Getting the tank right for African Cichlids

[Exiled]

Hey all.... well, there it is. Sitting in my livingroom -- what to me looks like a gargantuan monolith....full of water, glowing with light....humming with mechanical actvity. Yet lifeless. And it's good that it is so, because I feel I have a lot more work left to do before this 55g trough of water is ready for the beauty of the fishies.
I have decided on African Cichlids. I don't yet know which species, but I like those of Lake Malawi. It must be because of all that wonderful blueness, and attitude. I've been spending lots of time watching these cichlids in the last few days. Their behaviors are interesting, and visually, they are gorgeous.
I've read 3 books already on African cichlids and I feel like I'm starting to get a handle on it.
So far, I'm working on getting the dGH and pH at around the general levels required for them. (I'll fine tune when I have come to a decision on species) Right now, I'm hunting for rocks to build them their home. Any ideas where I can find some affordable yet suitable ones that will also help maintain the correct water hardness and ph? Pet store rocks like Tufa are waaaay too expensive to outfit an entire tank with. I was thinking landscapers outlets....

Also, I am attempting to do a fishless cycling of the tank. I cannot afford to lose fish, nor do I want to use inexpensive fish as expendible tools. So I'm attracted to the idea of fishless cycling. I have the culture of bacteria in the tank now (a used filter pad from a very healthy Malawi tank) and am doing more research before following the rest of the recipe for fishless cycling--namely the source of ammonia. In the articles about fishless cycling (found in a pinned post--Begginer Questions>"Avoiding and Treating New Tank Syndrome"), it is suggested to use regular household ammonia--pure only--in minute quantities.

Before I follow the advice given by the author of the articles (a chemist and aquarist), I would like to know if anyone has tried this method and had success with it. If so, what brand of ammonia did you find that was pure, and what ratio did you use, the frequency with which you added the drops...etc.? And If not, could you suggest another way to do a fishless cycle. I really do want to get the tank totally right before I add fish...I just can't afford to lose fish...I'm about $100 over my budget already!

thank you all

LINKS TO THE ARTICLES:
http/www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycling.html
http/www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/cycle2.shtml

 

[LesGerber]

Exiled, From what I am reading you are taking your time to do this right, which I commend you as a fellow fish keeper. I noticed that you are reading uo on your fishless cycling which can be good. I personally dont care for it but I can understand where a new first timer would be interested. But with you being an established fish keeper and recalling that you had aged material already from another tank, I am a bit puzzled.
When I set up a new tank I always have extra aged material so that I can place it in the new tank. Also when getting a new tank up and running drain an established tank about 50% into the new one. So you know have aged filter material, aged substrate and water from an exsiting tank. To me that is the way to go. If I read this wrong, then please disreguard,

As far the types of rocks you want to use depends on your water conditions.....If you have a lower pH then you may want to think about bumping up the ph naturally with the use of rocks such as limestone.
If your pH is around the 8.0 mark then you wont want to increase it as this is the ideal range for the Malawis and Tangs.
What I have done id this.......find some rocks that you really like, from your yard, farmers field and so forth. The thing you need to look for is the following.....on the rock you select, pour some vinegar on it. The vinegar will make any stone that has limestone (pH rasing) bubble up. I would avoid that. If you hae around you a stone quary, you might be able to get some great finds there.

Decorating your tank is one of the true joys in life, and if you do it right then you will be rewarded by happy and breeding fish

HTH and Good Luck


Les

 

[Exiled]

Hi Les..thanks for your message. Yes designing the tank is lots of fun. I'm taking my time with it.
It's frustrating too.....I already hate the gravel I chose, so tomorrow I'm taking it all out and replacing it with a cichlid mix of crushed coral and whatever else is in it. Since I havent added an ammonia source yet, I guess the tank hasnt yet begun to cycle.
The filter material I got to introduce bacteria was from a really gorgeous Malawi tank at my LFS -- one of those show tanks with the "Not For Sale" fish.
I havent owned an Aquarium in 10 years but it used to be a big-time activity for me. I forgot how much work it is.

 

[Exiled]

screw it......it's after midnight and I couldnt wait--I just took out all the gravel with a seive and buckets. This tank is an insomniac's dream come true.

 

[Exiled]

After alot of reading, I've decided on sticking to one species for now: Pseudotropheus saulosi. What do the experts think? Good to start with? Are these fish relatively inexpensive?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Exiled, I think that is an excellent choice if you can find them. How much they cost depend on where you live and how available they are there.

They are good for a number of reasons. They are not too aggresive as far as African cichlids go, they are very hardy and easy to keep, and you get two different colors out of one species. I can't see any reason why you should not try starting out with these guys.

If you plan to stock a colony of these guys all at once then a fishless cycle is the only way to go. Houshold ammonia works great, just make sure that it is completely unscented and uncolored. It takes patience having an empty tank for that whole time, but at the end of a fishless cycle you can stock as many fish as you want with no problem, and the time of the cycle will give you time to save up for them.
The longer the established media that you obtained goes without a food source (ammonia) the more bacteria are dying. You will need to get some more when you actually get the ammonia.
I don't recommend using the actual water from another tank, all that is being accomplished by doing this is starting off a tank with dirty old aquarium water. The bacteria that you are trying to collect are not free swimming in water, they are on surfaces of solid objects, like filter media and gravel.

When it comes time to buy the fish they will be too young to sex. They will all be blue. For that reason you will probably want to buy extra fish and grow them out, weeding out extra males until you only have a few. This means that even if you get a good deal you need to expect to drop some coin on the fish when the time comes.
For example, if you wanted an end result of a colony of 12 then I would start of with about 16-18 of them.

 

[Exiled]

Hey cichlidsaddict.... thanks for answering...

Yep, doing the fishless cycling.... waiting isn't so difficult, especially since there's the aquascaping still to do, and with the holiday craziness to join in on. So you like the ammonia method...good enuff for me --I'll try it. What brand did you have success with?

--Pseudotropheus saulosi....when does their sex become appearent? What substrate is best for them?

--and here's a heater question: I have a new heater manufactured for a 30-60g tank. and it is 200 watts. the temp of the tank is rising verrrry verrrry slowly. about two degrees a day. Now, I don't know if this is a result of room temperature, or the heater. The thermostat is set to its maximum, so I can get the water to around 78-80 deg F. Is it normal for water to heat up so slowly?
(The tank is not located in direct sunlight or drafty place)

--Thanks!
I'm off to get rocks!

 

[aernympha]

sounds like a great tank!!! and u sound very good at being a aquarist! my advice about rocks is ask everyone to buy u a rock for christmas then ur sorted!!! great solution or what!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

First, sand is perfect.

Second, if you filled the tank with cold tap water then it could take a while for that heater to do the job. The colder you keep your home the more wattage in the heater you will want. My apartment is quite warm, so I only have a 200w on a 90 gallon tank, but I would want much more if it was much colder.

Lastly, read this Saulosi

 

[Exiled]

I've read that article before--that's where I got that pic from that I posted

I just put in lighting grid to support the rocks, and spent the last few hours rinsing a fine grade crushed coral. It's in the tank now --it looks incredible, allthough, no amount of rinsing could completely get the cloudy water out. So the tank is slightly cloudy now with a fine white glow. This will subside won't it? I have the filter running....

The tank is slowly making it's way up to 78 deg F.

I went to a huge rock and stone distributer and found some wonderful rocks resembling those in Lake Malawi -- plus I couldnt resist getting some very colorful banded sandstone.... It's got pink and orange and white bands...looks beautiful. At the place the computers were down so they couldnt take my credit card...they then let me have all the rocks for free! Woohoo!

My pH is now up to 8.0, but the hardness is still only at 3 dGH.

I went to my LFS and they just got a new shipment of Pseudotropheus saulosi. They are pretty small.... They are yellow and grey. It will be fun watching the males mature into their electric blueness!

Now, I'm going to continue looking at people's tank pics for inspiration to design the biotope.

I havent found pure ammonia yet. What brand of pure ammonia have you found?

Post me some links to your tanks and some other cool designs?

Laters!

 

[mtdewlover]

Ooo! Oo ooo! Pick me! I just fishless cycled a 55 gallon tank for my cichlids. It was my first time and I did it successfully. I even moved to a new apartment! I just pure ammonia from Ace Hardware. I used a sirenge to measue it. I added enough to get my ammonia reading up to 5ppm. Then after my nitrites were readable I cut my dosage in half. I originally added 5mL and then cut it to 2.5mL. I did that untill it was cycled and I added my fish. They are so happy! I'll have to post a picture.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Exile, it's good to hear everything is in order (you had a little panic attack about the Discus )

Your GH is fine, trust me on this one, you don't have to worry about it. Your PH is bang on too. At 78 your temperature is perfect, there is no need to have it warmer then that.


mtdewlover, can you give more detail about the procedure you took to get your success? There are many ways to do it right, I, and I'm sure Exile, would like to here how you did it. I believe in fishless cycling as a great idea, although I have never had to do it myself, I stock my aquariums quite gradually.

 

[mtdewlover]

Here are some of my fishies!

 

[Exiled]

Mtdewlover, your fish are great! Tell me what kind they are. I'm trying my hardest to learn the fish names, but never had I had to remember so much Latin in my life! Your tank is nice and spacious. You didn't want to put a background on it? So how long did your fishless cycle take? Like cichlidaddict, I'd like to hear more details on how you did it....

Cichlidaddict - your encouragement and help has been really great for me. As I havent had an aquarium in so long, my confidence is a bit shaky, but it's wonderful to have people like you guiding me along the way!

The water is still cloudy in the tank. Do you think it will subside? If not, I might as well do a water change before I start the cycling. By now, I'm sure my bacteria culture is dead, as I havent gotten the ammonia yet.

Do you reccomend I aquascape it first, before starting the cycling?

more pics!

Thanks!

--Lee

 

[Tubby]

I found all of my rocks in the local river I fish (James River) Alot of different types colors and styles. I just did the vinegar test and soaked in bleach and water and then boiled them.