ginaekdal said:
Look at redmoor wood. Smooth with lots of branches. I love this wood, I have it in two of my tanks.
Tell Me What To Do With This Tap Water
- Thread starter ginaekdal
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Look at redmoor wood. Smooth with lots of branches. I love this wood, I have it in two of my tanks.
I don't think you could go far wrong with a group of 10 or 12 micro rasbora (which ever you choose) and a group of 8 or 10 pygmy cories. You could add some leaf litter and some drift wood and go blackwater ...
Look up Amazon Biotopes and see if that inspires you.
If you want easy plants look at some of the one's on my list. Another lovely easy plant is Cabomba - there's a red one that looks really nice. Here's a photo of my 110 litre tank that tried to use as a breeding set up for my angels
The red cabomba is the fluffy stuff at the back. Looks lovely and grows well in soft water
Look up Amazon Biotopes and see if that inspires you.
If you want easy plants look at some of the one's on my list. Another lovely easy plant is Cabomba - there's a red one that looks really nice. Here's a photo of my 110 litre tank that tried to use as a breeding set up for my angels
The red cabomba is the fluffy stuff at the back. Looks lovely and grows well in soft water
Be warned that redmoor wood floats at first. I just soak it in a bucket of water until it sinks. The thicker it is, the longer it takes. But it is worth it
Akasha72 said:I don't think you could go far wrong with a group of 10 or 12 micro rasbora (which ever you choose) and a group of 8 or 10 pygmy cories. You could add some leaf litter and some drift wood and go blackwater ...
Look up Amazon Biotopes and see if that inspires you.
If you want easy plants look at some of the one's on my list. Another lovely easy plant is Cabomba - there's a red one that looks really nice. Here's a photo of my 110 litre tank that tried to use as a breeding set up for my angels
The red cabomba is the fluffy stuff at the back. Looks lovely and grows well in soft water
Oh that is lovely. I am off to google and make an inspirational folder, I think! What types of rocks do you use, by the way? Do they affect the water?
I would love pygmy cories as long as I can get them, that is. Will they be fine if my hardness is at 1° and not 2°? I haven't looked into other small ones yet.
essjay said:Be warned that redmoor wood floats at first. I just soak it in a bucket of water until it sinks. The thicker it is, the longer it takes. But it is worth it
This is exactly something I would forget.
my rocks are natural slate so don't affect the water at all. If in doubt about rocks buy them at an lfs.
I always soak new wood in boiling water for a week or two and Essjay is right ... wood can take a while to sink. The wood in my photo is actually tied to a flat rock hidden under the sand!
I always soak new wood in boiling water for a week or two and Essjay is right ... wood can take a while to sink. The wood in my photo is actually tied to a flat rock hidden under the sand!
Akasha72 said:
I have already found a site that I have bought from in the past that also carries Redmoor. I am very excited. The only downside is that you don't get to pick the one you want... I will have a nose around my LFS just in case they have anything in before I commit to buying an unseen piece. I suppose if all else fails I can soak it whilst I cycle...
From essjay's thorough description of the JBL kits, they seem to be the same as the API which I use. And I too have near-zero GH/KH (the water authority says it is 7 ppm, which is less than half of one dGH) so the colours change with the first drop.
Almost any fish that naturally occurs in South America (with a very few exceptions), and most of the species from SE Asia (India through to the peninsula) are soft water. So you do have a huge selection to choose from. Avoid all livebearers, African rift lake cichlids, and a few others like some of the rainbowfish. But almost all the tetras, rasbora, most catfish, some cichlids, all gourami...will thrive.
When it comes to the aquascape, you can be more authentic (close to what we term a biotope) with sand substrate, chunks and branches of wood, and floating plants. Or you can include some substrate-rooted plants. Rock is generally not present in any of these natural habitats but that doesn't mean you can't have some, to create interest like in the beautiful tank Akasha pictured in post #17. One thing I would recommend though are floating plants, always. These provide what nearly all soft-water fish species expect...cover. In their habitats it may be floating aquatic plants, or it may be very thick overhanging terrestrial vegetation. But direct sunlight very rarely reaches the water in which these fish live, which means they prefer dim rather than brighter overhead lighting.
Byron.
Almost any fish that naturally occurs in South America (with a very few exceptions), and most of the species from SE Asia (India through to the peninsula) are soft water. So you do have a huge selection to choose from. Avoid all livebearers, African rift lake cichlids, and a few others like some of the rainbowfish. But almost all the tetras, rasbora, most catfish, some cichlids, all gourami...will thrive.
When it comes to the aquascape, you can be more authentic (close to what we term a biotope) with sand substrate, chunks and branches of wood, and floating plants. Or you can include some substrate-rooted plants. Rock is generally not present in any of these natural habitats but that doesn't mean you can't have some, to create interest like in the beautiful tank Akasha pictured in post #17. One thing I would recommend though are floating plants, always. These provide what nearly all soft-water fish species expect...cover. In their habitats it may be floating aquatic plants, or it may be very thick overhanging terrestrial vegetation. But direct sunlight very rarely reaches the water in which these fish live, which means they prefer dim rather than brighter overhead lighting.
Byron.
Byron said:
Thank you!
I would absolutely love floating plants. Can I have them even though my tank has a lid? Are there types that are better suited than others?
After sitting for 24 hours, my water comes out at a pH of 6,4.
You're most welcome. I have floating plants in all my tanks (I consider it mandatory
There are smaller floaters, like duckweed and Salvinia. I like both of these in certain situations, but being so tiny they can get lost, and duckweed really can explode like a weed. Salvinia will provide the better cover. But I would tend to go with the more substantial floating plants.
Some of the stem plants do very well floating. I am particularly fond of Brazilian Pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) which will grow in long stems along the surface with the leaves lying flat and the roots from each node dangling down. It is very easy to control this plant by cutting the stems, and they will usually divide and form lovely patches.
Being at the surface, light is not usually an issue for these plants, but a good spectrum is helpful. Something around 5000K to 7000K works well. A comprehensive liquid fertilizer may help too. Floating plants are fast growers because not only the light is good, but they have the advantage of being able to assimilate CO2 from the air rather than just the water.
Byron.
Byron said:
You're most welcome. I have floating plants in all my tanks (I consider it mandatory) and they all have covers; provided there is air circulation through normal openings, plants will have no trouble. Given the tank being 63 litres (roughly 16 gallons), I would suggest floating plants that are a bit easier to control. Something like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta, the true floating species) for example can get very large although you can manage this by removing some of the daughter plants that grow from alternate leaves regularly and discarding the larger plant(s). Frogbit is another. Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) similar. These three are true floating plants, meaning they establish good floating leaves and have nice root masses dangling down into the water.
There are smaller floaters, like duckweed and Salvinia. I like both of these in certain situations, but being so tiny they can get lost, and duckweed really can explode like a weed. Salvinia will provide the better cover. But I would tend to go with the more substantial floating plants.
Some of the stem plants do very well floating. I am particularly fond of Brazilian Pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) which will grow in long stems along the surface with the leaves lying flat and the roots from each node dangling down. It is very easy to control this plant by cutting the stems, and they will usually divide and form lovely patches.
Being at the surface, light is not usually an issue for these plants, but a good spectrum is helpful. Something around 5000K to 7000K works well. A comprehensive liquid fertilizer may help too. Floating plants are fast growers because not only the light is good, but they have the advantage of being able to assimilate CO2 from the air rather than just the water.
Byron.
This has given me a lot to think about, You are a well of knowledge it would seem.
With my hardness at 1 dGH and pH at 6,4 (after 24 hours); is my water likely to be affected in the tank when the sand goes in?
And does the 24h pH difference from approx. 6,6 to 6,4 affect how I ought to do water changes or can I safely do it straight from the tap (with dechlorinator, of course)?
Probably not, provided you use inert sand. Do not use any sand intended for marine (saltwater) tanks, nor rift lake cichlids or livebearers, as these will be calcareous and raise the GH and KH and pH (and some may have salt). I like ordinary play sand, as it is refined to have no rough edges (which can damage substrate fish), and depending upon the product, often appears similar to natural habitat sands. Have a look in home improvement or landscape/gardening outlets. Avoid any white sand, and avoid any sort of blasting, paver, construction sand as these will not be refined. Some use pool filter sand, but I find this is often white and that is not good.
Once the tank settles biologically, a host of bacteria will colonize the sand, and all of this will tend to lower the pH naturally. Water changes, not overstocking or overfeeding, and basic good maintenance should handle this adequately.
Have you tested tap water that has sat out 24 hours? This will be the truer pH value. And it may be higher than what results in the tank as I mentioned above. You need to work out water changes accordingly, once you know what is occurring, which is next to impossible to surmise. I have some tanks that remain around pH 5 or below, others stabilize at 6.4 to 6.6, according to their individual biology. My tap water is pH 7.0. I have several times tested what occurs, and with 50-60% water changes the pH only rises by 0.1 or 0.2 which is insignificant. But your situation could be different.
Byron.
Byron said:
Have you tested tap water that has sat out 24 hours? This will be the truer pH value. And it may be higher than what results in the tank as I mentioned above. You need to work out water changes accordingly, once you know what is occurring, which is next to impossible to surmise. I have some tanks that remain around pH 5 or below, others stabilize at 6.4 to 6.6, according to their individual biology. My tap water is pH 7.0. I have several times tested what occurs, and with 50-60% water changes the pH only rises by 0.1 or 0.2 which is insignificant. But your situation could be different.
Byron.
Thank you, again! Yes, the 6,4 value is tap water that has sat for a day. I haven't tested any water in the tank itself yet as I am removing my gravel. Once the sand goes in I will run tests over time on the tank as well, better safe than sorry.
And again you are very welcome. Tap water pH is good. These nano species should do well. As i hope I explained, the pH may lower naturally, that is not problematic with these species. Testing will let you see how much and how fast this occurs, but regular (once a week) water changes of half the tank should keep things balanced.
Just toillustrate,here is a photo of my 29g which is about the closest I have come to a biotope for blackwater. With lots of wood and branches, one can do with fewer plants in the substrate. The dried leaves are also authentic.
Byron.
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if you like the blackwater effect you can stain the water using redbush tea - just make sure it's pure redbush with nothing added like flavourings etc. I use Tetley redbush to stain my tank water. The tea has lots of beneficial stuff coming from it - such as a natural anti-biotic, anti-sceptic and a natural stress reliever for the fish too.
After looking over my old photo's at my 110 litre tank I'm actually desperate to set it back up as pure blackwater - no rocks this time, just wood and a few plants and loads of leaf litter and stain the water really dark. I love blackwater aquariums but not everyone does
After looking over my old photo's at my 110 litre tank I'm actually desperate to set it back up as pure blackwater - no rocks this time, just wood and a few plants and loads of leaf litter and stain the water really dark. I love blackwater aquariums but not everyone does
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