Been a lot of ups and downs with this tank since its set up. It is annoying, one of the plants I got was a more uncommon species which I've been wanting to keep for a while. Only found it available on eBay but yeah the delivery is a bummer. Thanks! I like your 40G Breeder. I've wanted to try a "blackwater-style" aquarium for a while but don't have the space for one atm.
I had the same issue - I had like 6 tanks at one point and decided to combine all the wood and plants into one. And the blackwater tank was born
Background Changes
I thought I'd change up the background on this tank to black. It looks a lot better than when it had a frost background IMO. In person, this tank looks a lot better now since the internal filter got ditched, and the duckweed got removed. My eBay order of new stem plants didn't arrive on Saturday, a day after it was due. So Tuesday is the next available day as it's a bank holiday weekend. Expecting half-dead plants. I would like to achieve a dense bushy group of stems along the left of the back wall to get the intended look I was after when I set up this tank.
Quick question to algae experts, What sort of algae is on the Crinum in the second picture? I've been dealing with it for months and started to give up manually removing it. It has gone away naturally before then it came back a few times.
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, In old scapes that even had C02 injection it always melted back but not in this tank. Now onto the algae.. Staghorn has definitely returned.. mainly on the Siamensis 53B. I think the lack of flow on the right side may be the cause, so I added in a airstone connected to a very loud battery-powered air pump that I have turned on for around 2 hours a day hoping that it will impact the Staghorn growth. Ive pretty much given up on the suspected BBA as I cause more damage to the plants by removing it 
. Cyanobacteria is still growing rampent in the substrate and front of the aquarium which I manually remove as much as possible every water change, same with thread algae.
. I decided to ditch the bubbler and went for a giant sponge filter instead. Its powered by the smallest and quietest air pump I've ever owned . It's in the back right corner next to the heater and is pretty much invisible! The Bolbitis covers it well and the amano shrimp have made it their no.1 place of refuge. I found another dead RCS which is a shame. Nothing ever came of that one berried shrimp sadly, so my RCS colony is slowly shrinking.. I did a large cleanup of thread algae and cyanobacteria before. It's gotten really bad even for my standards of a "planted tank". The next step for this tank will be a large trimming in a months time and perhaps adding some more crypts to the foreground area.
Limnophila sessiliflora ambulia has taken its place and is growing very quickly. I also added some stems of Hygrophila Corymbosa to the far left which can't be seen due to the mass of Polysperma in front of it. Fish are doing very well and have taken a liking to Fluval bug bites even the shrimp too.
). Hopefully, it will transition back into its more soil-based environment decently well. 
. The majority of quick-growing stems were at the water's surface and newer growth at the bottom of the tank became stunted due to the lack of lighting. The Rotala rotundifolia had become swamped in cyanobacteria and thread algae so I hacked it down to around 1-2 inch tall stems. The Limnophila sessiliflora had consumed the plant weights they were in to a ball of roots so I thinned them out and removed any roots that had grown into the substrate. The Val has been doing very well with runners popping up everywhere which I am leaving alone. I removed the hygrophila corymbosa compact as it started to become leggy. I added in my Anubias barteri Coffeefolia from my old 60L paludarium into the hygrophila's place. I'm hoping the Rotala will bounce back as it hasn't been doing very well recently which I assume is down to the algae it was being absorbed by. A nice pop of red on that right side is needed IMO which the Rotala can achieve if it grows 
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) since the last post. Firstly the look of the tank above the water level was starting to become unsightly IMO. So I added a fake rim to hide the polycarbonate lid. I had some spare black window film from when I changed the background. I cut two lengths for the front and right side as the left is not a viewable side when looking at this tank. Next, I had to do another trim as thread algae spread quickly throughout the recovering Rotala, which I had trimmed a while back. So now the tank is in two halves. The left is the ideal look I'm after, dense plant growth with hiding areas and the occasional gap where the Sawbwa can be spotted. In contrast, the right side is a baron wasteland. I did add some H.polysperma 'Rosanervig' into the back right corner as an attempt to create more height and partly cover the sponge filter when it grows in. But at the moment the right side is an eyesore. As for the stocking, no new issues have occurred so far. The Amano that I added from my old 60L Paludarium is loving life in here. The sponge filter has become the current hotspot for the shrimp & snails. I also removed the frogbit as the roots started to become intertwined with the Crinium which made the entire right side become blocked from light leading to some die-off of Monte Carlo and S.repens. I don't have this issue with the water lettuce so I'm letting it spread and mix in with the L.sessiliflora as the stems reach across most of the tank now on that left side. I'm dosing API leaf zone now (3-6ml) as it is giving better results than the other fertilizer I had.
