This article is a guest post by Mari who has been keeping fish for more than 4 years. She is the owner of Aquariadise where she blogs about aquarium tips, guides and more. Blackwater aquariums are something most aquarists have seen before, but few have tried. The dark water, scarce planting, and leaf litter are not for everyone, but can make for a beautiful aquarium, when properly set up, while being perfect for anyone who likes to recreate natural habitats. An aquarium with water so dark most plants cannot thrive and fish are practically invisible may sound senseless to some, but there can be many reasons to invest in this type of tank. Most aquarists know many popular aquarium fish actually dwell in stained, soft, and acidic waters, and attempting to recreate these habitats can be a fun and challenging project. It can also be beneficial for the fish, especially if caught in the wild; being in a more natural environment without bright lighting helps keep their stress levels down and can be crucial when trying to breed some species.

There are many different blackwater biotopes that can be recreated in an aquarium; even if you’re not interested in copying nature exactly, you can still produce a wonderful aquascape by combining different elements. There are, however, a few things that almost all blackwater aquariums have in common.3 feet aquarium gallon The first is obviously the dark water. fish tank cover and light“Dark” can range from a slightly tea-colored tint to very dark brown.fish tank glass cover The color is caused by tannins, which naturally occur in plants, thus, the more leaves, branches, and other litter that falls down in rivers, streams, and ponds, the darker the water will become.fish tank perth gumtree

The same goes for aquariums! This is the reason a lot of driftwood is usually used in these setups and there may even be decaying leaf litter on the bottom. Another similarity in blackwater aquariums is the water is soft and acidic. Plants are usually scarce and sometimes skipped completely, but if you like a planted tank there are still plenty of options when it comes to blackwater setups.fish tank light always on When setting up your own blackwater aquarium, there are three things to think about beforehand: water chemistry, fish/inverts, and plants/decorations.fish tank water removal hose It is important to think about the chemistry of the water because a real blackwater biotope has soft, acidic water. While the tannins may help bring the pH down a bit, you may have to consider looking into using reverse osmosis water if your tap water is very hard!

Matching the real pH of blackwater rivers and streams may be a bit unrealistic, as it can be as low as 4.5, but 7 or lower is a good idea if you want to make your fish and plants feel at home. You can achieve the blackwater look in your home aquarium using leaves (Indian almond or oak), driftwood, or alder cones. Leaves and alder cones can be soaked, boiled, and filtered to create a strong blackwater “extract,” but you can also just spread them along the bottom of the tank and they will gradually darken the water as they would in a natural river or stream. The species of fish for a blackwater aquarium should be carefully researched beforehand, especially if you are recreating a specific habitat and only want to keep fish that naturally occur there. Use websites that list their natural distribution and preferred aquarium set-up. SeriouslyFish is a good resource for a start. If you’re going for a “general” dark water setup, any fish that prefers soft, acidic, dark water will work well.

Just don’t get so caught up in finding the perfect fish for your biotope that you forget they should all be compatible with each other and suit your tank size as well! For example, discus fish and neon tetras are both species that work well in blackwater, but that doesn’t mean they should be combined—the tetras would most likely end up as their tankmates’ dinner. It is also important to think about the plants and decorations if you want to create a realistic blackwater biotope. As with fish, you should keep in mind the natural distribution of plants if you really want to copy an actual habitat. If this is not important, be sure to choose plants that don’t need very strong lighting, as the darkness and possibly floating plants mean not all of the light reaches each plant. Low light plant species like Anubias, Java fern, and Amazon sword will do well in a blackwater aquarium. Floating plants like Amazon frogbit can really help create a natural look with its long, flowing roots.

Another component that is considered a “must” for blackwater tanks is driftwood. Before setting up the tank, think about what kind of driftwood you want to use. You might want to read this post to learn more about driftwood – Aquarium Driftwood for Your Tank As mentioned before, you can also add loose leaves and/or alder cones on the bottom of the tank for a natural look. All in all, setting up a blackwater aquarium is a great project for both beginners and more experienced aquarists. The possibilities are endless: blackwater rivers, swamps, and ponds are found all over the world and all contain different wildlife. The result can look fantastic and fish species that are from these waters will thank you by displaying their natural behaviors and possibly even producing offspring when they normally wouldn’t! Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top My aquarium has live plants with a betta, hatchet fish, barbs, a cory, and a Siamese algae eater.

Black algae is growing on the decorations and glass. I scraped it off the glass. What else should I do to keep it from coming back? The first thing you want to do to battle algae is to remove excessive light. The worst is when sunlight reaches the tank. Algae can grow in very little light, so given sunlight (or even a tank light that's on for more than 12 hours), algae will be able to grow even faster. It's different for each tank, some of mine I can keep lit for almost 12 hours, others for only about 8. Once you have your light regulated, you're going to want to take some extra steps to reduce algae growth. This all comes down to removing the nutrients that the algae uses to grow. Scrape any algae you can off the glass. By far the best option is to get in there with an algae brush and get rid of it by hand. The more algae you scrape away, the less is able to grow later on. Make sure to do a small water change after this to remove the algae you just scraped free. Check the water you use for phosphates;

they act as a fertilizer for algae. If you can, get some RO water from a nearby pet store, or jugs of distilled water from a store/vending machine. You can put phosphate remover media in your tank filter and/or if you are able to, you can even put an RO filter in your sink.Any waste from your fish, including leftover food, is going to be sitting in the gravel. That waste is food for algae, so remove it and algae can't eat. Gravel vacuums are a huge help with this. On that note, make sure not to overfeed your fish so that there isn't any leftover food. You should only feed your fish what they will eat in a 5 minute timespan. I've used API Algaefix on an algae bloom before and it worked. Although, I found that I would keep having to use it which I didn't like. It might work differently on black algae, but I wouldn't rely on it. I've had the best luck with goldfish (the 15 cent feeder goldfish you can get at the store) eating all types of algae including string algae and quickly.

Once they reached 3-4 inches in length 2-3 of them seem to clear a 40 gallon aquarium overnight. The only caveat is you'll need a place for your new pet goldfish. Once they grow large enough they'll start eating your plants. There are some things you can do to proactively rid your tank of algae. If you think you have the algae taken care of for the moment, but it might come back, these are some things to think about. Keep using phosphate removers/RO water as I mentioned above. Add more plants to the tank. The more plants you have in the tank, the more competition there is for the resources. Even small plants can help. It works best if you have several broad-leafed plants in your tank, but adding supplements like Flourish Excel works by helping your plants absorb nutrients better, helping to starve the algae. I've used a UV filter to get rid of algae blooms that left my tank cloudy. While it won't get rid of algae that's attached it will kill any that's floating freely in the tank.

So far the only algae it hasn't been able to get rid of is string algae. Hydrogen Peroxide will kill algae. And will diffuse into water and oxygen after 24 hours. As part of getting rid of hair algae in my tank I quarantined my plants and dosed them with a few tablespoons for two days. If you're doing it in a tank with fish in it. It's a ratio of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 150 parts water. You can add algae eaters to the tank. But keep in mind that they'll only eat so much per day. So it's a matter of having a higher ratio of algae eaters to algae that they can eat. Probably the one of the most common algae eaters are snails, nerite snails seem to be the most popular. Shrimp are possible depending on the fish you have. Plecostomus are a good option, but go for a bristlenose if you don't have a tank larger than 40 gallons. Otocinclus catfish are about the best fish for algae in my opinion; though they are quite small and sensitive to water quality. My farlowella catfish seem to eat everything but string algae.

Other types of catfish won't help with algae, but should help take care of leftover food in the gravel that the algae uses for food. If you have a larger tank, Siamese Algae Eaters and Flying Foxes are good algae eaters. They get around 6 inches in length which is why they need some space. On a side note: Chinese Algae Eaters, despite their name, are terrible for taking care of algae; they're too lazy, and sometimes eat away the slime coat from other fish. They are unfortunately confused, and sometimes sold as Siamese Algae Eaters. Flying Foxes also get sold as Siamese Algae Eaters, but that isn't as bad of a trade-down. If you currently have an algae problem, the main thing to do is identify the cause of the algae. Usually the cause is an imbalance in the tank, usually it's due to excess light or excess nutrients. This is something you'll need to balance so that you stop battling the algae. However, as this question is "how do I get rid of algae," I'll outline the steps -

Scrape off the excess algae on the glass and decor with a razorIf you have acrylic, use a magic eraser. When you scrape off algae, it may die. This will cause water issues, so also perform a Since you're changing the water, remove waste by doing a gravel vacuum or something similar. As you're doing maintenance, might as well clean out the filter in some tank water so it operates a little more cleanly. Black out the tank. No light at all, this will kill the algae. If you have other plants, you can't black out for too long, but they will survive better than the algae. You can also cover the tank with something to block out ambient light. If you dose ferts or run co2, you can try reducing or stopping that. Your plants may melt in which case they will fail to out-compete the algae, so pay close attention. If need be, run some carbon in your filter or even dose some seachem excel directly on algae spots.More water changes and gravel vacs has never hurt.

Performing these steps should kill the algae, but remember the best key is to find out what is out of balance and prevent the algae from coming back! I dosed my tank with "flourish" at 3X rated dosage 20 hours ago in an attempt to knock the black algae back on my amazon swords (This method has worked in the past at 2X normal dosage so I thought I would up the ante a little). For some reason my mollies and muppies (deliberate x breeds) are now all over the black algae and vigorously eating it. This has never happened before, the fish normally ignore the black algae in favor of their regular food. At the rate they are going the algae will be gone in a day or two. I use Seachem Flourish Excel at 1.5X for a week and then at the recommended strength until it's gone. All up, about 2 weeks. I have had two outcomes from this method. 1. The algae disappears or is reduced to pin head sized dots on some of the plants. 2. The algae goes from black to blonde and then molts.