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29g blackwater biotope- acuario de rio *****

83K views 613 replies 44 participants last post by  orchidman 
#1 · (Edited)
So, my dad came home the other day with a 29 gallon tank! :bounce: it came with a t12 light and hood, a whisper filter, and clown puke gravel.

so the tank is technically my younger brother's tank, he'll be buying the stuff, but ill be maintaining and scaping it so im claiming it as mine. since he is paying for the stuff, we are just going to keep the hood, even though its not the most attractive thing ever.

it is going to be very lightly planted, with tea-colored water. this is my inspiration http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ge=1&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:20,s:0&tx=128&ty=34 i found a nice stump and some smaller sticks of driftwood at the creek, they have been soaking and are just about ready to go into the tank. and i'll have some leaf litter around the wood.

i'm thinking indian almond leaves, because i cant think of any others.

for substrate im going to use PFS

im getting a hydor theo 150W heater.

the light is a t12 light. new plant and fishtank bulb.

the filter is a whisper filter

for plants i have a few small amazon sword plantlets. i might add floaters along the lines somewhere

the stocking is as of now is
-1 pair of angelfish
-6 cardinal tetras
-6 otos
-1 albino BN pleco

i threw the driftwood, before soaking, in the tank with the clown puke, just to get a hardscape in mind before soaking the wood. the green leaves are there to show where the leaf litter will be.

this picture is terrible. excuse the glare
 
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#12 ·
Hardscape = Amazing


You're entering this into the AGA contest, right?
 
#16 ·
I was just going to warn you... The AGA judges are real picky about biotopes with wrong species. So watch yourself!
 
#18 ·
The hardscape is looking nice ! Can't wait for when it's actually setup :)

i'm thinking indian almond leaves, because i cant think of any others.
Hmm, i've seen/heard of people using dried Oak leaves in the same fashion as IALs to create a leaf litter bottom, and for the tannin colored water effect.. but i'm not sure if Oak leaves are found in this biotope ?
 
#20 ·
I would say it depends. lol If you go to this link http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_rio_sucasari.htm or this link http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm They will give some examples. Without looking I can't personally say that a cardinal tetra and an angel fish are in the same water. Nor the otos and the bn. They might say, you shouldn't have used an albino bn. Who knows what the judges are thinking. I did look through every years biotope contest entries and this one judge on there was very critical about things.

I would say the cardinals and angels are ok and a regular bn. I don't know about the oto though. I'll read up some and try to help you figure it out.
 
#22 ·
thanks alot brad! thats helps alot! im going to bed now, but i'll read the links tomorrow. i might not do a BN pleco at all then. it depends i guess. i kind of wanted otos, because they help with some algae. maybe i'll just get a larger school of the cardinals and nix the otos and the pleco, unless i can find a regular BN pleco.

i remember jake saying that the one judge didnt like albino fish, another good call. thanks alot guys!
 
#24 ·
If you go to this link http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm I just looked through the fish and every fish that you wanted is on the list. bn pleco, oto, angel and cardinal, so your good to go.

Also, I read alot of comments from the judges on the biotopes for every tank and every year. All the people used oak leaves. So you are ok to do so, but I would not use indian almond leaves because they come from another continent. Unless you break them up into pieces so they can't tell what they are and you don't mention them as such. lol


Here is their profile. Send'em a message and they might have one for sale. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/members/toddnbecka.html
 
#26 ·
Biotope doesn't mean that the actual hardscape materials came from habitat in question. It really wouldn't be cool if aquarium keepers decimated natural environments just to recreate them at home.

For an accurate biotope, plants and fish should be correct for your area + habitat, but your materials just need to resemble what's actually found there. Either Indian or oak leaves would be fine. ;)
 
#27 ·
thanks so much brad! you are helping me so much here :D



okay, thanks alot :D that makes me not have to worry about getting the correct leaves and such. woohoo! i'll just use IAL and break them up.

thanks guys. i didnt end up washing sand yesterday, but i'll go and try to get it done right now. lol!
 
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