Here are some pics from my 20L blackwater tank. My vaillianti tank will probably end up looking alot like this but I am totally into the blackwater thing right now.
tannin laden, yellow tinted water. Basically the type of water you'd find in most small streams in the amazon or the jungles of asia. You can't really tell from the pics, but if you look lengthwise through the tank, the water is almost red on the white sand.
That is a great looking tank my friend, I am totally into the blackwater thing too, the cichlid in the last pic is great looking! My 75G is supposed to be blackwater too but im having trouble finding peat moss and blackwater extract doesnt last very long for me, what do you use?
I have a 40 gallon blackwater setup too!! I Love it!! I have some Angels of various size, a few silver dollars and a few kori cats, the water is kinda reddish yellow color from the tannins and the plants the fish seem to be soo much more healthy when they are in the same kinda water and enviroment that they were used to in the wild
Thanks for the compliments everyone! I use a couple ketapang leaves in the w/c water, and the driftwood takes care of the rest. The dwarfs were sold to me as hasborus, but I don't know much about cories so I.D.K. The cichlids are Czech bred agassiziis , and they share their tank with 4 Nannostomus trifasciatus, 12 pygmy cories, a straggler cardinal, and 3 C. bitaeniatums that managed to sneak into the tank on the java moss.
NICE TANK!!! To Satanpie: Most garden supply stores/ nurseries will sell big bales of spaghnum peat moss. Fill a pillowcase/ nylonstocking, let soak in a tub of changewater for a few days....instant Amazon acid pool. Mix w/ regular tap to achieve your target ph/ KH/GH. Add in slow increments to your tank. Keep a CLOSE eye on PH/ KH keeping in mind that peat will also SOFTEN your water, decreasing the buffering capacity and make the tank more vulnerable to unsafe ph swings. That said, even a tank with >1 degree KH and a ph of uuummm....5'ish... can remain stable with regular maintenance.
Great looking tank Rick. Get some larger full tank shots up, really want to see more of it. And once again you people make me jealous with these beautiful apisto's.. I saw a while back yours had fry. Any luck??