# Best African Cichlid Tank This Forum's Ever Seen!



## DTetras2

Okay, so in case anyone hasn't noticed, I haven't been on for awhile. I had WAY too many tanks than I could handle, so for about 8-9 months I went without any tanks. Now I'm starting to miss it (lol) so over the next couple months, I'm going to be starting a 55 gallon African cichlid tank. With all of the equipment and decor I've had from my previous tanks, plus new decor, I'm going to attempt to make this the best and most natural looking African cichlid tank this forum site has ever seen! And I'm going to need your help. I'm going to add in about 8 cichlids, get many, many rocks for decoration, and buy this special large grained, tan sand that my LFS sells to help make it look really really nice. For filtration, I have an AquaClear 110, plus maybe 2 or 3 bio wheel filters that I will also put in to make the water exceptional. Does anybody else want to add any ideas to what I already have? Remember, I want to make this the absolute best African cichlid tank this forum has EVER seen! Thanks in advance! :fish:


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## fishbubbles

Definatly put in some live grass so tht it turns into a carpet. That would be so pretty!


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## DTetras2

I sadly think my lighting is too low for live grass, plus wouldn't the cichlids just eat it up?


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## grogan

DTetras2 said:


> I sadly think my lighting is too low for live grass, plus wouldn't the cichlids just eat it up?


yes they will! Especially with African cichlids. IF you went with some dwarf South American species you could pull it off. Sounds like your plan for fish will rule out live plants.


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## DTetras2

Yeah, that's what I thought. But I'm completely fine with no plants, and already knew that I couldn't keep plants. But are there any other ways that anyone can think of that can make this tank look spectacular?


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## Cory1990

1. no live plants 
2. It sounds like your going to hang a bunch of filters on the back? If so that is not going to be the best we will ever see. Try upgrading to a new much bigger filter.
3. Lots and lots of rocks look good. 
4. Good luck.

Also if you want it to be super natural just throw the rocks in don't place them to look nice. Then just throw the sand in also don't spread it


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## emc7

Best cichlid tank = biggest cichlid tank. I have 11 4' long tanks and they are all too small. I'll never have the best tank until I upgrade. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. Emperors are better than penguins, 2 is better than one. Where are you? Go to Indianapolis the weekend of 15th. Big cichlid auction Sunday.


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## DTetras2

@Cory1990 I'll definitely go with throwing the rocks and sand in, that actually sounds like a really good idea  
Also, though, I don't have enough money right now to get a new filter, but if the hanging filters don't look as good as I hope they do (which, like you say, they probably won't) then I'll save up for 1 bigger and better filter in the future 
And, I'm going to get as many rocks as I possibly can! :fish:


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## Cory1990

You can also cover the filter intake tubes with driftwood I show how to do it in the DIY section.


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## DTetras2

@emc7 Lol, well when you put it that way, I'll make it the best 55 gallon African cichlids tank this forums ever seen! 
Not entirely sure what kinds of bio wheel filters I have, but I'll be sure to let you know!
Also, I'm no where near Indianapolis lol, but thanks for the info!


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## Cory1990

I'm not sure if you can have the "best" mine looks pretty good


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## DTetras2

@Cory1990 I couldn't agree more about the filter tube, and I just read your post, it's a great idea and I think I'll try it!
Also, it will definitely be a challenge, but I'll try my best!


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## grogan

Dont throw the rocks in there. Please god don't do this. Put your sand bed down and place your rocks. The placement of the sand does not matter because the fish are going to move it ALL over the place. They are like aquatic engineers. from there make that rock work a work of art. Start with a dry tank and arrange the rocks into a formation you find appealing. Im sure Cory1990 didn't just throw those rocks into his impressive cichlid tank he has. For me, rock work is the best part.


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## emc7

no driftwood in a typical Malawi tank (though P. acei are supposed to eat off it) as it tends to lower hardness and pH and you want them up. You can put hornwort and java fern in a malawi tank, just don't expect them to stay down.


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## Cory1990

I have driftwood in my Tank. Doesn't mess with water quality at all.

And grogan you are 100% correct my rocks were carefully placed and I almost had 3 heart attacks with rocks hitting my glass. But my tank is not the best this forum has seen. I'm sure of that. And iv got some complaints that my rock piles are not "natural" on the forum. But I sure think mine is perrrrty 









As you can tell, my rock piles are "man made" I think I have the right balance with natural and man made though. It's kind of funny to non of the cichlids go in the rock caves on the right that much. The go for my mess pile in the center or the other pile on the left more then anywhere else. I also see some picking at the wood in the tank or under it.


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## grogan

Making a pile of rocks look natural is harder than it looks. Assembling them and trying to recreate nature is a not an easy task. Literally there are people who study in Japan to become masters at this. Wish I could do that lol.

@DTetras2:
With a 55 gallon cichlid tank I think you would be better suited for some
south American species. Their are several sizes and aggression levels to choose from. Good luck


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## Cory1990

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## DTetras2

@Cory1990&Grogan Considering the information you've both shared, what I think I'm going to do is, and I don't mean "throw" in the literal sense lol, "throw" the rocks in the tank, then the sand so that the cichlids can change it whichever way they want, then look at the rocks and see if there's anything that I feel like changing to make it look either more natural, or make more caves for the cichlids, but I don't think there will be much problem with caves since African cichlids can either find caves or make there own in the sand under small portions of rocks. Also, with the wood problem, what I think I'll do is, before adding any fish when I actually have the tank started up, I'll put 1 piece of wood, which has been my favorite that I've owned, into the tank and leave it in for maybe a week or 2 and then test the water to see if it changed the ph, and if it hasn't, I'll keep it in, but continually check if it's changed the ph at all. 
Also, @Grogan, I've kept Malawi cichlids before, in a 37 gallon tank, and had no issue with them when it came to care and healthiness and cycling and such, so I feel I'm experienced enough to care for a 55 gallon African cichlid tank, but I do appreciate the concern.


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## Cory1990

Deffinantly do not just throw the rocks in I ment to just place them. Africans can find passages all the way threw the rocks without a problem. Like the big pile in the center of my tank I'll see the Africans pop out from just about anywhere in there. I pretty much ment just place The rocks in a pile instead of stacking. As for driftwood I just tested my water again and have 0 water quality issues. So I think your safe with that. If you have any other questions don't be scared to ask.


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## DTetras2

Haha, that's pretty much what I was saying in the first place. And okay, I'll try the wood. I'll be sure to ask more questions later on and update on how the tank is going! And if anyone wants to add anything other ideas, please feel free to share!


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## Cory1990

DTetras2 said:


> Haha, that's pretty much what I was saying in the first place. And okay, I'll try the wood. I'll be sure to ask more questions later on and update on how the tank is going! And if anyone wants to add anything other ideas, please feel free to share!


you could always add fake plants for more color in the tank. i try to stay away from all fake deco but its one exspetion to get some more color into the cichlid tank. 

have you brought the tank yet?


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## hXcChic22

If you don't want filters/cords to show, paint the back (and sides if you so desire) with a paint that's meant for plastics. Fusion is what we used for our tank to paint it black and it's gorgeous.


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## Obsidian

Filter- save up and get a nice canister filter. It will not hang on your tank so you won't have a problem with that, you only need to work with the intake and output tubes. I ran a Rena XPIII on my 100ga tank, along with e a AC110 and it was great. On a 55 you won't need the AC110, just a good canister will do it. 

You will want something to keep your hardness up- some crushed coral substrate works well. You can mix it into the substrate you want if that is a sandy color, most crushed coral comes out cream or white. 

Enjoy!


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## DTetras2

@Cory1990 I do have some big fake plants that I was thinking about putting in the tank, you can actually see them in my album in my old 37 gallon, so maybe I'll try it. And I do have the tank sitting in my room as we speak, I'm just waiting for my uncle who is building a stand for it that's looking really nice, I'll be sure to post pics of it at some point.
@hxcChic22 I do actually have a background for the tank that I absolutely love which I can show pics of soon, but thanks for the suggestion 
@Obsidian like I said before, I don't have the money for a new filter yet, but when I do have the money I will definitely get a canister filter so there aren't filters hanging on the tank. Also, the crushed coral sounds like a really good idea, I think I'll mix it with the other sand that I'm going to get, thanks! 
Keep the ideas coming!!!


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## Cory1990

I have sea shells from Florida in my tank witch helped me so much with water quality. An hob filters are not horrible. Just cover them up like I did. I have two huge hob filters on the back of my cichlid tank. One is a tetra 30-60 and the other is a penguin bio wheel 350 both work together to make my water perfectly clear. Here's a side view down my 55g 










As you can see its clear as h all the way threw. And if I kicked up sand right now in about 10 min my filters will clear all of that up to.


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## DTetras2

We'll address which filter I'll stick with later in the future. For now, let's talk more on decor and natural look 
Also, Cory1990, your tank is absolutely gorgeous, just saying!


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## Cory1990

Thanks, just do some sand (I used play sand from any hardware store) and just rocks I found on a hiking trail. You can really do cichlid tanks so easy and cheap its crazy.


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## DTetras2

@Cory1990 I have a friend who's giving me a bunch of rocks and some sand that he bought at our LFS, and the sand is really cool because it doesn't get sucked up by the filter or a python system, which I use to clean my tanks, so I'm really excited about it 

Also, here are 2 pics of the tank. It's not clean right now, but when I start working on it, I'm going to try and make it as clean as I possibly can.


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## Cory1990

You need some lights I can kind of see the sand in there.


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## DTetras2

I'll get a pic with more light in a bit, I gotta get my light fixture back from my friend haha


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## Cory1990

You could always use shop lights, that's what I have for day time they cost about 15$ I have 6500k daylight bulbs in mine that look real nice. At night time I use a t8 night bulb.


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## DTetras2

I've already got a nice light fixture that I'm gonna use, but thanks for the info


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## Superfly724

Put the rocks in before the sand. Make sure all of the base rocks are sturdy, and laying on the glass, and not sitting on a layer of sand. If your fish start digging at the bass of a rock, and that rock shifts, your whole structure is coming down. That can potentially kill fish, or even break the glass. I had multiple scares when setting up my rock structures. One small shift and roughly 40 pounds of rock tumbled forward. Apply pressure to each rock after placing to make sure it's not going to wobble or slide.


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## Cory1990

I put my rocks in after the sand. It's a bit easier to get them stable out when you can dig the sand a bit to set the base rocks in place.


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## lohachata

hmmmmm....i remember telling a certain cory guy to not make the neat little stacked cave thing...there was a reason for that...lol..
the best african cichlid tank i have ever seen was my 125.....had 80 or so fish in it...mostly adults...
what i see a lot of people doing is ignoring what is best for the fish and putting in what they think is cool or looks good....which kind of tells me that the fish have little importance....


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## Cory1990

Busted, but he did say the best. And that's the only criticism I got with my tank. Since then iv changed a few things up and it's looking much better. But theres still one man made cave.


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## lohachata

i may be a little bit anal about this but.....here is what i would recommend for a rift lake cichlid tank...

rift lake cichlids need to have a PH of 8.4 or a little higher....

substrate........crushed coral of dolomite gravel or sand...not play sand or pool filter sand...crushed coral and dolomite will help to naturally buffer the the water to maintain that PH level...

rocks......best to try to use rocks that will also help to maintain the higher PH...i have always used tufa rock..many use texas holey rock...pile the rocks about 2/3 of the way from from the back to the front and about 3/4 of the way to the top of the tank...

never use chemicals to alter water parameters...

keep lights on to grow a nice coating of algae on the rocks..once established you will want to keep the algae growth....it is an important food source for mbuna...

over crowd the tank a bit... overcrowding cuts way down on aggression and keeps them from all picking on any one fish...

giving them lots and lots of hiding places to dart in and out of allows them to feel safe and they will be out and displaying for you more...

make sure you do 30-40% weekly water changes....

always feed a variety of quality foods twice daily...


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## Cory1990

Iv been using real sea shells mixed crushed coral that I had leftover from my new salt tanks my ph raised from that so far so good with the cichlids


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