Advice Please After My Tank Disaster

[emmuscat]

Hello after all my big fish died i am planning to do a bigger aquarium 72 x 17 x 24 inches , i would like an advaice of what type of filter i should buy , i have my glass on order as soon i have the glass i fixe the glass together, i was also thinking about using sand instead of gravel ,is sand good for malawi cichilds will i have any problems with the sand regarding the filtration

Thanks for all the help you can give me.
Sorry for my english since i live in Malta

Emmanuel

 

[dthoffsett]

Sand is great for malawis, they love to dig, just make sure your filter intakes are at least 3 inches above the substrate. You can use any filters you want as long as they have a total rating of 600gph or more. The most effective would probably be a sump system, but you could get away with a couple of cannister filters as well.

 

[emmuscat]

Thanks for the help but what is sump system, cannister filters , the 1 a have on my 1 mtr tank is external filter with 3 separaters

 

[emmuscat]

Hello ,can someone tell me what should i put between the glass and wood cabinate the base of the aquarium is 72 x 16 inches ,and what thickness should it be.


Thanks for all the help you can give me
Emmanuel

 

[fishwatcher]

Get a sheet of polystyrene. They sell them at hardware stores. The one I have is about 3/4-1" thick. (Mine was bright pink so I got a cheap can of black spray paint and painted it.)

 

[emmuscat]

Hello ,as i asked before i was interested in putting sand in my 100 gallon new aquarium ,today i went to the fish shop to check about the sand and i was told that i can have problems when using sand since it can produce to many problems is this true? Any one use sand for Cichlids(Malawi) any one had problems .


And what thickness should i use if i buy sand .

Thanks

Emmanuel

 

[dthoffsett]

I have sand in my 75gal. I haven't had a single problem with it, in fact it's easier to clean than gravel since the poo sits on top of the sand instead of falling between the gravel. Just make sure your filter inlet is at least 3 inches above the sand so none gets sucked up, and you'll want to place your rocks directly on the glass, then put the sand around it so they cichlids don't collapse the rocks by digging under them. And the added bonus is that if you use a lot of rock (and you should), you don't need as much sand. I only have 30lbs in my tank at about a depth of 2 inches.

As for your earlier questions on filters, here is an example of a cannister filter. The actual filter sits in the cabinet under your fish tank, and two hose run up the back, with an inlet tube and out let in the tank itself. Cannisters are great for larger tanks because they take up less space in the tank, have more room for filter/biological media, and are generally more powerful than a standard HOB (hang-on-back) filter.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...mp;N=2004+22777

Sump filters (aka wet/dry filter) are a unit (either acrylic or you can diy with a smaller glass tank) that has seperate chambers for different filter/biological media, there is also space to put your heater. You can either have your tank pre-drilled or set up an overflow system. Here's an article explaining the different kinds of filtration better than I can.

http/www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=2614