# Blackwater



## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Hi I just wanted to post you guys some pics of my tank when I putted some more leaves in it. It made huge difference and the fish just love it









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## TheSaint (Apr 15, 2004)

really nice effect I love it.

Just make sure you dont add carbon to your filter or it will strip it in no time!!


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

looks good,nice tea color..


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

Very Nice setup, how big are the reds now


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

I think they are about 4 inches.



TheSaint said:


> really nice effect I love it.
> 
> Just make sure you dont add carbon to your filter or it will strip it in no time!!


Thers no risk







but I have to change water in a week and then it may all be gone.


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## SouthernBoy (Dec 15, 2005)

I use peat moss...does the same thing for me.


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

what type of leaves do you use to create that effects ?


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## Dialbomb (Dec 20, 2005)

Wow... that's an awesome tank man.... Great Job... Love the tea effect... Super...


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

I think it is oakleaves.

Thx!


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## memen (Mar 14, 2003)

I love your setup man, 
Great Job !
it will be perfect for breeding them !


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## boozehound420 (Apr 18, 2005)

wont that increase the ammonia once they start to decompose...its probly a slow process though...atleast it'll att nutrients for you plants eventually


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

It probably will increase the ammonia but slowly.Im more concerned for all the sh*t that is gathering in between the layers.


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## HumanBurger (Jan 11, 2006)

thanks for the pix... thats super informative...

im interested in doing this myself once i get enough bacteria to nolonger realy on carbon...
only with peat moss in my Aquaclear500...

so the fish really love it eh? i was wondering about that... closer to home i guess...


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## booozi (Nov 4, 2005)

looking good. I like it


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Humanburger said:


> thanks for the pix... thats super informative...
> 
> im interested in doing this myself once i get enough bacteria to nolonger realy on carbon...
> only with peat moss in my Aquaclear500...
> ...


Yeah they are more comfortable in the tank and now they like beeing at the top wich they didnt like before. They dont even move when im cleaning the tank, pretty scary actuallly









I cleaned the leaves in hot water before so I didnt get any insects and parasites but I dont know how important it is really.


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## Stugge (Jul 27, 2003)

That is Pirnahawater


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## HumanBurger (Jan 11, 2006)

faebo_tarzan said:


> They dont even move when im cleaning the tank, pretty scary actuallly
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks man...

yeah, that would be kind of creepy when cleanin the tank... as they get bigger, they're harder to trust they're not going to try and take a poke at yer finger or something... but really, its why we love them...

yeah, i've say boiling anything brought from outside to the tank is a good idea... so i'd keep doin it... 
deffinitally cant hurt...


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## DIESELMACK (Dec 14, 2005)

very nice....notice alot of color change yet? I run a blackwater setup in my 450gal with all my cichla and big flash jurunese....the color change in my peacock bass are outrageous!!
I do not add leaf litter but add blackwater extract(for the nutrients) and run a large peat filter in combination with my sump system....as stated above carbon will dredge the system of your tannins so watch that and also have found in extreme filtration using multiple stages of filter floss(fine grade) will also remove a good bit of the tannins.
good luck...the tank and p's look awesome


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Amazing


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

DIESELMACK said:


> very nice....notice alot of color change yet? I run a blackwater setup in my 450gal with all my cichla and big flash jurunese....the color change in my peacock bass are outrageous!!
> I do not add leaf litter but add blackwater extract(for the nutrients) and run a large peat filter in combination with my sump system....as stated above carbon will dredge the system of your tannins so watch that and also have found in extreme filtration using multiple stages of filter floss(fine grade) will also remove a good bit of the tannins.
> good luck...the tank and p's look awesome


Thx for the tip! Do you have any pics? I dont have any fine filter but as I said before the colour will probably disapear next waterchange. Maybe I´ll add some water from leaves. Ive noticed lots of colourchanges, ecpecially the red, they look more like "redbellies"









Heres some close-up pics.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

That's cool.
Any idea what it's brought your pH down to?
Just curious...


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## mattd390 (Dec 5, 2005)

Man that really darkened up your tank it looks like. Was that all from the leaves or did you turn down your lights or something?


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Piranha_man said:


> Man that really darkened up your tank it looks like. Was that all from the leaves or did you turn down your lights or something?


Only from the leaves. I have 2 lights now.


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## Whall Banner (Nov 25, 2004)

Thats about as close to the Amazon as you can get.

Excellent work Tarzan.


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Whall Banner said:


> Thats about as close to the Amazon as you can get.
> 
> Excellent work Tarzan.


Thx


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## DIESELMACK (Dec 14, 2005)

faebo_tarzan said:


> very nice....notice alot of color change yet? I run a blackwater setup in my 450gal with all my cichla and big flash jurunese....the color change in my peacock bass are outrageous!!
> I do not add leaf litter but add blackwater extract(for the nutrients) and run a large peat filter in combination with my sump system....as stated above carbon will dredge the system of your tannins so watch that and also have found in extreme filtration using multiple stages of filter floss(fine grade) will also remove a good bit of the tannins.
> good luck...the tank and p's look awesome


Thx for the tip! Do you have any pics? I dont have any fine filter but as I said before the colour will probably disapear next waterchange. Maybe I´ll add some water from leaves. Ive noticed lots of colourchanges, ecpecially the red, they look more like "redbellies"









Heres some close-up pics.
[/quote]
no pics with the water darkened as it usually fades and disappears after a while but I add the extract straight into the peat so it holds it longer....I will get some pics up for ya later(at work right now). be sure to keep an eye on your ph...it will drop substaintially...mine usually will drop to 5.7 before I add some baking soda to the sump to bring it back to approx 6.3 .......depending on the region of sa and of what river the ph will not be a problem as long as all other parameters are in check and good aeration....most eastern sa fish come from low ph blackwater rivers.


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Ok.
But can it be sink lower than 5? I know piranhas can manage, or even want, lower pH but can it be too low?


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## DIESELMACK (Dec 14, 2005)

HERE are a few pics I have grabbed from my home site...doesnt show the water too good but you can see the color that the blackwater brings out of the fish....it really does make a difference. These are all fish in the 6ftx4ft tank

the lowest I have let mine drop was 5.2....I am sure it could go lower if you have enough leaf litter or blackwater tannins in there...but I would be cautious to let it drop much lower.


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Hol Sh¤t, nice pics. I saw your feeding vid once, fast little nippers. Really nice colours!


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## Feeder_Phish (Apr 15, 2005)

that cobra is sweet diesel :nod:


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

Did you get those leaves in the wood ? i need to get some for my tank


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## Scooby (Dec 25, 2003)

Damn thats a killer tank man


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

Yes, I picked it up in the woods. Just make sure they are brown adn dead.


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## fps (Dec 25, 2005)

Both sets of pics are sweeeeeet.


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

Amazing tank.
What are the dimensions of it?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Wow, the tanks looks really awesome now!

So you can just get leaves out of the woods and put them in the tank after boiling them? I never knew that! I thought it would be dangerous as hell. What ever gave you the idea to do this? I'm thinking about it, and it would be a lot cheaper than buying that expensive peat from the pet stores to put in as filter media. Are there many leaves out there that could be poisonous? All the snow is melted in my location due to warm weather, so I may go pick some out from our woods.... Let me know, thanks.








~Taylor~

EDIT: Actually, wouldn't it make more sense to just add the water from the boiled leaves to the water, so you wouldn't have such a mess in the tank, and you'd still have a tea color?


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

Taylor, are you sure he boiled them ? I thought that by boiling them you would remove all the tannins ?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

matc said:


> Taylor, are you sure he boiled them ? I thought that by boiling them you would remove all the tannins ?


Hmm, you have a point. It wouldn't make sense to put the leaves in the tank if you boiled all of the color out of them....

If I find out that this method for blackwater is an okay thing to do, I know that I will boil the color out of the leaves. Then I will put that water into the tank, that way I won't have to deal with a messy tank, although it does look really really natural with the leaves laying on the bottom of the tank.
~Taylor~


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

I agree the leaves creates a nice natural decoration. If you find an article about those leaves pm me !


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

You could always put the leaves in a bucke and pour hot boiled water over the leaves. Let them be over the night and then the water will probably be black. In my opiniion it is easier and looks better with the leaves in the tank. 
Btw watch the pH and dont use green leaves.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

faebo_tarzan said:


> You could always put the leaves in a bucke and pour hot boiled water over the leaves. Let them be over the night and then the water will probably be black. In my opiniion it is easier and looks better with the leaves in the tank.
> Btw watch the pH and dont use green leaves.


I don't mean to bug or interrogate you, I'm just curious. Where did you learn about this? Any articles of this method for blackwater by chance? What do you think the chances of there being poisionous leaves out there are?

This goes out to anybody else who would also know something about this. Thanks.
~Taylor~


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## kyle_5rb (Dec 20, 2004)

are those plants real or fake?


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## faebo_tarzan (Jun 5, 2005)

kyle_5rb said:


> are those plants real or fake?


They are real. 
Taylor: I think I got it from thsi site







. Try to search for blackwater in the forum. I dont know if there are any poisonus leaves where u live but here in sweden I thnink it works well woth almost any kind. From what Ive heard oakleaves lasts longer but im not sure.


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## DIESELMACK (Dec 14, 2005)

a good article on making a blackwater tank:

http://joshday.com/blackwatertank.htm

If you scroll down this page there is alot of information on natural blackwater areas ect, including pics:
http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm

an easy product:
http://www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=76


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## Blacklotus (Aug 19, 2005)

That is a cool idea, im going to try it. And thanks everyone for the info.


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