54L Blackwater Aquarium

Setting up

9/12/25

This week I set up a new 54L tank! But before I get into that I must address the shrimp jar. It failed, all of the shrimp died :(

I’m still not sure what exactly killed the shrimp, but it may have been a lack of pH stability. Due to the small space and all the photosynethis, the pH would swing from 7.5 in the morning to 8.3 in the evening. While everything I’ve read states that cherry shrimp can tollerate a high pH, a stablility is emphasised. It may also have been realated to hardness or nutrition. Three of the shrimp died molting. My tap water is very soft, but I suplimented with aquarium stalts. The forth shrimp was only only one who ate his shrimp food so that may have contributed to his longevity.

I'm disapointed, but I was my first time keeping shrimp and I did keep them in a very small volume.

Anyway, on to more cheerful things. I purchased a tank used off gumtree for $20, a good price in my area. After testing for leaks, I cleaned it up and painted a black backgorund with acrylic paint.

I desided to embrase my soft water and go for a blackwater setup. I gather my own botalicals. I love seed pods and feel lucky to live a country with so many unique flowing plants to forage from. I gathered gum nuts, bankisia leaves and cones, casuarina cones, bamboo leaves, kurajong pods and elm twigs. I boiled them up and soaked them over night to clean and water log them. I also gathered my own rocks. I tested their stablily using some API nitrate test reagent, I trick I got from this youtube video. The rocks also got boiled.

For subtrate I used playsand. I washed it vigourously to remove the really fine stuff. I sandwitched a layer of soil withing the sand. I chose to use a smaller proporton of soil to sand compared to the shrimp jar, since this set up will have comparitivly fewer plants. Plus I can always add more fertiliser later.

I arranged my rocks and botanicals, then added the plants from the shrimp jar. Because the tannins block light, submurged plant don’t always too to well in black in black water aquariums. Playsand is also not an ideal substrate, but we’ll wait and see.

Some house plant cuttings were fixed above the waterline with wire. I’m hoping they’ll grow in to a jungle.

I chose to use a filter for this set up. Just a little hang-on-back. I replaced the media cartrage with some sponge and ceramic noodles. I also bought a heater, though I’m not using it yet.

Now this tank actually already has some trumpet snails as residents. I had read these hardy snails can survide in high amonia conditons and that cycling your aquarium with snails in it can give better results. Since these snail were pests from the pet shop and would have been killed anyway, I desided to put these claims to the test. I plan to keep the amonia below 0.5ppm for the plants anyway. A few bits of cuttlefish bone went in for the snails too.

To get the water dark right away, I placed a rooibos tea bag in the filter. I’m not sure what fish I want to keep yet. I’ll probably choose them based on the water paramiters once the tank is cycled.