dangers of blackwater tank

[Phoenixphire55]

For some time now I've been wanting to set up a south american tank for my corys, mollys, pleco and then add an angel maybe and some of the dwarf cichlids. However, as cool as blackwater probably looks and as cool as it would be to have decaying leaves at the bottom and the acidic pH, I'm concerned about the potential dangers of that situation with such low kH and such an acidic environment. The goal for me is to make a very natural looking tank with plants so I don't know that I want to risk having actual blackwater conditions. Any thoughts?

 

[Purrbox]

I know that many people have naturally extremely low KH out of the tap and they are able to inject CO2 with no issues. I would have minimal concerns about it in a blackwater setup.

 

[Skyrmir]

My 75 isn't exactly blackwater...anymore. The tannins got annoying. However I do inject co2 with a kH of only 3. Water quality is stable as a rock so I really only test things when I make changes to the set up.

My best suggestions would be dwarf lily pads and some mopani wood. The wood will leach tannins and the lilys provide a shaded overcast look. It's beautiful in it's own way and the angels are in hog heaven. You just have to really really like the color of tea. Just realize that it's going to always look dim in there, so if the tank is in a bright room it's going to look dirty.

 

[HiJaC]

hi,

just to back up what peeps say here, i run pressurised co2 on my planted corner tank to 30 ppm with a kh of around 3 and no issues. ph is currently 6.3.

but i do have a ph probe to help me out.

jac

 

[rich311k]

I will add one more. I have almost no KH and I have no problems injecting CO2. A drop checker is an easy way to keep an eye on the levels.

By the way a molly seems pretty out of place on your stock list.