Where the blogging happens...

As I am getting ready for university life soon I have been creating a more efficient work-space for myself in my fishroom/bedroom. It has been a bit difficult for me to find time to blog lately, but I do tend to post more on my Instagram account (link in the sidebar) if you'd like to see what I have been up to lately. I love being able to look out my window as it just feels more relaxing and open compared to facing a wall, and I can watch the sunset or people going by. I am loving this little office area of mine, and this would probably work well for those in small dorm rooms. My bulky printer is located on the floor under my desk in case you were wondering.

I did intend on getting a new comp chair from TJ Maxx but it had sold out within the week I took to think over the purchase. Luckily, I just found it online at Bed Bath and Beyond and they have their 20% discounts available on there as well. So for about $20 more than TJ Maxx's price I went ahead and ordered the chair (link below). In the mean time, I got this furry white throw blanket (seen above) to put over my current old comp chair.

eBay: goldfish furin
Target: urchin pot (by Threshold)
Dollar Tree: fake succulent (I removed the plastic pot it came in)
Walmart: sketch pad, and bird-feeder window hook (which I painted white)
IKEA: vittsjo laptop table (in white)
TJ Maxx: white lilly and mint candle (by Dickens and Hawthorne).
Homegoods: white furry throw blanket
Etsy: gold diamond pen
Bed Bath and Beyond: lumisource caviar chair (in white)

Betta Aquarium Makeover

I had been wanting to do a desert themed aquarium for some time now but I could never find anything at my local pet-stores of any true interest... until this past weekend at Petco. So, I decided to give Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail betta) a Cubus aquarium makeover.

Petco now has some gravel-sand type substrate sold in-store (not just online) and it comes in really nice colors like the sienna shade that I bought. I also LOVE succulent plants so I just had to get Petco's light green desert bush, the product says it's not made for water use but... I never listen do I, hahah. For the background I cut out some skyblue colored foamboard which I already had on hand, I believe I got it from Michael's craft store. I think I might add some 1-2cm sized light colored pebbles around the base of the plant later-on, just to add a bit more interest to my design here.

If you've noticed how sparkling clean my Cubus aquarium is looking again I will also be doing another post soon which will be based on... how to remove calcium buildup.

Aquarium Update - Part 2

This past weekend when I actually had some downtime I worked on my aquarium yet again and achieved most of what needed to get done from my previous aquarium update on here.

Click to Enlarge

I got my light fixture setup and attached to the wall now, and I decided to move the decor around as before it looked like a pile of leaves stuffed into the corner or something. I also decided to use a matte finish trash bag as my background which I layered and cut to fit the back of the tank and attached it with a bit of clear tape. I changed the placement of my filter and heater to better disguise it in the back behind the decor a bit. I haven't added any additional fish to my tank yet and find it odd that without female guppies in my tank my males spend most of the day hiding and lazing around. Aside from what I set out to do I also did a little more tank maintenance and changed out about 3L worth of water (since it got a bit cloudy throughout the week) and tried my best to scrub off the calcium buildup (is there an easier way to remove that stuff?!).

I'm in debate about changing out the mopani driftwood with branches as I loath having to clean and soak new wood. I'm also in debate about getting a glass top over the tank as they don't always hold up too well and require more tank maintenance on my end since my well-water is really hard.

Blackwater Aquarium - Get the Look

Blackwater aquariums are not your typical looking tank as they generally have dark tea colored water, low lighting and generally have a lack in plant life. Below you'll find a few simple ways I came up with to create an aquarium that looks like or is a blackwater biotope type of aquarium.

Lighting

In a blackwater aquarium it can often be a daunting task for live plants to survive in this type of environment as it usually has low light levels. Generally blackwater biotopes have soft water and plants possibly wouldn't thrive beneath the water. I'd recommend choosing bulbs that give off more yellow lighting in this type of aquarium and have a low wattage which will make the tank a bit more dim than bright. However, in a true blackwater biotope it is possible to use other types of lighting although I personally don't like white light blazing through this type of biotope. It is common for blackwater aquariums to be so dimly lit that it is often difficult to view the fish in the aquarium.

Plants

Due to the low light levels and low pH in a blackwater biotope most plants aren't going to thrive too well here. In my opinion you may be better off using fake plants if any at all (choose green plants that have a yellow or red tone given to them as these may look best). For a more natural approach use live or fake plants that sit/float near the surface of the water for the best success rate for live plants or the most natural looking blackwater aquarium.

Decor

The most typical decor found in a blackwater aquarium is often some type of wood and for good reason since it can help lower pH which is needed for true blackwater environments. The incorporation of stones/rocks/etc can be used as well. Blackwater environments will generally have a black background or one that is a bit burnish in color (think of deep orange and red colors that occur in autumn). The substrate may be covered in autumn colored leaves (real or fake) such as oak. Gravel substrate is generally black or a natural color although it's probably more common in a true blackwater environment to find natural colored sand or black colored soil. Keep in mind that a white substrate will probably appear more yellowish in a true blackwater type of environment and by using a black colored background it will help create more depth to the tank itself.

Water Quality

There are chemicals on the market which can help to lower the pH in an aquarium if your pH is not on the soft side (a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic and considered to be soft water) for a true blackwater environment. Blackwater in nature can be as low as a 3.0 pH although in an aquarium this may become a bit too unstable for brackish fish. There are also natural methods which can be used to help lower pH such as alder cones, bogwood, peat, almond leaves, etc. If your aquarium is not a true blackwater aquarium use older aquarium driftwood, low watt yellow lighting and some peat extracts which can help your water look more yellow in color without possibly altering it to the extremes of a pH below 7.0. Blackwater environments generally have slow moving water so you'll probably want to avoid using forceful powerhead filters.
Water Temperature
Upon doing some reaseach (although I am not totally certain how accurate this blackwater reading is) I found that an average blackwater temperature is possibly around 82.7°F but ranges from 76.3°F to 89°F.

Additional Tips

Keep in mind that the use of carbon can tend to remove certain chemicals from your water and remove the coloration from your blackwater biotope. Here's a little inspo link I found online to someone who created their own blackwater biotope.