(WIP) -- 68 Gallon Cichlid Tank

[pminister]

Great news people, I just got a 68 Gallon Tank...... 

I was going to setup this tank as a typical community tank setup, but I wanted to try out different types of fishes from what I already have. My first idea was to get into Discus, but they are a lil to rich for my blood at the moment. So I was still exploring the idea of Cichlids, and I feel I should go forth with this idea. I love their varying colors, shape, and their varied size.

I need some help on choosing, as to what type of cichlid will be good for a beginner setup ?

My criteria follow as the following:
1. Low-cost....... lol kinda contradicting term for the setup i want.
2. Plan on having two HOB filters + a power head for additional circulation
3. Cave/Rock setup with low-light plants
4. Substrate not sure, as to what works with these fishes ?
5. Cost of food ?

Just bless me with some knowledge 

[cichlidicted]

Hey ..

Well i recently went into cichlids (9 months now) .... and here's what i have to say.
Food is kinda cheap, 5-6 dollars.... well unless you wanna go for fancy types, live food etc..
Substrate ... am actually using Regular pea size gravel (natural Looking) that i go from a garden store. 2 bags for $10 each filled my 110 gallons tank.
Cave/Rock .... 2 cheap choices, 1. go looking for them in construction sites,lakes, river (u'll have to do goood cleaning), 2. post an ad looking for rocks.

For the HOB filters .... try finding filters that the total filteration is higher than 67 gallons.
For plants, go for java or anubias.

as to what type of cichlids... i reccomend common cichlids like yellow-lab, red zebra ..... Just be careful of Hybrids. research the cichlid you want and go looking for it, u'll be able to say then if they are pure or in-breds.

A cheap beginner cichled is convict... not my favourite ... but cheap, and breeds like crazy.
My fav cichlids that are common: yellow-lab, moori, and P. Acei.

I hope this helps

[slickshooter]

I'm curious as to the length/width/height of your tank? Never heard of a 67G before.

I'd make sand the substrate of choice which is about $10 for a 50lb bag. I'd say roughly a bag and a half for that size tank depending on the dimensions.
Most Africans like to sift through sand and most enthusiasts choose sand over gravel....personally I think it looks way better too.

Rocks can be found anywhere I grab mine from down by the Ottawa river (FREE) Boil them and you're good to go.

Make sure those HOB filters have a high flow rate. My 75G tank has two AC500's and a Fluval 404 for roughly 1100gph. In my opinion you can't over filter a tank. Although having your fish plastered against the sides of the tank isn't good either

My first foray into Africans I bought Yellow labs, Aceii (they swim in the upper level of a tank) and Red Zebra in my opinion they are good,inexpensive, colorful beginner Cichlids.
I bet you can find juvies on here for 2 bucks a pop if you look around.

I would not feed live food. Also you have to watch the protein levels of most of these fish so feed frozen blood worms and such sparingly.

Cheers,
Wayne

[pminister]

Great input people... Yeah I totally understand the concept of filtration, just helps in the long run keeping a balanced tank. So far the recommendation for type of fish given, is definitely to my liking. I will definitely, drop by a LFS to check out more species.

Sorry for the specs on the tank, the tank is actually 48"(L)x18"(H)x18"(W)

Though I do have few more questions:

1. Is it worth getting this product Eco-Complete: Cichlids ? Or am I better off with "Play Sand"
2. Also I was reading that some Cichlids require hard water ? Should i be overly concerned about this ?
3. Lastly how many fishes will I be able to fit into my 68 gallon tank ? I know most of em tend to grow out to 4" ish
4. Compatibility wise should Cichlids be kept within Cichlids, or can they be combined with community fishes ?

I would like to have a pair of centerpiece fish, then few just for color variety + (medium-small size)


Any thoughts on this i will appreciate it ....thanks

-EARAJ

[cichlidicted]

1. well if u'r going for specialized products such as the eco-complete (NOT cheap), then go for aragonite sand or crushed corals.... 1. fish love them 2. they help buffer the water's ph (which is good for the fish).
2. Maintain your ph at 8.0 and you should be fine...
3. i'd say about 15 friendly midium (2"-3") sized cichlids, as long as you provide hiding spots.
4. my opinion, NEVER mix them with community fish .. although some ppl mix them with catfish, sharks, .. before doing such a thing, i reccomend you go look for a compatibility chart online. but i prefer having them alone again.

if you want beautiful cichlids .. look at Demasoni, Moori.

goodluck.

[slickshooter]

You'll find with most hardy fish (I consider Mbuna quite hardy) that keeping the water parameters steady as opposed to trying to make them perfect is the way to go.
You get into trouble when large swings in PH and such start occuring.Consistency is the key here.

I've never used Eco complete only pool filter sand and it never gave me any problems. To me a good judge of a fishes "happiness" is their breeding habits and mine bred constantly. I actually bought crushed coral to raise the PH of my tank but never put it in.

The amount of fish depends on the type you choose and your filtration (VERY important). As well as your male to female ratio (Try to keep a 1m-3F or more)
Most people agree that African tanks should be slightly overstocked to curb aggression and I agree.

As a guide I'd say you could get:
6 Aceii
6 Yellow labs
6 Red zebra
1 C Moorii as your centerpiece (large) fish

I had 28-30 in my 75G for 6 years with no issues.

Not sure what you mean by community fish but I say a resounding NO to that one. Unless you enjoy replacing dead fish.

[Stussi613]

I have a 60g with 12 Pseudotropheus Demasoni juvi's, 9 Yellow Labs juvi's (poor Maurice died this week ) and 3 Pseudotropheus sp. Acei juvi's and the coloring is fantastic.  You should easily be able to keep a similar amount in your tank. 

This link might help you out since the dimensions of this tank are only 2" higher in height.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_75g.php

[bitterman]

See inline coments
My criteria follow as the following:
1. Low-cost....... lol kinda contradicting term for the setup i want.
-Do as much DIY as you can this will keep costs down. For lighting a 4' shoplight can work. Or do double DIY t5ho for a bit more

2. Plan on having two HOB filters + a power head for additional circulation
-If you want to do DIY co2 for the plants the powerhead can be used for this

3. Cave/Rock setup with low-light plants
-crypts, java fern, Val (sometimes does not do well in super hard water) can do well in an african planted tank.

4. Substrate not sure, as to what works with these fishes ?
-Pool filter sand can be a cheap alternative

5. Cost of food ?
-If you get NLS in 5lbs pails it keeps cost pretty low.

What are your current water parameters? Cursh Coral in a bag in your HOB might help keep you ph stable. No need to aim for a ph in the 8's mid 7's and stable is perfect as long as your GH and KH is high enough.

Fish is a big thing remeber they will pick and pull at the plants and dig also. So be prepared.

Also for your fish selection ensure you pick fish that will in cross breed. Do you reseasch on different fish and what will work well together. If your a first time african hobiest try the least agressive species until you get experience. One agressive fish coudl wipe out a whole tank.

Bruce

[salvini55]

Rocks can be found anywhere I grab mine from down by the Ottawa river (FREE) Boil them and you're good to go.

Just a side note, Never boil rocks!!! Rocks have small air pockets that when boiled expand and explode the rock to peices  its happened to me and i got a nasty burn on my arm

[bitterman]

Just a side note, Never boil rocks!!! Rocks have small air pockets that when boiled expand and explode the rock to peices  its happened to me and i got a nasty burn on my arm

To clean rocks I do the following:
-scrum them really well with a brush and water till clean
-soak in bleach over night 1/2 cup per 5 gallons.  Ensure the bleach has no scents or additives... just plain old bleach
-Remove from bleach solution
-Rinse till you can no longer smell bleach
-Soak them in water for about 1 hour with 4-6x the normal amount of dechlorinater to get any residue of bleach
-Rinse the rocks
-When adding to the tank ad dechlorinater at the normal rate just in case the above dechlorinater missed some of bleach.

Never had a problem when doing this... a bit overkill, but better then loosing several $200-300 fish.

Bruce

[pminister]

Overkill yes.......but i like the idea of safety first. I still need to build my stand  No time.