Fresh2o’s 29g Blackwater Tank

[earhtmother]

No the actual AA mobile app

 

[Fresh2o]

No the actual AA mobile app

How about these?

The images in the previous posts were directly uploaded to Imgur and the links were embedded in the posts. The 3 images in this post are embedded using the Image icon in the mobile app (which uses the TapaTalk platform I believe). When prompted for BEST or OPTIMIZED I selected optimized. It results in a smaller image. The Imgur images are not scaled down, resulting in a slower load and more data on your mobile data plan if not on WiFi.
Try refreshing the page and see if that helps.

 

[D-Fish]

How about these?
View attachment 310280View attachment 310281View attachment 310282
The images in the previous posts were directly uploaded to Imgur and the links were embedded in the posts. The 3 images in this post are embedded using the Image icon in the mobile app (which uses the TapaTalk platform I believe). When prompted for BEST or OPTIMIZED I selected optimized. It results in a smaller image. The Imgur images are not scaled down, resulting in a slower load and more data on your mobile data plan if not on WiFi.
Try refreshing the page and see if that helps.

I can see those.


Also I have looked at your thread a few times, tried refreshing on Wi-Fi and on mobile networks. The one thing I had in common was the usage of the Tapatalk app that's the reason why I thought it was it.

 

[King Fisher]

I can see them now too. Awesome tank.

 

[earhtmother]

Me too woo hoo

 

[Fresh2o]

Not much going on with this tank. Decided to remove the Finnex Planted+. It was bright and the subwassertang really peeled up, but it promoted string algae. Just running the Finnex 24/7. Besides, the fishes colors look fine in subdued lighting.

 

[Autumnsky]

Fish are looking sassy!

 

[Fresh2o]

Fish are looking sassy!

The Forktails are like zebra danios in that they never keep still. They occupy pretty much every level of the tank. I do see them perusing the subwassertang at the bottom foraging for food. From time to time the males will flair their fins in a side to side show off.

 

[D-Fish]

Very nice!! I like it a lot.

 

[Fresh2o]

Found a nice large red cherry shrimp grazing on the filters intake screen. I don’t recall adding any shrimp to this tank (there is a 3-4 year old Amano living there). A month or two ago I moved a bunch of subwassertang from my shrimp tank to this tank. I shook out the clumps of subwassertang in the shrimp prior to removal but obviously did not get all of them.
Caught it with a net and PLOP, back into the shrimp tank.

 

[TMaier]

Oh man he was owning that space. King of the tank.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Hey Fresh, I'm kinda thinking about doing a bit of blackwater myself, and I was wondering if you had an opinion on ranking your leaf types. What do you think was the best/worst, or pros and cons of different ones, or something to that effect.

 

[Fresh2o]

Hey Fresh, I'm kinda thinking about doing a bit of blackwater myself, and I was wondering if you had an opinion on ranking your leaf types. What do you think was the best/worst, or pros and cons of different ones, or something to that effect.

I’ve used Indian Almond, maple, oak, sycamore, and mulberry. Each breakdown at a different rate: mulberry, maple, oak, Indian almond, sycamore (the latter being the longest lasting). I use mulberry in my shrimp tank (they graze on it) and it lasts less than a week. Sycamore can last several months in my tank.
As for tannin release, oak, Indian almond probably release the most.
Despite having 4 mature maple trees on my property, I purchased a box of maple leaves from CoralBandit last year. First off, I trust his judgement as he uses these for conditioning water and he harvests these in a remote area (you really need to be wary of pesticides, pollution, and other chemicals). Also, at the time (which was last spring) I did not have one maple leaf in my yard.
You can get mini-Indian almond leaves which might be more appropriate for smaller tank.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Thank you! That’s really helpful. I have access to oak, and I have aspen and maple trees in my yard that I’m fairly sure don’t have anything on them since I’ve never put anything on them since we moved in here 3 years ago. I was also looking at tannin.com which is pretty neat

 

[Fresh2o]

Update on the tank. Not really the barren leaf litter blackwater tank I intended it to be. Subwassertang continues to fill out. Moved a good portion of guppy grass from the shrimp tank to add some hiding spaces along the back area. Side shot showing the snail sanctuary (and fry tank)

 

[Brookster123]

Looks great. Little Dutch scape going on there???

 

[Fresh2o]

Looks great. Little Dutch scape going on there???

No Dutch for me. Too much work. This is more or a monoculture or “too lazy to get rid of the plants” type of scape. No ferts provided other than what the fish supply. There is some hair/string algae that I remove about once a week.

 

[Fresh2o]

Updated pic (top is from 10-12 weeks ago). Along with the rampant guppy grass growth lies hair or string algae. It is in the upper portions of the subwassertang as well. To counter this, I’ve switched from the 24/7 setting to 8 hours at 40% intensity. I run some accent lights for a good part of the day to give some dim light for viewing.
Also got some new food from Brookster. Similar to bug bites but with squid, shrimp, marigold, and other yummy ingredients.

 

[Autumnsky]

Sounds tasty.

You sure are good at growing Guppy grass!

 

[Fresh2o]

Sounds tasty.

You sure are good at growing Guppy grass!

The food is really smelly. It’s called Nano Krill micro bites from Southern Delight (sounds like a stage name). Fish are slowly taking to it. Tried it in my shrimp tank; they’ll eat anything. There’s a slight Soylent Green irony feeding them this stuff (has shrimp in it).
I am also good at hacking down guppy grass. It is really a weed. But this was done more for the hair algae control. Lots of swimming space for the fish now.