# Setting up a blackwater Cryptocoryne sp. jungle swamp tank



## greenbliss1 (11 mo ago)

Hi everyone,

I have so far been planning to set up an aquarium for growing blackwater Cryptocoryne sp. and Parosphromenus. I have been researching a lot on the internet and have covered quite a lot so far. However, I would like to hear from people that have experience with such aquariums whether there can be any unexpected issues that come up and which are not like problems in a "normal" aquarium. I have scoured the WWW for information and have combed through sites like the Parosphromenus project, Crypt pages, the translated version of Heimbiotop and also a little bit on this forum. 
To briefly sum up what I covered so far:

Lighting (Keep it low)
Substrate (Leafmould)
Water parameters (Keep the PH and TDS low and absolutely zero carbonates)
Fertilisation (avoid chelated micronutrients)
Water flow (minimal)
Live food for Paros
*Some questions*

Is it necessary to soak beech leafmould before adding it to the aquarium?
Are artificial fertilisers an absolute no go or are they ok in small quantities if needed? Is it better to just add leaf mould instead?
How do you keep plants secured in leafmould? It has the consistency of water and is a bit hard to plant in initially.
Is there anything else that I have neglected which may be important to the success of the tank? This type of aquarium doesn't really strike me as that hard to run as long as you are careful and deliberate about what you do, but I want to make sure I covered everything. Unfortunately it seems like the hard part is actually acquiring the plants for the tank (brexit). Previously I could have ordered from the EU, but now I will most likely have to order from a seller in Borneo or somewhere else in Asia (as long as the plants come from a nursery not from the wild).

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!


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