Fresh2o’s 29g Blackwater Tank

[Fresh2o]

Yes, the leaves and DW will lower pH/GH. Water out of my tap: GH 12, KH 7, ph low 7.2+, pH high 7.4, TDS ~230. It will be interesting to see what influence these things will have on the pH/GH.
As with anything, leaves will be added gradually and parameters will be monitored. I decided not to use the black mountain seiryu Stone because it does raise pH and GH.
If you can part with oak and maple leaves, I’d be more than happy. I will PM you.

 

[coralbandit]

I'll send you maple leaves...

 

[Autumnsky]

Fun to watch the new tank movie. Loving the idea and progression. DW looks mysterious in the dark water.

 

[Fresh2o]

Tank has gotten cloudy over the last few days. Pretty sure it is just a bacterial bloom. Tannins are showing up.
Got some things coming in the mail: maple leaves, IAL, a pair of LED spotlights, and other goodies.
Planning on adding leaves slowly over time. I am monitoring parameters.
Interesting to watch the fish over a sand substrate and with some leaf litter. They swim under and around the leaves and actually forage for food on the sand. Never seen them do that on the EcoComplete. The surroundings might still be new for them but they never travel anywhere alone; always in groups.
Trying to imagine what it would look like with 20+ embers in a school. Or a dozen Pygmy Corydoras. Or even a species of rasboras.

 

[Autumnsky]

Tank has gotten cloudy over the last few days. Pretty sure it is just a bacterial bloom. Tannins are showing up.
Got some things coming in the mail: maple leaves, IAL, a pair of LED spotlights, and other goodies.
Planning on adding leaves slowly over time. I am monitoring parameters.
Interesting to watch the fish over a sand substrate and with some leaf litter. They swim under and around the leaves and actually forage for food on the sand. Never seen them do that on the EcoComplete. The surroundings might still be new for them but they never travel anywhere alone; always in groups.
Trying to imagine what it would look like with 20+ embers in a school. Or a dozen Pygmy Corydoras. Or even a species of rasboras.

Interesting about the fish exploration behaviors observations. Would be beautiful with any of the fish choices. Like the idea of the larger groups.

 

[Fresh2o]

Interesting about the fish exploration behaviors observations. Would be beautiful with any of the fish choices. Like the idea of the larger groups.

In the high tech setup they fish would pretty stay in the same spot; not much foraging or exploring.
Got some packages today! Catappa leaves and black water juice from brookster and a box of maple leaves from coralbandit. Thanks, guys! Yes, I threw a handful of leaves in the tank this afternoon. They are in the process of sinking.
Tank is quite cloudy. Tannins kicking in. There was a film buildup on the glass as well. I checked the DW and it is still quite buoyant. We’ll see if a large water change clears things up a bit.

 

[Fresh2o]

So the new lights came in. In the pic below, the light I borrowed from one of the shrimp tanks in on the left; the new one is in the right. Note the difference in color. The one on the left provides a warmer, yellowish tone, the one on the right is colder.

Here are the new lights with the Finnex 24/7 set at 40% white:

New lights by themselves:

A few fish pics

Yes, the tank is still hazy. I plan on going to the LFS to see what they have in stock in terms of Pygmy Corydoras. I think they would do well in this leaf litter setup.

 

[TMaier]

I like all of them. Can you play with the color on the Finnex? Warm it up a bit?

The new lights are cooler. But once you have your tannins up this might be a good thing to keep it from being too warm?

 

[Caliban07]

I like the darker ones better. Fish probably prefer it this way and less chance of algae.

 

[smallfry53]

x2 that's the point of "blackwater" right? lol

 

[Fresh2o]

The leaves have only been in there a few days so I expect more tannins moving forward. Can’t wait for the haziness to subside. I think you are correct on the fish preferences; mine were more active when the lights were reduced.
I’m going to play with the colors on the Finnex. Currently I have the presets at: 10%, 20%, 40%, and “something kind of pinkish”. I was trying to simulate sunset. One thing I wondered about the RGB controllers is the lack of yellow; how does one achieve yellows and orange hues with this? I may have to consult an RGB color calculator (like the ones used for web pages).
Rather than setup a new QT, I might move my yellow neon shrimp into my RCS tank (*shrimp gods screaming ??). That will free up a tank for QT. I’m also using that as a plant holding tank (hoping the weather warms up soon).

 

[agrasyuk]

Autumn usually gives me the blues. the leaves on the bottom together with the darkish tone kinda remind me of Autumn. surely it is a matter of taste and maybe you were sick of yours, but i like the green tones so much more .
it is very interesting tank nevertheless

 

[Bert2oo1]

Liking the new build fresh, ive always appreciated a Blackwater tank. I really like the idea of a natural habitat for the fish [emoji106]

 

[Fresh2o]

@Anton - Autumn marks the end of summer but the colors can be breathtaking. It was time for something different. Don’t get me wrong, Planted tanks in their various forms can be fascinating. My boredom is your benefit.
@Bert - First time with this type of tank. Hoping that the lower pH and humic acid creates a favorable setting for the fish. At least I wont be gassing the fish with CO2.
I broke my no plant rule and dropped in a stem of guppy grass and a small clump of subwassertang.

 

[TMaier]

That’s not Planted. It’s a sprinkle of parsley garnish.

 

[Fresh2o]

That’s not Planted. It’s a sprinkle of parsley garnish.

Well, it’s more of an experiment to see how well these grow. If it affects the aesthetics, then I might remove them.
UPDATE ON THE FISH: I called the LFS about the C harbrosus that were arriving today and found out that the price was a bit steep on those and C pygmaeus just became available. So the LFS manager ordered the latter instead and they should arrive tomorrow. My preference is with the pygmies because of their shoaling habit (hasbrosus tend to be more benthic and independent from what I’ve read/heard).

 

[Fresh2o]

Picked up 25 Corydoras pygmaeus from the LFS. Drip acclimated them for about 1.5 hours.

A few days ago I added leaves to the QT and the tannins are apparent after drip acclimation

Not your typical QT; it serves as a plant holding tank

Poor shot of these very active fish.

They were quite pale when they were at the store and in the QT. Starting to color up. Some are always on the go but a majority are lounging about. I added various micro pellets to see which ones were acceptable. The store had blackworms but I may have to slice and dice them because the catfish are smaller than the Ember tetras.

 

[TMaier]

They’re gonna wiggle through all the leaves soon.

 

[coralbandit]

Nice on 25 ! The more the merrier and often the enjoyment of watching them..
IMO when possible large numbers of some fish allow owner to see things few do...
I added leaves to one of the apisto tanks and while still floating the water right in the middle of them registered a TDS of 10 ppm lower then the tank in areas of flow ...The tannin is real .... For the appropriate fish it is actually good in QTs for its antibacterial nature. Possibly even what fish picks off the leaves strengthens the fishes immune system.

 

[Fresh2o]

I always advise having a QT plan and need to follow it myself. QT is bare bottom so it will be easy to monitor food intake and waste production. When it comes time to move the fish I can simply remove the plants and leaves. Yes, I am hoping the fish will benefit from the blackwater. I cant wait to see the shoal in the DT.
I see you’ve (CB) got a group of wiggly striped worm fish. Sounds like a party!