amazon river aquariums

[duanes]

Not Amazon, but this is a tannin stained Panama aquarium
Th plants were pulled from Lake Gatun, the fish (cichlids, Roeboides tetras, a pleco) from river near pueblo of St Martin, and the goby (upper left) caught in a small stream) right here on isla Taboboga.


The tank was originally cycled using a couple dozen mosquito fish (also caught in Lake Gatun, and later eaten by the cichlids)
Beside local plants like Vallisneria, Penny wort, and mangrove

in the sump/refugium, are bout 50 local shrimp.

 

[eon aquatics]

nice

 

[eon aquatics]

Not Amazon, but this is a tannin stained Panama aquarium
Th plants were pulled from Lake Gatun, the fish (cichlids, Roeboides tetras, a pleco) from river near pueblo of St Martin, and the goby (upper left) caught in a small stream) right here on isla Taboboga.
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The tank was originally cycled using a couple dozen mosquito fish (also caught in Lake Gatun, and later eaten by the cichlids)
Beside local plants like Vallisneria, Penny wort, and mangrove
View attachment 1473804
in the sump/refugium, are bout 50 local shrimp.
View attachment 1473805

i like that aquarium its well planted
i might set up one of my 20 gallons but with much darker stained water, what would be a good way of staining it a amazon river color?
im thinking coconut husk in filter bags or something then after its stained just taking out the filter bags

 

[duanes]

In a tiny tank like a 20 gal, many ways may work, on my 300+ system I found.In the link below, I tried using almond leaves, to very little effect.
Experiment w Almond Leaves
I have a feeling, rooibos tea may be the simplest and most effective, and also most beneficial, although I have not yet tried them.

 

[eon aquatics]

well i have a bag of coconut husk which is made for terrariums
might as well give that a try
i put some of the husk in a jar for a few days as a experiment and it stained the water pretty good

 

[..puSkar..]

well i have a bag of coconut husk which is made for terrariums
might as well give that a try
i put some of the husk in a jar for a few days as a experiment and it stained the water pretty good

Coco husk , palm fronds , almond leaf , banana leaf , banana stem , mulberry , oak leaves, stone apple shell , coconut shell , guava leaf can be used . Some even use mango leaves after boiling

 

[Krismo962]

Is this considered?

 

[..puSkar..]

Is this considered?

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Maybe but you seem to have clear water , his preference is dark ,tannic murky water

 

[duanes]

The water will be clear, have a "tea color", but still not be turbid.
I allowed it to get more and more tannic, getting to the point I could barely see thru to the back wall.


This occurred at the beginning of the rainy season when rain water washed tannins from very dry surrounding vegetation into the tank.

This happens naturally when rains wash tannins into streams and rivers turning them brown in tropical countries.
In some places like the Amazon basin, tannic acids also lower the pH to as low as 4 in some areas.
Here in Panama where I live, the pH of rain is 8.2 (I measured it again yesterday during a heavy downpour, (using an API kit)

 

[eon aquatics]

this is my first attempt at creating a dark amazon themed aquarium
im trying to stain it as dark as possible with tannins using mopani wood and coconut fiber in filter bags

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