Blackwater biotope plans

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Fishkeeper93

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 16, 2010
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U.K
hi title says it all really, i am more of a lurker on forums but i am a bit stuck with some of the planning for my tank that i will be setting up in a month or so time. The tank is a 8x2x2 so a decent size biggest tank i will have for a long time, Lighting will be a diy dimmable led unit so i can create the eerie darkness of black water habitat. The bit i am undecided on is choosing the right filtration method for this beast, i don't really want a sump on this tank to be honest. I know they give more water volume and a more customization with media but i dont want the hassle and don't want the extra humidity so i have narrowed it down to either 2x fx5 or 2x fx6 or 1x fx5 and 1x fx6 as it looks like the fx6 has quite a lot less media than the fx5. For heating i will be using a couple of external inline heaters possibly hydors 300w to stop the tank getting cluttered with equipment.

As for stocking again i'm a bit confused as to the numbers of fish, i have not had a tank this big before. I was thinking along these lines; feel free to add or take something away i'm open to suggestions at the moment.

Cichlids

discus
angels
festivums
rams

characin

cardinals
hatchets
????????

catfish
1 or 2 types of cories
a few L plecs

it will be branch like bog wood similar to manzanitan, with a thin layer of play sand and a good leaf litter and alder cones should create a good natural substrate for this biotope. Again if you think you could add to this please feel free to fire away.

Thanks Tom
 
Sounds like a pretty solid plan to me. From reading about FX5 vs. FX6, they seem to be very similar filters - I think the only major difference is less power consumption on the FX6. FX5 or FX6 are both good choices.

As for your stock - with blackwater I'm assuming your going wild caught discus & angels? Maybe get the discus larger than the angels, as angels can out compete them for food. Festivum can get large and pushy - keep an eye on them when adult size. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Fishkeeper93 said:
hi title says it all really, i am more of a lurker on forums but i am a bit stuck with some of the planning for my tank that i will be setting up in a month or so time. The tank is a 8x2x2 so a decent size biggest tank i will have for a long time, Lighting will be a diy dimmable led unit so i can create the eerie darkness of black water habitat. The bit i am undecided on is choosing the right filtration method for this beast, i don't really want a sump on this tank to be honest. I know they give more water volume and a more customization with media but i dont want the hassle and don't want the extra humidity so i have narrowed it down to either 2x fx5 or 2x fx6 or 1x fx5 and 1x fx6 as it looks like the fx6 has quite a lot less media than the fx5. For heating i will be using a couple of external inline heaters possibly hydors 300w to stop the tank getting cluttered with equipment.

As for stocking again i'm a bit confused as to the numbers of fish, i have not had a tank this big before. I was thinking along these lines; feel free to add or take something away i'm open to suggestions at the moment.

Cichlids

discus
angels
festivums
rams

characin

cardinals
hatchets
????????

catfish
1 or 2 types of cories
a few L plecs

it will be branch like bog wood similar to manzanitan, with a thin layer of play sand and a good leaf litter and alder cones should create a good natural substrate for this biotope. Again if you think you could add to this please feel free to fire away.

Thanks Tom
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty good. My 2 cents in the filtration is that there isn't really a big difference between the fx5 and fx6. The fx6 does consume a little less energy and I think has a little less flow, but the differences are not significant. I would go with whatever is cheaper. Also, try to make sure you aim the spray bars at the surface. Discus, angels and festivum have broad, flat bodies that makes it difficult to swim in fast currents. Otherwise they spend all their time hiding from the currents. LOL You may have to toy around with it.

As far as your stock goes, be careful with festivum. They are calm and pretty peaceful at smaller sizes, but many of them get aggressive when they reach the 5-6" range. If they go bonkers on your other fish, you could lose some discus because they are so sensitive.

I would personally pass on festivum because of the potential aggression later on. The rule of thumb for angels and discus is 10 gallons of room per fish. So you could do 18-20 angels and/or discus (just make sure there are at least four of each so their social hierarchy doesn't get too intense). With 20 angels/discus, you could house 6-8 rams without issue. If you still want festivum, one festivum would take the place of two angels/discus and they also require groups of at least four. Cories and rams are both bottom dwellers, so carefully consider stock so everyone gets their space. Also make sure you buy your angels and discus from good sources. Angels can often carry diseases they are immune to, but that can kill discus. Buying from a good source will make this risk virtually non-existent, but it will cost more.

Here would be my recommendation for ultimate stocking. Take it with a grain of salt and adjust as you see fit.

8 angels
8 discus
6 rams
2 species of cories numbering 8-10 cories per species
School of 12-15 tetras (go with something deep bodied like lemon or black skirts)
One or two 5-6" plecos for a little algae control


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
Mythic Figment said:
Sounds pretty good. My 2 cents in the filtration is that there isn't really a big difference between the fx5 and fx6. The fx6 does consume a little less energy and I think has a little less flow, but the differences are not significant. I would go with whatever is cheaper. Also, try to make sure you aim the spray bars at the surface. Discus, angels and festivum have broad, flat bodies that makes it difficult to swim in fast currents. Otherwise they spend all their time hiding from the currents. LOL You may have to toy around with it.

As far as your stock goes, be careful with festivum. They are calm and pretty peaceful at smaller sizes, but many of them get aggressive when they reach the 5-6" range. If they go bonkers on your other fish, you could lose some discus because they are so sensitive.

I would personally pass on festivum because of the potential aggression later on. The rule of thumb for angels and discus is 10 gallons of room per fish. So you could do 18-20 angels and/or discus (just make sure there are at least four of each so their social hierarchy doesn't get too intense). With 20 angels/discus, you could house 6-8 rams without issue. If you still want festivum, one festivum would take the place of two angels/discus and they also require groups of at least four. Cories and rams are both bottom dwellers, so carefully consider stock so everyone gets their space. Also make sure you buy your angels and discus from good sources. Angels can often carry diseases they are immune to, but that can kill discus. Buying from a good source will make this risk virtually non-existent, but it will cost more.

Here would be my recommendation for ultimate stocking. Take it with a grain of salt and adjust as you see fit.

8 angels
8 discus
6 rams
2 species of cories numbering 8-10 cories per species
School of 12-15 tetras (go with something deep bodied like lemon or black skirts)
One or two 5-6" plecos for a little algae control


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Click to expand...

That sounds very fair to be honest and definitely sounds like something down my alley, the only change to that i could possibly think off is maybe replacing the rams with biodoma cupido (spelling ?) other then that it sounds pretty spot on.

Thanks
Tom
 
Fishkeeper93 said:
That sounds very fair to be honest and definitely sounds like something down my alley, the only change to that i could possibly think off is maybe replacing the rams with biodoma cupido (spelling ?) other then that it sounds pretty spot on.

Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...

Since the cupids get to be bigger than rams, I would go with 4 of them instead of the 6 rams, but they should work out just fine.

Don't forget to post some pics once its setup and running. I can imagine it is going to be a gorgeous tank. Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
you may want to think about the litter on the bottom. looks very natural, but it's really a pain to vacuum the substrate. I tried it in my biotope and removed it the next day.
 
Hi fishkeeper 93,
you have excellent taste in a biotope, i have the same but in a 180 gallon 6x2x2. been set up for approx 3 yrs. stocked with altums, rio manacapuru wild angels, wild rams and about 80 cardinals. lots of jungle and corkscrew val. all my filtration needs are met by eheim 2180. i must admit to being somewhat of an eheim fanatic though. (have 8 of em) some 26 yrs old and still running. it also has a heater incorporated in the filter my media choices are endless. although i keep it simple by using typical eheim suggestion except for my chemical which i use a 1 litre bottle of purigen in a nylon bag. i service my filter once a year, water parameters are always perfect. my heat requirements taken care of my water quality always excellent and now i can just sit back and enjoy. i also use carib sea eco complete substrate and that also has worked out excellent for me. feel free to contact me for exact details if you want. and good luck and enjoy your tank, sounds like it is gonna be a winner
 
TAT2DRAGON and fishkeeper 93, both of your tanks sound amazing. any chance you can post pics of them?
 
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