Blackwater Aquarium Setup: A Complete Tank Guide

Some of the most popular fish that can live in a blackwater tank include: Neon and Cardinal tetras · Corydoras catfish · Angelfish · Discus ... Skiptocontent Menu BlackwaterAquariumSetup:ACompleteTankGuide AlisonPage LASTUPDATED:July21,2022 Sharingiscaring! 0 shares Share Pin Ifyoulovetheideaofcreatinganaturallookforyouraquarium,youmightwanttoknowmoreabouthowtosetupablackwatertank. Blackwaterbiotopesaremorechallengingtocreateandmanagethanaregularsetup,beingmoreonparwithreeformarinetanks.However,onceyourblackwatertankisestablished,theyarenolessbeautifulandfascinating. Wanttodiveintotheblackwaterbiotopeworld?Thenyouneedtoreadthisguidetocreatingabeautifulblackwateraquarium! WhatIsABlackwaterEnvironment? BlackwaterenvironmentsarefoundworldwideinplacessuchasVenezuela,Indonesia,andBrazil. Blackwatertypicallyoccursintemporarypoolsandpondswherethewaterbodyisenclosed.However,blackwateralsoappearsinflowingstreamsinsomelocationswherethewaterrunsthroughheavily-vegetatedforestsandmineral-deprivedsoils. Mostblackwaterareasarefoundintropicalrainforests.Thatsaid,thepeatbogsofCanadaandtheUnitedKingdomandmanyriversandswampsinthesoutheasternUnitedStatesareclassifiedasblackwaterenvironments. Tannins Inanaturalhabitat,thewaterisstaineddarkbyorganicmatterleachedfromdeadplantmaterial.Specifically,planttanninsandotherhumicsubstancesgraduallydecay,creatingacidicwaterconditionsorpHlessthan7.0andpreventingthepHlevelfrombecomingalkalineorgreaterthan7.0. Thefishintheseblackwaterenvironmentsareoftenunusualspeciesthatneedthoseconditionstothrive.Ifyoucanreplicateablackwaterhabitatinyourhomefishtank,youcankeepacommunityofthesebeautiful,rarefish. WhatFishSpeciesCanLiveInABlackwaterAquarium? Awholerangeoffishspeciescanthriveinablackwatertank.Manyofthesefishareverysimpletocareforandarepeaceful,too,makingitprettyeasytocreateaninterestingcommunityaquarium. Someofthemostpopularfishthatcanliveinablackwatertankinclude: NeonandCardinaltetrasCorydorascatfishAngelfishDiscusKuhliloachesCherrybarbsOtocinclus Youcanalsoincludesomereadilyavailablebutlesscommonspecies,suchasApistogrammas,BeeShrimp,andChocolategouramis.  LargeBlackwaterSpecies Ifyou’replanningonkeepingalargeblackwatertank,youmightconsiderincludingSilverDollars,Piranhas,andPacusinyoursetup.However,thosespecieshaveveryspecificdietaryrequirements,andthevegetarianPacusandSilverDollarswillprobablymakeamealofyouraquaticplants. SilverDollarscanreachsixtotenincheslongandarestrictlyschoolingfish.Pacuscangrowtoanenormousthreefeetinlengthandarealsoschoolingfish,soyouwillneedamassivetankifyouwanttokeeptheseblackwaterspecialties!  WaterConditions Ifyourblackwateraquariumwaterdoesn’thaveanacidicpH(pH6.0to7.0),youcankeepmostotheraquariumfish,includingguppiesandotherlivebearers,barbs,andcichlids. SpeciesThatDon’tWorkInABlackwaterTank Althoughawidechoiceoffishspeciesworkswellinablackwatertank,invertebratespresentmoreofachallenge. Prettymucheveryspeciesoffreshwaterinverthasahardshellmadefromcalciumcarbonateandotherminerals.Blackwaterconditionsleachawaythoseminerals,eventuallykillingthecreatureinside. Thatsaid,youcankeepafewshrimpandsnailsspecificallyadaptedtothoseconditions,includingBeeshrimp,Bambooshrimp,andMalaysianTrumpetsnails. HowToSetUpABlackwaterAquarium Nowyouknowwhatcreaturesyoucankeepinyourblackwatertank,let’sdiscusshowtocreateyoursetup. TankSize Blackwatertanksareprettyflexiblewhenitcomestoaquariumsize.Infact,nanoblackwateraquariumsareofteneasiertomaintainthanlargeronesbecauseoftheprecisewaterconditionsthatblackwatertanksneed. Youshouldbeginwithultra-purifiedwaterandtreatitwithplanttannins;asmalltankiseasiertokeeprefilledandtreated.Also,manyblackwaterspeciesoffishareverysmallandcanbekeptinsmalltanksofaroundfivegallons. Ofcourse,ifyouwanttokeepspeciessuchasDiscusandAngelfish,youcanhaveablackwateraquariumof55gallonsorevenlarger.It’sreallyjustacaseofhowmuchspaceyouhaveinyourhomeandhowmuchtimeyouhavetodevotetocaringforthesetup. Substrate Ideally,youwanttouseasubstraterichinorganicsorpHneutral.Youcanaddpeattothesubstratetoensurethatyouraquariumisbufferedtowardacidity. Anacidicsubstrateincludessomeclay,soil,andaquariumplantingsubstrates.Mixpeatintothatandtopitwitha½-inchlayerofsandtopreventthepeatfromfloatingaway. ForamorepH-neutralsubstrate,youcanusefreshwatersandandgravel,andafewclaysubstratesaresuitable,too.Marinesandorgravelshouldbeavoided,asthey’regenerallymadefromcrushedlimestoneoraragonite.ThatwilldissolveinthewaterandincreaseyourpHlevelsandwaterhardnesstounacceptablyhighlevelsforablackwatertank. WaterParameters Ablackwatertank’smostobviousfeatureisitstea-coloredwater.Inthenaturalenvironment,thewaterisstainednaturallybyhelpfulplanttannins.Inafishtank,youneedtoaddthosesubstancesyourself. Planttanninscanbeinstantorslow-release;ideally,youneedamixofbothforyouraquarium.That’sbecausepartialwaterchangescanremovemanyoftheslow-releasetanninsourcestooquickly,soyou’llneedtotopthemupwithinstantalternatives. SourcesofPlantTannins Themostcommonlyusedslow-releaseplanttanninsourcesare: driftwoodpeatbogwoodIndianAlmondleaves Whensettingupanewblackwatertank,youshoulduseamixtureofallofthosematerials.  BlackwaterConditioner Thebestsourceofinstanttanninsisblackwaterconditioners.Whenyoucarryoutregularwaterchanges,you’llneedabottleofconditioneronhandtoquicklyaddtothewatertorebalancethechemistry. Mostblackwaterconditionersdon’tactuallystainthewaterbutcontainalltherequiredhumicsubstances.Theseproductsarehighlyconcentrated,soyoudon’ttendtouseverymuchconditioner. Interestingly,conditionershavethebonusofincreasingthebioavailabilityofnutrientsforyourplantsandcanalsobringyourfishintospawningconditionswithinafewweeks! IndianAlmondLeaves IndianAlmondleavesareprobablythemostpopularsourceoftanninsforblackwatertanks.  Allyouneedtodoisscatterafewoftheleavesacrossthebottomofyourtank.Youdon’tneedverymanyleaves,astheyareprettypotent.Iftheleavesdon’tsink,youcanquicklyboilthemortearthemup.However,iftheleavesfloatforafewdays,that’sfine. IndianAlmondleavesgenerallylastforaboutamonthbeforeyouneedtoreplacethem.  Driftwood Anotherexcellentsourceofplanttanninsisaquariumdriftwood.Ifyoupicktherightkindofaquariumwood,youcanenjoyaslow-releasesourcethatlastsformonthsorevenyearsbeforeyouneedtoreplaceit. Lookforlargepiecesofdarkwood,suchasMopaniorMalaysiandriftwood.Thesedensewoodsareheavyandusuallysinkreallyquickly,makingaquascapingyourtankmucheasier.  Avoidusinglight,quicklydecayingwood,suchaschollawood.Thesewoodsarenotagoodsourceoftanninsanddon’tlastlong. Alwaysbuyyourpiecesofdriftwoodfrompetorfishstoresratherthantakingpiecesofwoodfromthewildenvironment.Wilddriftwoodisoftencontaminatedwithchemicalsorparasitesthatcouldcausecarnageinyouraquarium. Filtration Youneedagoodfiltrationsystemtomaintaingoodwaterchemistryandhygieneinyourblackwatertank. Filtrationinablackwatertankissomewhatmorechallengingthaninaregularfreshwatertank.That’sbecauseyouwanttokeepahighlevelofdissolvedorganicmaterialinthewater.Mostaquariumfilterswillpulloutandneutralizethosesubstancesanddestroyyourblackwatereffect. Canisterorpowerfiltersareagoodchoice,butyoumustremoveanyactivatedcarbonfromthemediachambers.Youcanusepeatinsteadofactivatedcarboninthecanisterfilter’smediacompartment.However,itseffectivenessisinfluencedbytherichnessofthetannininthepeat,thesizeofthemediacompartment,andthefilterflowrate. You’llneedtomonitorthewater’scolorandqualityandadjustthequantityofpeatasrequired. WaterChanges You’llneedtocarryoutpartialwaterchangestokeepthewatercleanandingoodconditionforyourfish.However,changingoutsomewateraffectstheblackwaterenvironmentmorethanitdoesinaregularsetup. Youwantyourwatertohavegeneralhardness(GH)andcarbonatehardness(CH)inthe2to5-degreerange.That’sverylowindissolvedminerals.Moststandardtapwaterismineralizedandmoderatelyalkaline,soit’snotsuitableforuseinablackwateraquarium. Ideally,youwanttousedistilledwaterorReverseOsmosiswatertobalancethewaterchemistry.Usea50%ratiooftaptodistilledwaterorROwatertoreducethehardness.However,youmustrememberthatevaporationreducesthewaterlevelandraisesthedissolvedmineralconcentration. Plants Althoughyoudon’tneedtouselivingplants,theygiveyouraquariumamorenaturalfeel,thefishlovethem,andplantsareanotherexcellentsourceofnaturaltannins.So,anydeadordecayingleavesandstemscanbeleftinthetankalongwithyourIndianAlmondleaves. Whenchoosingaquaticplantsforablackwatertank,youneedtorememberthatthelightintensityintheenvironmentisrelativelylow.Thedarkerwaterpreventslightpenetration,somostcarpetingplantsandthosethatneedbrightlightinglevelswon’tgrow. Ontheupside,darkwaterinhibitsalgaegrowth,keepingthetanklookingtidierforlonger. Plantsthatdowellinblackwateraquariumsinclude: AmazonSwordsHygrophiliaPygmyChainSwordsJavaMossJavaFernCryptocoryneAnubias Theseplantscantoleratelowtomoderatelightconditions,whichisjustwhatyou’dfindindarkbodiesofwater. Mostoftheseplantsarefoundintropicalandequatorialregionsandneedwarmwaterof78to86?.Luckily,mostblackwaterfishspeciesalsolikethoseconditions.  WalstadBlackwaterTanks AblackwateraquariumalsomakesanexcellentWalstadtankifyou’reintogrowingliveaquaticplants. OneoftheprimarybenefitsofkeepingaWalstadaquariumisthatafiltersystemisn’trequired.Instead,lushplantingabsorbsallthewasteproducedbythefish.Oncethetankisestablished,youwon’tevenneedtoworryaboutwaterchanges.Allyouneedtodoistopoffthetankasthewaterevaporates. Walstadtanksusepottingsoilasasubstrate.Mostpottingsoilscontainwormcastings,peat,sphagnummoss,andothersourcesoforganicmatter. Capthesubstratewithalayerofgravelorsandforasteadysourceofplanttanninsandanidealsubstrateforplantgrowth.Asaresult,Walstadtanks,especiallywhenbrandnew,aretypicallytea-colored. However,asmentionedabove,youstillneedtousethecorrectblendofwatertopreventmineralaccumulationovertime.Also,thesoilsubstratewillneedreplacementwithinayearorthree. BlackwaterAquariumLighting Plantsgrowinginablackwatertankneedadequatelightingtothriveandsurvive. Standardfluorescentandincandescentaquariumlightfixturesdon’tproducenearlyenoughphotosyntheticallyactiveradiation(PAR)thatplantsneedtogrow.Andthatproblemisevenworseinablackwateraquarium. Youdon’tneedtoworryaboutCO2supplementationforyourplants,astheseareprettyslow-growingspecies.Also,thedecayoforganicwasteandfishrespirationprovidestheplantswithallthecarbondioxidetheyneed. FinalThoughts Didyouenjoyourguidetosettingupandrunningablackwateraquarium?Ifyoufoundtheinformationinthisarticlehelpful,pleasetakeamomenttoshareit! Blackwaterhabitatscanbechallengingtomaintain,buttheyarewellworththeextraeffort.Adimly-littankwithdarkerwaterreallymakesyourfishpopwithcolor.Andyoucankeepsomeofthemoreunusualspeciesthatthrivethere. Haveyousetupablackwaterfishtank?Whatfishspeciesdoyoukeepinyourdarkwaterenvironment?Tellusaboutyouraquariumadventuresinthecommentsboxbelow! Sharingiscaring! 0 shares Share Pin SearchAquariadiseSearch LeaveaCommentCancelreplyCommentName Email Website Δ ThissiteusesAkismettoreducespam.Learnhowyourcommentdataisprocessed. PrivacyPolicyCookiePolicyAccessibilityStatement AccessibilityWidgetAboutUs CloseAbout Caresheets Plants Equipment 0 shares