# Judge my tank... agian!



## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

This is my 55 gal. Mbuna tank. This is what it looks like for the most part every week and (i spend like 20-30 mins putting all the decor back in place after a water change) I like things neat and orderly but if you think my fish can benefit otherwise, spit it out! Please unless perfectly honest , please no "It looks great", or no really opinionated stuff like "Well i like purple gravel and orange plastic coral". Thanks for your help guys!
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/album.php?albumid=730&pictureid=5962


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ok...my honest opinion...i like you and wouldn't lie to you or candy coat anything...

1. this is a rift lake cichlid tank.....it needs a PH of about 8.4...this means no driftwood...

2. instead of doing it as you think it should be because you like things to be neat and orderly ; take a look at how god did it...look at their natural habitat..no neatly stacked rocks...it looks like somebody just dumped a huge pile of rocks in a pile...the fish have hardly anyplace to actually hide..only out of view for a couple of seconds..that doesn't work very well..

3.the tank is too clean...leave the lights on 24/7 until there is some algae buildup on the rocks and back glass....mbuna need algae in their diet...and when you let it grow on the rocks you will have the pleasure of watching them feed as they would in Lake Malawi.....

outside of that , you are doing ok...


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

pH of 8.2, ill take out 1 peice of wood and if it is still below 8.4 ill take out the other one (the left side wood is a very popular hiding place). when i do my next water change on saturday, ill make the rocks a mess. Ill have to get more of those white rocks (dolomite?) this weekend too


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Definitely getting more dolomite will help keep your Ph up. You can also use some crushed coral in your filter, just put it in a media bag. That will help keep the Ph up. 

Let the algae grow everywhere but on the front glass- so you can see the fishies 

I have no idea what I am doing right but I end up with algae only on logs and sometimes on some of the rocks, but never on my glass. I am algae blessed LOL.


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

That white rock looks awesome, definately get some more of that...I really like the uneven gravel, hate it when it looks painted in there


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

Ill have to try that crushed coral in the filter, ill have to give the credit of uneven gravel to the inhabitants, dont tell anyone buy i kinda smooth it all out every water change. I actually dont know if i have the time to get some more dolomite this week.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

with africans you will never have smooth gravel...lol
they are some serious excavators...i love to watch them dig the tank up...


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

It is fun to watch them "rebuild" after a water change, its only my male kenyii and a female and male johanni that are large and motivated enough to excavate gravel, so they all share like 4-5 digouts when they sleep, its funny


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

More rocks


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

If you can try and find some Cichlid stones you dont have to get the large ones.


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