Beautiful setup! I love all the leaves, actually. I have a much less impressive 10 gallon that's set up similarly, but with Asian fish. I think the spare, simple look is nice. Maintenance/upkeep is such a breeze, too.
75 gallon Amazon blackwater biotope
7
75 gallon 48x18x21in
Temp - 80F
TDS - 69 ppm
pH - 6.4 (the value of 7.15 came from my poorly calibrated pH meter)
36" Finnex Stingray
48" T5 Sunblaster
Eheim 2217
Fluval 304
Hydor 300w inline heater
Substrate - pool filter sand with a few handfuls of boiled gravel from the creek
Various pieces of wood
40+ Magnolia grandiflora leaves
Stocking list:
7x Marbled hatchets
18x adult Colombian tetras
7x Sterbai cories
8x Checkerboard cichlids (Dicrossus filamentosus)
Plants - Hydrocotyle leucocephala
*latest pics, post #72*
*new video, post #86*
3/11/16
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3/19/16
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3/28/16
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5/16/16
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This is my second blackwater setup, the first was a 17g Mr. Aqua that housed some tetras, cories and rams. I wanted to try the same thing on a larger scale and throw in some different dwarf cichlids; Checkerboard cichlids caught my eye. I wanted something other than 3 shoals of tetras, so hatchets and pencilfish were also on my list. I haven't had much luck adding fish, there has been about a 50% death rate when I introduce new ones. The ones that do survive seem healthy though. The Colombian tetras have spawned at least twice and there's been a decent survival rate among the fry. I'd like to throw some more Sterbais in there and get them spawning too.
You can see in the second pic that I had about a billion leaves in the tank, I had to take about half of them. The water was getting really dark and light penetration was minimal. The few swords I had in there started withering away, so I took them out. The lighting was a Finnex 36" Stingray and I added a 24" double T5 fixture to add some more light, but it wasn't enough. So I replaced 24" fixture with a 48" Sunblaster and now the light levels look decent to my eye. The pennywort has really taken off...finally.
The pH was oddly high for the longest time, I really couldn't figure out why. The wood and leaves are leaching tannins and the water is fairly soft. I know stable pH is more important than matching native pH levels, but I'm striving for authenticity. pH should come down as the TDS levels drop. The water is AWESOME here (Greenville, SC) for these types of tanks - 20ppm out of the tap. Tampa was 250+! I'm doing weekly water changes of 10-15 gallons to reach a goal of 50ppm.
Once I add the checkerboards and 4 more Sterbais, I'll see how crowded the tank looks. In 4-5 months, I'm going to have a school of 25+ adult Colombians swimming around, so that might rule out the pencilfish.
Temp - 80F
TDS - 69 ppm
pH - 6.4 (the value of 7.15 came from my poorly calibrated pH meter)
36" Finnex Stingray
48" T5 Sunblaster
Eheim 2217
Fluval 304
Hydor 300w inline heater
Substrate - pool filter sand with a few handfuls of boiled gravel from the creek
Various pieces of wood
40+ Magnolia grandiflora leaves
Stocking list:
7x Marbled hatchets
18x adult Colombian tetras
7x Sterbai cories
8x Checkerboard cichlids (Dicrossus filamentosus)
Plants - Hydrocotyle leucocephala
*latest pics, post #72*
*new video, post #86*
3/11/16
3/19/16
3/28/16
5/16/16
This is my second blackwater setup, the first was a 17g Mr. Aqua that housed some tetras, cories and rams. I wanted to try the same thing on a larger scale and throw in some different dwarf cichlids; Checkerboard cichlids caught my eye. I wanted something other than 3 shoals of tetras, so hatchets and pencilfish were also on my list. I haven't had much luck adding fish, there has been about a 50% death rate when I introduce new ones. The ones that do survive seem healthy though. The Colombian tetras have spawned at least twice and there's been a decent survival rate among the fry. I'd like to throw some more Sterbais in there and get them spawning too.
You can see in the second pic that I had about a billion leaves in the tank, I had to take about half of them. The water was getting really dark and light penetration was minimal. The few swords I had in there started withering away, so I took them out. The lighting was a Finnex 36" Stingray and I added a 24" double T5 fixture to add some more light, but it wasn't enough. So I replaced 24" fixture with a 48" Sunblaster and now the light levels look decent to my eye. The pennywort has really taken off...finally.
The pH was oddly high for the longest time, I really couldn't figure out why. The wood and leaves are leaching tannins and the water is fairly soft. I know stable pH is more important than matching native pH levels, but I'm striving for authenticity. pH should come down as the TDS levels drop. The water is AWESOME here (Greenville, SC) for these types of tanks - 20ppm out of the tap. Tampa was 250+! I'm doing weekly water changes of 10-15 gallons to reach a goal of 50ppm.
Once I add the checkerboards and 4 more Sterbais, I'll see how crowded the tank looks. In 4-5 months, I'm going to have a school of 25+ adult Colombians swimming around, so that might rule out the pencilfish.
1 - 20 of 94 Posts
Almost no nutrients in the water too.Black water typically is almost plantless, I think largely due to the dark water, you are also missing out on the natural coat of mulm over everything, nothing a bit of neglect can't fix.
Op - have you seen these folks? All - Tannin Aquatics
I try to grab thick and sturdy leaves and they can last about 3 months in one piece, if undisturbed. It'll be 2-3 more months before they totally break down. I prefer them over oak; oak looks too familiar, not exotic enough.
I think floating plants might be biotope correct, large swords wouldn't be. And the java fern is just totally wrong. I'm sure there's a good layer of detritus under the logs and branches and the water is never truly clear.Black water typically is almost plantless, I think largely due to the dark water, you are also missing out on the natural coat of mulm over everything
Nutrient deficiency is what I'm aiming for, which won't help any of the plants. Swords honestly may not do well at all. The pennywort is going nuts though.
1 - 20 of 94 Posts
