Creating a Peat Swamp Blackwater Biotope Riparium

[@OVHabitats]

This one type of aquascape that I have never tried. Your explanation and actual set up has me intrigued. Now I have to try it. Thank you. Beautiful job.

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you:)

[@tedegg]

Despicable Me’s Gru teaches me how to make a beautiful fish tank, that’s awesome. Wonderful setup my friend!

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you:)

[@HealingWarrior-ic6os]

This is exactly the type of build I’m looking to do for wild bettas 💕

[@Chompchompyerded]

Being patient is the key to great plant health, and this guy has the patience to do it right.

[@GoodSamaritan1972]

Did those wood cause a lot of white fungus like growth after about 2 weeks in. Can you show us how to manage such a set up from Day 1 till it stabilizes please

[@joshbrz]

i've really been appreciating your videos, man. i'm planning out two tanks and you've given me a lot of ideas! thank you

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! Good luck with your fish tank projects!

[@asier2001]

How is pH now?it seems too many peat for such space... regards

[@tropicalfishhub]

My pH meter is broken, so I'm waiting for a liquid test to arrive before adding any fish. TDS is at 23ppm.

[@pilocereus2]

hi there luv your content and knowledge first class this may be of interest to you concerning leaves in aquarium and ph years ago i watched a documentary about the return of the goshawk to scotland mainly in forestry commission land which is very acidic asyou probably know birch is first to appear on fallow land and is encouraged because the leaf fall is basic or a wee bit alkaline it sweetens the soil for the conifers funny the things you remember good for wildlife as well mine are full of redpolls right now keep up the great stuff new friend jjstewart from paisley

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thanks for your comment! This is very interesting and I haven't heard about it before!

[@onebigadvocado6376]

Hi! I've just found your channel, but I'm loving what I'm seeing so far. Could you explain the bamboo stakes? Are they just for the look or do they help planta grow around them?

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! Bamboo sticks were there as decoration, but they also helped to keep riparian plants in place

[@felixfota338]

what tank did you use? tank looks awesome great job

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thanks! Its Dennerle 60 cube

[@pedrocastel8177]

Love it ,great tip the used floss

[@nonliquet]

A beautiful tank! Do you think I can hang the roots of the Adianthum and the Asparagus direct in the water or do I have to expect rot?

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! The roots should not rot, but it is better if only half of the root length is under water and some part of the roots is outside. These plants do not like to have their roots fully submersed

[@Cleanifiq334]

Beautiful fish tank! Thank you!

[@kingz2843]

i know this video is old 😅 but boiling peat moss gets rid of the loose volume and tannins that make the water murky and dirty. it makes scaping a tank with it a lottt easier 😁

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thanks:) I'm not a proponent of boiling botanicals as it removes tannins/humic acids and therefore undermines the essence of a blackwater setup. My goal in that tank was achieve the highest possible level of tannins as you would find in peat swamps of Borneo

[@Bingo_Betty]

Can you give us an update on the fish and shrimp/snails you added to this setup?

[@tropicalfishhub]

I made a couple of videos about this tank, including one explaining why I had to shut down this tank. They are on the channel

[@BenThomson887]

Hey! I’m someone who’s just about to get into black water, after weeks of research I was thinking about doing peat moss as a substrate, since you had chosen to do this for quite a bit, was it worth it? Or should I just go with a sand or gravel?

[@tropicalfishhub]

It was certainly worth it as it looked very natural and the fish loved it. The only downside is that you can't have any flow in your tank as peat moss won't stay down

[@BenThomson887]

@@tropicalfishhub awesome! Thank you, just one other question, any recommendations on cleaner fish? Just something that would eat waste off the bottom and could live on a mushy substrate.

[@tropicalfishhub]

@@BenThomson887 Its a tricky issue! anything that will live on substrate will stir it up. Perhaps shrimp will do the job. I had a solo cherry shirmp in my setup and it caused no harm to the peat layer

[@Fr3cklee]

There won't be any mold on the peat moss?

[@tropicalfishhub]

I never had issues with mold

[@Fr3cklee]

Oo thankyou :)

[@hectorperez7655]

skip to 17:00

[@mrmeow8433]

What type of plants did u used in your set up

[@tropicalfishhub]

I had there sphagnum moss, java moss, asparagus fern, pothos, mini monstera and lucky bamboo

[@kdr1048]

Love it! Excellent job

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you:)

[@diamdante]

Hi, it's way too late to tell you this now, but maybe for a future build If you want to avoid using peat as you mentioned, you can easily substitute it with "coco peat", which is basically crushed up coconut shells that are a waste product of making coconut milk. This is an infinitely renewable resource and is actually cheaper due to it being essentially garbage. The nutritional content of cocopeat is less than real peat, but with no plants there it doesn't matter to you. The release of tannins is also slightly slower, but give it a week and it will catch up also Overall great video, it looks very nice :)

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! I have been using coco fibre for years in previous projects, until I read that most of it is treated in sea water. This is likely to increase mineral content so not a great idea for an acidic blackwater set up. The other issue is that it does not release as much tannins as peat so it is not of much use in blackwater

[@katelockhart8715]

Coconut coir also has a much higher ph. 6+ compared to a ph of ~3 for peat.

[@sanjaykumarpaul]

What is the tank size ? I will try to develop this…

[@tropicalfishhub]

This is 60L Dennerle nano cube

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Very nice 👍👍❗️

[@plantlifeproject]

I am curious to see how well the ferns will grow and how acidic the PH will be! Looking forward to seeing you add the fish!

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! Both ferns seem to be doing good and shooting some new leaves. pH is at 5.3 and KH at about 3. Will be adding fish soon!

[@KN3TO]

The bamboo sticks are bambustic

[@wh0tube]

They are fantustic

[@lorenzospina3174]

I love this tank .

[@curvingfyre6810]

pinecones??? Those are toxic in aquariums, aren't they?

[@marthanewsome6375]

Magnolia leaves are great too.

[@EVP22]

Who else noticed bro was wearing a maroon shirt with white writing and nek minnut bro is wearing a maroon shirt but this time without the white writing 😮

[@mister473]

Братан ты русский?

[@hanskuijsten2380]

Bamboo is going to start rotting within a year.

[@tropicalfishhub]

Still going strong 2 years later and after 3 different tanks. It is no different from bogwood