# Cichlid Tank!!!



## username321 (Jun 26, 2007)

A friend of mine is interested in setting up a cichlid tank and i was thinking about helping me. The one thing is he has a tight budget. So, he was thinking about using silica sand for the substrate from Home Depot. Is that allright? Also, he was wondering where he could purchase or make the cave like set up that his cichlids need. He was also going to use a traditional power filter with a biowheel for his tank, but i suggested for him to use a external cannister with a biowheel, since cichlids are messy eaters. Am I correct to say this???

BTW, his tank is a 55gallon tank for African Cichlids


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## Eraserhead (Feb 1, 2007)

I was told at a Petco once that silica sand is a big no-no for aquariums. I'm not sure if this is accurate thoguh, I want to say that I've heard of people using it before. I have a 20 gallon tank with black prewashed sand that I got from a pet store. This sand is made specifically for aquariums. There is usually a bunch of dirt and other grime in the $4/50lb sand bags at Home Depot. 

I sure as hell wouldn't use it, at least


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

A emporer 400 would take care of this, the one with dual bio wheels. Silica sand is perfectly fine to use in FW, it's a big no no in SW as it feeds diatom algae. I have used hundreds of pounds of sand from HD and so have many others. their white and brown sand would work out just fine, just gotta be sure to wash it ouside in a bucket before hand otherwise ur tank will be cloudy for weeks!


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

I think, though, that silica sand is inert, which means it won't buffer / increase your pH.
I don't think that's much to be concerned with, however, unless your pH is very low. While African cichlids are from hard water areas, they are adaptable to other water conditions.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Strawberry pots from wal-mart make a cheap and ugly cave.


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## guppyart (Jan 22, 2005)

home depot sand is perfectly fine, just means you have to work a bit washing it well, plus its a ton cheaper around 1$ for 10 pounds versus a couple bucks a 5lb bag


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2007)

If you can find some rocks near your home, then they would work if you scrub them really well under hot water. I used slate rock which is very abundant around my house. 

I have also heard of many people using the silica sand from Home Depot...just rinse it really well like said above, since it always contains some debri.

If your friend is planning on stocking pretty heavily, I suggest he go with a canister filter instead of a HOB, or go with 2 HOB filters. Africans are really messy fish and I did not understand this until I started keeping them. Even small, they produce alot of waste. I personally have an Aquaclear 70 HOB and a Rena XP3 canister on my Malawi tank.

This link is to an example of a cave structure made out of raingutter and rocks. Its pretty cool looking and doesn't look like it would cost much. It would be hard to get a fish out of there if you needed to though.


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## username321 (Jun 26, 2007)

Thanks for all your replies guys. Knowing that silica sand is perfectly fine, that would save him quite a bit of money for the substrate. He is also going with two HOB filters, each having two filtration components... so that's 4bio wheels and 4 filter media total for the 55 g tank. Also, since our city's water is naturally hard and has a ph of around 7.8, i dont think he has to worry too much about his ph and hardness since he's going with africans. can he mix the different species of africans together.. such as those from lake malawi and those from lake tankgayania(sp sry..). He doesnt want anything that will get too big and is okay for fishes up to 6 inches long. Also, i've heard that its a good idea to overpopulate a cichlid tank. Can anyone tell me the reason as to why this is, apart from the fact that it reduces/ dissipates aggression.
Regarding the rocks, he lives in a condo, so finding rocks might be a bit of prob. so he might have to spend time going to home depot and buying and carving and arranging the rocks.. Also african cichlids do not require any plants right? 

What kind of cichlids would u recommend for him, he already has his heart set on a trio of yellow labs.. so what can he mix with those.. and how many max cichlids can he place in his tank. does the 1 inch per 1 gallon rule work for cichlids??

thanks for answering my questions.


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