Biotypes

[James From Cali]

I am going to setting up tanks according to biotypes and I was just wondering if this would work out for stocking:

10g(Current) South American
Equipment:
Top Fin HOB Power Filter; 10 gph
15 watt Flourescent Lighting (1.5 wpg)
50 watt Top Fin Heater

Stocking:
Fish:
5 Glowlight Tetras
Ivory Apple Snail
2 Otocinclus Catfish

Plants:
Anachris
Amazon Sword

1g(Current) Asian:
Equipment:
Top Fin Hood w/ Built In Light
Elite Submersible Sponge Filter; 2 gph
2 watt Incandescent Lighting (2 wpg)

Stocking:
Fish:
2 Ghost Shrimp

Plants:
Hygrophila Polysperma

10g(future) Asian:
Equipment:
Top Fin HOB Power Filter; 10 gph
2 25 watt Incandescent Lighting (??? wpg)
50 watt Top Fin Heater

Stocking:
Fish:
Pwder Blue Dwarf Gourami
2 Ghost Shrimp

Plants:
Hygrophila polysperma

Okay that is the stockings I have. Now to questions. Would these stockings be alright? Also I am going to be moving the shrimp into the future 10g with the Hygrophila. Any Ideas what the wpg is for the future 10g(the 2 25 watt bulbs)? Also what else could I add to the second 10g? I dont know of many asian fish.

 

[iplaydafoozball]

i also like making biotopes that are ecologically correct, it makes the tanks make sense. lol

some good asian fish for a 10g would be rasboras. theyre small like tetras, but the asian version lol. harlequins look nice. other asian fish would be loaches, barbs, danios, ummmm 2 x 25 wpg would be ok, might burn the tops of the plants tho, just maybe, im not sure on that.

some more asian plants would be rotala (i like how this looks alot) or cryptocoryne.

aim for a pH of 5.5-6.5, and the water temp should be around 80. i know some people don't really care, but i like to give the full effect for a biotope tank.

ur south american tank should also have the same water chemistry as stated above, being tetras prefer acidic water (below 7.0)

to give a natural look, both biotopes should be heavily planted also, driftwood in the south american one, no rocks! most rivers in the rainforest actually have mud substrate with no rocks. mud would be awful to use in an aquarium. for most biotopes sand should be used, seeing that gravel really isn't that common in rivers. u can use black sand to imitate dirt or mud bottoms. the asian biotope especially has sand and also has rocks and a little bit of driftwood.

any more questions just ask!

 

[James From Cali]

Okay I am trying to lower my ph safely. What kind of substance can I use to do this? Do I need soft water? Should I use white Sand or Black sand for the Asian tank?

 

[iplaydafoozball]

for the asian use any sand other than black. just make sure to rinse it well or if u must put it in ur tank, let it sit with all pumps and filters off until the water is clear again. and for lowering the pH lol, i am having the same problem. u can try to use water softener pillows from API, i got mine at Petco for like 8 bucks. I really havent noticed it helping much tho. my next buy will be a tap filter which should help because my tap water is really hard which is probably why i'm having trouble. what does ur pH test at right now?

 

[James From Cali]

My pH is 8.4 and my Hardness is like 300 ppm. I also forgot to ask what should my hardness and pH be for the asian tank?

 

[James From Cali]

Also I was thinking of this for the asian stocking:

Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami
5 Harleguin Rasboras
2 Ghost Shrimp

 

[iplaydafoozball]

i like the stocking idea......but wow! 8.4 pH? thats awful high, u've got some hard water there boy! i'd recommend maybe buying a tap filter for aquariums or possibly pre-bottled aquarium water. i really don't know how to bring down pH well, as i am having the same problem. but yea, the asian tank should be relatively soft water with a acidic pH.

 

[Katie217]

try getting R.O water (reverse osmosis)

 

[Endl98]

driftwood would also bring down ph and soften water. you can also use peat.
using co2 will also bring down ph. you may need it with a high WPG tank.

limestone rock will increase and harden.(just for info)

 

[James From Cali]

Okay thanks. I know its high and I want it down lol. But I cant afford a filter tap unless I pass on getting a new heater and I need that. But lets see what my mom says. I plan on getting driftwood but its $9 a lb and thats alot of money. I will look into peat and RO water ASAP.

 

[echoofformless]

The RO water will run you money compared to just using the tap. I've been using tap in my Asian tank for three years; and Philadelphia tap water is some of the most calcified liquid you have ever seen. Seriously, you don't need to take a calcium supplement if you drink the "water" that comes from a Philadelphia tap.

Thing is once the tank is established, and you've been running a strong peat filtration for a few months, the water changes only raise the levels a tiny bit before they are quickly assimiliated into the system. My pH is a good steady 6-6.5 and the water has that nice golden brown tint at all times.

You will need driftwood if you plan to create a realistic look for many aquatic environments.

Now the thing about biotopes as we tend to do them in the hobby, is that they are not true biotopes. A true biotope by definition is an exact imitation of a very particular ecosystem. Therefore what I have, and what others are talking about is just taking Asian species with similar needs and putting them together in a tank that attempts to imitate not a particular area, but a broad representation of a region.

However if you look up a few things you can see that say, cryptocoryne for example..well, there are entirely different species of that plant from different parts of Asia. Some even live in more whitewater or clearwater conditions and like having water with a higher pH and hardness than the common cryptocoryne.

Same for the fish. I have rasboras, danios, gouramis and a female betta in my 20g...but the danios are from India whereas the bettas and gouramis are more from Thailand and Cambodia. Their native habitats have similar water conditions, similar plants species, etc...but not the exact same. These are fish and plants that would never exist together in the wild...therefore my tank is not a biotope per se.

As for the Amazon...certainly there are the muddy backwaters, with no rocks and lots of leaf litter and humic acids...(there are also plenty of blackwater areas with plenty of rocks...) but there are also rushing rivers of white water - where for example lots of plecos come from. (hence why plecos often appreciate added aeration or current in their tank.)

Anacharis for example, is not an Amazon species from the blackwater areas. Whereas the swords come from blackwater and clearwater.

I guess what I'm saying is that unless you plan to map out an exact area, it's more of a pseudo-tope than a biotope.


Feel free to PM me if you have any specific concerns about the Asia-tope...I've been having enough success with that to feel confident that any advice I give will be of value.

 

[Big Country]

I think peat is the best bet for a person on a budget. I have seen prices and it is about 4-5 $ per sack (10-20 lbs?). But how do you use it with a sponge filter? I have a 5.5 gallon that I am stocking with my gouramis and I want to simulate thier breeding habitat. Do I just cut a hunk of peat and toss it in the tank? That seems like it would be really inefficient. If I do that, then how much peat is safe to use and not cause an unsafe drop in pH levels?