Does anybody use this stuff? What exactly does it do the the water besides change its color? What kind of fish is it used for, and can it be used for FW rays, arowanas, discus, or angels? Some pics of blackwater tanks would be great, I've only seen one tank before. Thank you!
Blackwater extract
- Thread starter loconorc
- Start date
it is used in some wild type bio topes or for breeding.... mainly with those types of fish you are going to want to match the water they are used 2 meaning born in raised in where u got them from.... the blackwater softens water i never used it imo almond leaves work well for asian fish but its just a pain to maintain good luck do lots of research
Most filtration will remove the tannins and thus remove the trace elements with them. If you run your filter straight biological, you would have better luck. AP makes a product that is supposed to be blackwater extract-like but it is clear.
Its just an quick fix attempt at the conditions bogwood and peat filtration create, and its not very good at it either. Blackwater is an absolute B!tch to keep stable when using tap water to start with. I've kept marine, Brackish, freshwater from Discus to Mbuna and none of them even come close to the difficulty of the Blackwater Biotope,(Well maybe a reef..) It is totally possible though, and there are several methods to acheive it. To be honest unless you want to breed some wild caught Apistogramma or discus you dont want blackwater. Most CB Blackwater fish will breed in close to neutral values anyway. And who wants a tank of tea in the livingroom anyway!
Since most of the "softwater fish" we keep nowadays are all spawned in tap water, that's what they are used to, so don't waste your $$$.
Blackwater extracts are more expensive. Oak leaves, peat moss and Indian almond leaves are cheap subsititutes. It's your choice whether you like to use them or not but they're only optional.
Here's an article for Indian almond leaves.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132234
Here's an article for Indian almond leaves.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132234