain around 100 mg/l. Many primeval forest streams also contain a large amount of humic substances. Here, however, it is not a slow humification by peat that is responsible, but the incredibly fast biological decomposition of leaves and driftwood that falls into the streams at tropical temperatures. A good example of this is the dark waters of the Rio Negro in the Amazon, but also some waters in West Africa.

Black water fish such as the red neon also need appropriate water quality in the aquarium, as do shrimp from soft water (such as the bee shrimp, the tiger shrimp, many bumblebee shrimp and other shrimp especially from streams in southern China). The composition of the additives is of crucial importance for the formation and development of the eggs and the health of the animals.

Humic substances are particularly important as a buffer for the pH value in aquariums with soft water, where carbonate hardness is largely dispensed with. This is especially true for setups for bee shrimp and their variants such as Taiwanese and shadow shrimp, respectively. Humic substances buffer the pH value in a range of 5.5 to 7 and thus ensure that there can be no drop in acidity, even if the KH is missing.

Humic substances are also tremendously important for biofilms. They support the bacteria in their helpful activities and thus indirectly ensure better filter performance and a better, significantly more stable tank biology. The importance of functioning biofilms in the shrimp aquarium cannot be emphasized strongly enough! Besides their cleansing activity, biofilms are also one of the main food sources for shrimp and here especially for the sensitive offspring.

Especially when breeding invertebrates, an additional humic substance supply through a reasonable preparation is recommended!

 

Further links: Prof. Christian Steinberg about humic substances, a very recommendable article.


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