4ft Cichlid Tank Setup

[Jords]

Hello Guys,

I have been keeping Cichlids for just a few months so I am still fairly new to the Cichlid world. I am going to be setting up a new 4ft tank for my bigger Cichlids to be in I am just asking for some advice on what is the best way to set up this tank cost effectively I am wanting black sand but from searching it looks like it is going to cost me £50+ just for sand! is there anything I can do to get this cost down? Also does anyone have any recommendations on how to keep plants with these fish as when I have had plants in my tank in the past with Cichlids they just pull them out so any advice on how to keep plants?

Thank you very much advance
Jordan

 

[cdelly]

hi and welcome

what chiclids are you wanting to keep, it's a fairly bit group of fish

you can keep plants with some of the smaller ones, but the larger ones and the likes of malawi live on rocky surfaces.

once you decide on the fish, then this will help you plan the tank more

 

[Jords]

I am keep American cichlids I already have a Texas and a red devil in a slightly smaller tank I have and I will be getting more cichlids alike them once my new tank is set up.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

I am keep American cichlids I already have a Texas and a red devil in a slightly smaller tank I have and I will be getting more cichlids alike them once my new tank is set up.

Hi there! I love American cichlids they are my favourite fish on the planet lol, anyways with regards to sand.. You don't really need to look for top of the range stuff here, as long as it is aquasafe and actually made for aquariums you should be good to go even if that means it's £5 a bag or £25 it will still be doing the same sort of job, I'd try and watch out for the mm size of the grains as too fine and well it would be digested by the fish and too course and it will damage the fish so its really looking for somewhere in the middle which is a right pain I know but thinking about it I would try a 0.8 to 1 mm grain size if you can find any and from amazon as they are surprisingly reliable and cheap with aquarium decor and substrates! If you are looking along the lines of vieja cichlids or severums then I wouldn't suggest planting the tank as by mistake I planted my severum tank and ended up with massive chunks eaten off each plant. Most more carnivorous fish like salvini and jack dempsey cichlids are better with plants but still would take a bite off one here and there. I would probably try and create a more shallow cave environment with rock systems all over the tank for the best results and the best fish behaviour especially with cichlids as they are unpredictable. If you really want plants then there is a technique you could use which is where you could every so often blanch green peas or lettuce and feed bits of it to your fish then that basically means the greens of their dietry needs are satisfied and they will be less likely to destroy the plant life but cichlids will always be diggers so I'd also pot each plant if I were you

 

[Jords]

Hi there! I love American cichlids they are my favourite fish on the planet lol, anyways with regards to sand.. You don't really need to look for top of the range stuff here, as long as it is aquasafe and actually made for aquariums you should be good to go even if that means it's £5 a bag or £25 it will still be doing the same sort of job, I'd try and watch out for the mm size of the grains as too fine and well it would be digested by the fish and too course and it will damage the fish so its really looking for somewhere in the middle which is a right pain I know but thinking about it I would try a 0.8 to 1 mm grain size if you can find any and from amazon as they are surprisingly reliable and cheap with aquarium decor and substrates! If you are looking along the lines of vieja cichlids or severums then I wouldn't suggest planting the tank as by mistake I planted my severum tank and ended up with massive chunks eaten off each plant. Most more carnivorous fish like salvini and jack dempsey cichlids are better with plants but still would take a bite off one here and there. I would probably try and create a more shallow cave environment with rock systems all over the tank for the best results and the best fish behaviour especially with cichlids as they are unpredictable. If you really want plants then there is a technique you could use which is where you could every so often blanch green peas or lettuce and feed bits of it to your fish then that basically means the greens of their dietry needs are satisfied and they will be less likely to destroy the plant life but cichlids will always be diggers so I'd also pot each plant if I were you

I love american cichlids as well they are beautiful we already have 3 tanks in the house with different american cichlids so Im excited to be able to get a much bigger tank for when they have all grown to big for the current tank, I tend to pick rocks and stones up on my walks with the dogs for my fish tank so have a good stash of them now ready. I was really hoping to get black sand in my new big tank really but that seems like its just bumping the price right up! What type of filter would you suggest? it is a 400 litre and was just going to have sponge filters at first and upgrade to external filter when I have bit more spare money one month

 

[SAChichlidLover]

I love american cichlids as well they are beautiful we already have 3 tanks in the house with different american cichlids so Im excited to be able to get a much bigger tank for when they have all grown to big for the current tank, I tend to pick rocks and stones up on my walks with the dogs for my fish tank so have a good stash of them now ready. I was really hoping to get black sand in my new big tank really but that seems like its just bumping the price right up! What type of filter would you suggest? it is a 400 litre and was just going to have sponge filters at first and upgrade to external filter when I have bit more spare money one month

They are arent they! I bet you are sounds like a great idea! (I'll let you in on my not so secret secret which is soon I'm getting a new aggressive central american cichlid tank and I'm super excited haha! Black sand does look beautiful in aquariums but I reckon because of this pandemic alot of companies are bumping up prices to save them from debt as our government isnt really helping out the smaller companies as we already know lol. Filter wise I'd go with a sponge filter and a cannister filter (try looking at aps EF2) with cichlid tanks its always better to "over filtrate" because when they get significantly larger they are so messy and produce alot of waste ?

What's your favourite american cichlid?

 

[Jords]

They are arent they! I bet you are sounds like a great idea! (I'll let you in on my not so secret secret which is soon I'm getting a new aggressive central american cichlid tank and I'm super excited haha! Black sand does look beautiful in aquariums but I reckon because of this pandemic alot of companies are bumping up prices to save them from debt as our government isnt really helping out the smaller companies as we already know lol. Filter wise I'd go with a sponge filter and a cannister filter (try looking at aps EF2) with cichlid tanks its always better to "over filtrate" because when they get significantly larger they are so messy and produce alot of waste ?

What's your favourite american cichlid?

oh amazing that is so exciting! and oh god what a question I don't know what my favorite one is tbh it changes all the time atm my favorite I have is my Red Devil, I really would like to get a flowerhorn so that might be one i invest in when my tank is up and running! I can understand why these companies are having to bump the prices u as much as it annoys me the government been useless but that is what happens when you vote in the Tories. I will have a look at the filter you suggested, eventually all i want in the tank is just the fish and decorations I might end up getting a couple of canister filter systems eventually so there is no room being taken up in the tank with sponge filters.

At the moment I have a Texas and a T-Bar breeding together so im excited to see what the babies turn out like be very interesting to see.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

oh amazing that is so exciting! and oh god what a question I don't know what my favorite one is tbh it changes all the time atm my favorite I have is my Red Devil, I really would like to get a flowerhorn so that might be one i invest in when my tank is up and running! I can understand why these companies are having to bump the prices u as much as it annoys me the government been useless but that is what happens when you vote in the Tories. I will have a look at the filter you suggested, eventually all i want in the tank is just the fish and decorations I might end up getting a couple of canister filter systems eventually so there is no room being taken up in the tank with sponge filters.

At the moment I have a Texas and a T-Bar breeding together so im excited to see what the babies turn out like be very interesting to see.

Ooo I love the looks of red devils! How aggressive is yours? I'm wondering if I could fit one in with jack dempsey, salvini and convicts or if it would just cause world war 3 in an aquarium lol and yeah they have been havent they absolutely useless! Cannister filters are great in almost every way apart from their maintenence being the single most painful thing in the hobby for me ? Honestly dissasembling the thing being careful not to lose any beneficial bacteria is one thing but cleaning it is even more annoying but overall they are just way worth it because they are super quiet and get the job done better than alot of filters!

Ooo please let me know how that works out thats so interesting in fact we can start a conversation to talk about and share pics of our fish if you want lol!

 

[SAChichlidLover]

* god I got the red devil and the red terror confused sorry, I meant I was wondering if I could fit a red terror in not a red devil lol. Anyone got any experience with red terrors?