How to question

[easyian]

I'm just wondering how to make a black water tank? I've read a few posts with people who have these tanks and they describe a tea colored water. Is this a very difficult thing thing to do? I'm kind of interested as i have never heard of these tanks until i was told about this site.

Thanks

Ian

 

[shawmutt]

I have been building an Amazon black water tank for about four months now. I am working towards a black water “biotope,” which is a tank that duplicates the conditions from the location. There is also an Asian black water tank, but my research and experience is with Amazon black water tanks.

A disclaimer--I’ll be the first to admit that I’m short on experience with these tanks and with fish in general, so a lot of what I am saying here is research I’ve conducted. By all means, conduct your own research; I referenced a few links at the bottom of this post to get you started.

There are a few ways that I know of to give your water that tea color:

1. Add peat to your filter medium.

I tried this first, but it didn’t give me the wanted effects. It barely affected the water at all. I bought peat granules and a filter bag from my lfs. I stuffed it into my hang-on power filter and waited…and waited…and waited. The only thing I accomplished was making my power filter overflow onto the floor when the peat clogged with debris from the tank water.

2. Boil peat in a pot until the water turns black. Strain the water into a jar, and you have homemade black water extract. Add this to the tank water to get the color.

I never tried this, although it would have put my leftover peat from the last experiment to good use. The reason I didn’t try it is because I’m paranoid about my fish and didn’t want to take a chance by adding too much or too little. Boiling a bunch of crap and dumping it into my tank isn’t exact science. I also read that the peat stinks when you boil it.

3. Buy black water extract. Some lfs stock it, if you can’t find it there, online stores would certainly have it.

I found a bottle at my lfs and started using it about a month into my black water experiment. Tetra makes it, and you will probably find that brand more readily. If you can’t find it at your lfs, you can definitely find it online. I still dump a capful in the tank with every water change.

4. Add driftwood to your tank.

I just bought a piece of driftwood about a month ago from my lfs, and I am now trying to phase out the black water extract in favor of the driftwood. Ask me in a few more months how that is going.

By far, the most challenging aspect of this tank has been the water conditions. Black water in nature is very soft (about 1-2% GH) and acidic (4-6 pH). The extracts or driftwood alone cannot replicate this water. When I started the tank, I used regular tap water, with a pH of 7 and GH of 11%. Slowly I am changing the water parameters by using distilled water with every water change. I also started adding C02 for my plants*, which also drops the pH. I am currently at 6.4 pH and 8% GH. As the water gets softer, (I have read) the pH will harder to control.

The substrate in my tank is regular black gravel. A piece of black background goes all the way around the tank, leaving just the front exposed. This darkens the environment quite a bit, bringing out the colors of my cardinals and making them feel more secure. I have a plastic tree root on one side, and a real tree root on the other side. The real tree root is covered in java fern (I know it's not from the amazon, but that's why I call it a black water tank and not a biotope yet). You can see a pic of my tank in my gallery, I hope to get more pics up soon. The skull is a jaguar skull (jaguars come from that area) that I found at the lfs.

I currently have 9 cardinal tetras and 4 dwarf suckers. Although these fish can do well in a regular community aquarium with a neutral pH, I am trying to emulate their natural environment and breed the cardinals. I also noted that as the water gets closer to their natural habitat, they act more natural. The cardinals, who swam about the tank more or less randomly, can now be called a school of cardinals. There was a display of territorial aggression from one of the bigger ones, hopefully a sign that she is going to lay eggs.

Phew, sorry that was so long winded. Anyway, Good luck!

*In a true Amazon black water biotope, there are no plants. The acidity of the water burns the leaves off of any plant.

References:

http://www.biotopeaquariums.co.uk/America/negro_basin.htm
http://www.cityaquarium.com/freshwater.htm
http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/catfishology/natural_catfish-aquarium.htm
http://www.amazonian-fish.co.uk/indexc30.html

some Google search terms to use

black water biotope
blackwater extract

 

[Guest]

Awesome post Shawmutt! 50 kudos coming your way! You really did your homework, bet those fish are happy.

I've never done blackwater, but recall hearing somewhere that carbon in the filter will pull the color out of the water. Is this true?

 

[shawmutt]

Thanks! Yes, it is true that carbon will pull out the color. That's why I only use the sponges in my power filter.

 

[Guest]

Good deal. Also, the carbon will pull out trace elements your plants need, just one more reason not to use it in your Blackwater biotope tank.

 

[loganj]

I agree...that was an impressive posting. Made me want to go set up a black water tank today. 50 more kudos coming your way.

 

[easyian]

Thanks for the in depth reply. I think i may do some research and try one for myself. It sounds very interesting.

Thanks a lot
Ian

 

[michealprater]

I have always had driftwood in my freshwater tanks when I kept them. It always tea stained the water. I always thought this was a undesireable thing. I would do very regular water changes until the driftwood had finished leaching all the color out of it. So seeing the information on the black water tank was very interesting to me. Kudos to ya shawnmutt. I will tell you that fresh peices of driftwood will keep your tank tea colored for quite sometime.

 

[kbd517]

I agree with LoganJ- we're about to set up a 46 gal bowfront, and this sounds really interesting- Is this an idea appropriate for a "relative" beginner? (we've had tanks in the past, and kept the fish alive and happy for several years, but looking back we made a lot of mistakes- this time we're going very slowly and are making every effort to "do it right" this time) I'm going to start doing google searches, but I really like the way the forums are set up here- Kudos to you, Shawmutt

 

[shawmutt]

I consider myself a relative beginner, compared with some of the people in this forum. I just happen to be the type of person who gets satisfaction out of a job well done. This tank, although more difficult than a beginner tank, is definitely is rewarding to me.

Just a quick update: I am finding that the internet, although very helpful and informative, is better augmented with books on the topic. My local bookstore is ok, but amazon.com has tons of books on the subject.