# New 75g coming soon..pics



## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

nearing completion of my 75g project. 

here is the progress so far. 
http://75gaquarium.blogspot.com/

any suggestions on the driftwood? too much for chiclids? i will still be adding more gravel from my 38g, along with some rocks/caves. 

I will be stocking it with mainly 5yellow labs, 2 electric blues for now. going forward, I will probably like to have around 15 cichlids or so. maybe 3-4 clown loaches. 

filtration will be from an AC 110, along with a fluval 303 (used, still need some parts for this one)


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

driftwood is usually a nono unless you have very high ph water because it lowers ph. For lake malawi cichlids they like 7.6-8.1, and while they can adjust to lower ph's i wouldnt necessarily do it due to the fact that they dont always color up as well.


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## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

no problem, 

drift wood is out of the tank, 

does the PH really affect how their color develop?


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## llamas (Jun 29, 2009)

LS70 said:


> no problem,
> 
> drift wood is out of the tank,
> 
> does the PH really affect how their color develop?


In a way, yes.

In order for a fish to show its true/best color, parameters need to be optimal. For African Cichlids, that means high PH, high water hardness, sand substrate (dark colors such as black help to make the colors of the fish 'pop'), and lots of rock formations to provide plenty of spaces for territories to be set up.


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## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

updated pics 

http://75gaquarium.blogspot.com/sea...d-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=3

rocks are a combination of slate and i believe granite. i will do some additional caves on each side. but this should be adequate for them?

tried making it higher so that they stay a little higher in the tank.


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## llamas (Jun 29, 2009)

It's looking good!

Personally, i would recommend even more rocks with more caves. Most people use vey thin sheets of rock to achieve many caves/territories. They should go almost all the way across the length of the tank.

Also, when stacking rocks, it is highly recommended to silicone them in place. The last thing any fish-owner wants is to have an overly active or even clumsy fish to knock a rock over and creat a dominoe effect. This can lead to the crushing of the fish.

If you silicone the piece together, make sure they are in a form that you are willing to keep and not change, as you will be unable to. Make sure you give the silicone enough time to cure!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

a little constructive criticism..i hope it helps..
the placement of the rocks look staged and fake.just piled up in the middle..when i kept africans i would use about 5 or 6 times that much rock.randomly piled up like you might find in nature.you need 4 or 5 hiding places for each fish..and they should be kind of blocked off in the back..put some rocks down on the bare tank bottom..the add gravel.for a substerate i always used dolomite..dolomite is crushed limestone..you could also use crushed coral..these substrates will help maintain you PH at around 8.4 where you need it to be for africans..one of the main contributing factors to african cichlids getting bloat is a low PH..
once the gravel is in place just pile on the rest of the rocks..cover the floor of the tank except for the front 1/4 of it..leave that open for them to play on..and pile them at least 1/2-3/4 of the way up the tank..
when it comes to keeping african cichlids ; it is better to crowd them...for a 75 gallon tank i would say 25-35 fish...you will need good filtration and plenty of water changes.. about 30-40% weekly...
leave the lights on at least 12 hours a day so you can get a nice coating of algae covering the rocks..not only will it make the tank look more natural ; but it will aid them in nutrition as they will feed on it..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Gluing them together seems to make sense. I haven't done it. Its hard enough to pick up one algae-covered rock and pull it through the lid without dropping it, I don't think I could manage a structure.


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## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

thanks for all the suggestions, 

I wanted more rocks, but ran out! i wont be able to get anymore until earliest next week, and i am eager to start cycling the tank. As for glueing them together, no need, I made sure they are extremly sturdy (I have trouble moving them, I belive the rocks i am using are granite) except maybe the top peice which i have to check again.

. next setup will definetely use white subtrate (crushed coral or limestone, or sand). the black subtrate was $5 for 50lb! at big als, couldn't resist, i have about 80lbs its 1inch or higher. 

I will probably use additives to ensure Ph is correct. unless i use limestone in the filters.

Filtration will be an AC110, and Fluval canisted filer, along with an aquavia 1300 powerhead.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

LS...get some crushed coral and put it in a couple of sections of pantyhose..tie off the ends and place them in the filters..this will help keep the PH up without using chemicals that can cause large PH swings...spike and crash is not so good for the fishes..


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## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

sounds good, i was considering a work around like that. 

that wont be a problem as the AC110 has a large chamber, and i could even make one of the chambers in the canister filter crushed coral, or put something in both. 

thx


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