# 125 Gallon Rio *****



## Scatocephalus (Mar 26, 2003)

Here's my 125 gallon blackwater tank. I've added lots of driftwood and 2 trash bags full of dried Oak leaves. The tanins released by the leaves definitely darken the water!










The fish seem to love it! Their colors have intensified, they are more active and they exhibiting signs of breeding behaviour.


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

pretty cool looking tank!


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

nice


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## ArcticCatRider (Jul 13, 2007)

Best looking blackwater tank ever!
I love the look you get with the sticks/logs, and the leaves.It is amazing.
Did you get the wood around a local river/creek?


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## rolex (Jun 5, 2007)

great suff

MORE PICS!


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

this is what i have pictured in my head for my new tank. i can only hope it comes out half as nice as that. it looks really amazing. where did you get the driftwood?


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## mikesl (Nov 12, 2003)

NICE

I have a tank with a similar aesthetic, but with a black painted background. Balck is too dark, but blue seems too light?


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

funny you say that, i was thinking about trying a brown shade. do they make brown poster board?


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

brown would work really well i think


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

anyone who uses a brown background, please share pics. 
again man, beautiful tank. fish are awesome too.


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## Scatocephalus (Mar 26, 2003)

F8LBITEva said:


> pretty cool looking tank!


Thank you.



quiksilver said:


> nice


Thanks.



ArcticCatRider said:


> Best looking blackwater tank ever!
> I love the look you get with the sticks/logs, and the leaves.It is amazing.
> Did you get the wood around a local river/creek?


Thanks! Yes, the wood was collected locally. I actually just picked it up off the ground. It took several months before it actually sank but it was cheaper thna buying it!



rolex said:


> great suff
> 
> MORE PICS!


Thank you. I'll try and get some more up. Especially of the fish.



HONDO said:


> this is what i have pictured in my head for my new tank. i can only hope it comes out half as nice as that. it looks really amazing. where did you get the driftwood?


Thank you! The wood was simply dead wood picked up off the ground.



mikesl said:


> NICE
> 
> I have a tank with a similar aesthetic, but with a black painted background. Balck is too dark, but blue seems too light?


The color of my back ground is a light blue and yes, it is too light. I would much rather have a royal to navy blue. Maybe when I decide to tear the tank down I'll strip the current color off and repaint. What a pain! :roll:


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## Scatocephalus (Mar 26, 2003)

Duplicate


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## Scatocephalus (Mar 26, 2003)

Duplicate


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

what did you do to treat the wood you found before adding it to your tank?
again, your setup is amazing.


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## Scatocephalus (Mar 26, 2003)

HONDO said:


> what did you do to treat the wood you found before adding it to your tank?
> again, your setup is amazing.


Just sprayed it off with the garden hose. It was collected in a pretty remote area so I wasn't concerned about any contaminants. It was very dead and very dry so saps and moisture weren't a concern either. It took several months for it to waterlog and sink andthe amount of tanins it leached into the water was incredible but I didn't do anything special to it.

By the way, it is Western Cedar.


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