New To Fishkeeping

[imran999]

Hi there,

Newbie in need of help with my first tank.
I am wanting to keep cichlids as they look really interesting characters and colourful.
So i am wanting some guidance on whats needed to set my tank up for them.

A few questions that I have
1)How many litres/gallons can my tank hold?
tank is of dimensions
Length (36in)
Depth (15in at bottom, 14in at top)
Height (19in)

2) My filter is an internal fluval 4+, how many cichlids would my tank be able to hold?

3)I will be using a sand substrate. How much sand substrate should i have? I have put in 30kg of play sand in. Which is slightly over 1.5 inch in height. Is this too much?

4)How many stones do I need and how can i make sure the whole lot remains stable on top of the sand substrate and stacked on one another?

5)I have a large plastic slate imitation decoration, should i use this or stick to natural stones instead of plastic?

5) If my tapwater ph is too low, do i need to add daily supplements to increase the ph to 8.2?

 

[knight]

the fluval internal filter is not really up to the job mate, better off with a external filter.

 

[azzman]

Hi there,

Newbie in need of help with my first tank.
I am wanting to keep cichlids as they look really interesting characters and colourful.
So i am wanting some guidance on whats needed to set my tank up for them.

A few questions that I have
1)How many litres/gallons can my tank hold?
tank is of dimensions
Length (36in)
Depth (15in at bottom, 14in at top)
Height (19in)

2) My filter is an internal fluval 4+, how many cichlids would my tank be able to hold?

3)I will be using a sand substrate. How much sand substrate should i have? I have put in 30kg of play sand in. Which is slightly over 1.5 inch in height. Is this too much?

4)How many stones do I need and how can i make sure the whole lot remains stable on top of the sand substrate and stacked on one another?

5)I have a large plastic slate imitation decoration, should i use this or stick to natural stones instead of plastic?

5) If my tapwater ph is too low, do i need to add daily supplements to increase the ph to 8.2?

You tank is a tad under 40g, if your ph is low invest in some lava rock or lime stone, it will up the ph,
or swap the sand for some crushed coral, it will do the same.

My tank is simmilar size and i also have a fluval 4+ as well as a Eheim 2213 external, cost $150 aus,
the more filtritation the better as long as your fish arnt being blown around to much by the current.

You could hold perhaps 8-10 of the full grown dwarf chiclids, I have more but am upgrading to a 55g soon.
Id loose the plastic decoration and go with rockwork, looks more natural and gives them caves which they need
a lot of.

 

[dthoffsett]

A 3-foot tank is just too small for Lake Malawi cichlids. However, you could keep some shelldwellers or other smaller Lake Tanganikya cichlids.

And you'll want to upgrade your filter, with cichlids the general rule of thumb is a filter or filters that have a total GPH of 6-10 times your tank volume per hour. So you'll want a filter rated for 240-400 GPH