Hey everyone. I'm in the process of setting up a 125 gallon african cichlid tank with mostly Malawi Mbuna. I've never had cichlids before, nor a tank of this size, so this will truely be a journey. Feel free to correct me when I need it!! The biggest tank I've ever had before is a 29 gallon with community fish(mollies, guppies, platy's).

Tank size is 60"L x 18"D x 26"H.

So far I have the tank, stand, 2 300watt heaters, and dried coral rocks. I just bought two 30" light strips on ebay, which include the 4 bulbs, for $78. They looked like they were in awesome shape and the guy said that they were only used for 6 months. I'll find out when I get them.

I'm buying 2 eheim pro 2 2028 filters from my bro in-law.

I'm also going to have at least 3-6 pundamilia neyerei cichlids nyereri info and picsfrom the victorian lake). Which brings me to the next part of the journal...Ferrris informed me that they are kinda rare so I should get them while I can. Well.....I'm going to make my 29 gallon a temp cichlid tank until I get my 125 set up and running. I'll put my neyerei in there for now. After I get my 125 running, I'll use the 29 as a fry tank(hope my cichlids will breed in the 125).

Getting the 29 set up to recieve fish.

First I gave my tropical community fish(neons, guppies, tiger barb, platy's) to my sister-in-law for her kids to have. I'm keeping my pleco. Then I did a huge water change and began changing the PH. I bought Seachem Malawi/Victoria Buffer. It's supposed to raise and maintain ph keeping it 7.8 -8.4 depending on how much is used. The guy I'm buying the neyerei from said he could hold them for me for a little while b/c we're going on a trip feb 12-20th and I don't want to have brand new fish acclimating while I'm not home. He'll ship them to me when I get back.

I have 6 coral rocks in the 29 along with a fake rock cave that I arranged to make little caves. I'm keeping the substrate the same for now. Small aquarium gravel/rocks that are red, blue, green and black. I have a couple fake plants in there along w/live Java moss and 2 Java ferns. I've heard that these live plants may grow fast enough to stand up to cichlids wrath. I guess I'll find out. Right now I just have a hang on the back Whisper 30 power filter. i plan adding some kind of a sponge filter to aid filtration. (Plus, I read that they're ideal to have in fry tanks.) I have a heater that rates for up to 30 gallons. I'm going to get another heater b/c the one I have runs ALL the time just to maintain temp. ( I just noticed this a little while ago...guess i should've been paying more attention before). I defintely don't want any temp screw ups when dealing with these more expensive cichlids so I'll be monitoring conditions a lot more closely!!

I'll try to get pics up when I figure out how!

This post has been edited by kj23502: Aug 12 2008, 03:13 AM

Some of the other fish I'm planning on having are:

Metriaclima Greshakei aka Pseudotropheus ice blue
<a href="http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=794" target="_blank">http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=794</a>

Labidochromis Caeruleus
AKA Lab. Tanganicae, Lab. Yellow, Lab. White, Electric Yellow
<a href="http://www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...lectric-Yellow/" target="_blank">http://www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...lectric-Yellow/</a>

Pseudtropheus Crabro AKA ps. chameleo, Melanochromis Crabro
<a href="http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=845" target="_blank">http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=845</a>

Pseudotropheus Acei AKA Yellow Tail, Yellow Fin, White Tail
<a href="http://www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...llow-Tail-Acei/" target="_blank">http://www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...llow-Tail-Acei/</a>

All the AKA names are from a book: Back to Nature guide to malawi cichlids by Ad Konings. Thats what he says they are sometimes called. hopefully the links work!

This post has been edited by kj23502: Feb 6 2008, 03:25 PM

Here are some pictures for you!

This is my 29 gallon! I also have an uknown plant in the blob of java moss on the bottom.



This is my empty 125 gallon. I plan on changing the background. Maybe going with blue!



This post has been edited by kj23502: Jan 30 2008, 07:43 PM

Some of the 3d backgrounds are really nice, if a little expensive. Might be worth looking at now before you add water.

thanks, ferris. i'll do that!

here's some links...in case anyone else is interested:

Backgrounds

backgrounds

a few in this second one....have to scroll down past the regular decorations

backgrounds


Doesn't this sound like a good one for cichlids? Mirror Oceanvisions Background Let your fish see double with this beautiful and durable aquarium background. Talk about maybe fighting the glass!!

This post has been edited by kj23502: Jan 30 2008, 09:40 PM

Excellent species choices! I keep all but the m.greshakei, and will definately have those next time I upgrade tanks.

I want a 3D background real bad, but with a 6 foot tank it gets pretty expensive.

I've found that out also about $200
Maybe I'll do that another time. The kids keep asking me when we're getting the pretty fish! I take them to pet stores with me when I'm browsing and show them some that I may get. (For them, it's almost like going to the zoo )

I would love to build a house someday and have a fish room!! My husband has his "sporting goods" room so I think I need a fish room.

This post has been edited by kj23502: Feb 5 2008, 02:58 PM

Thanks....I'm having a lot of fun researching the kinds of fish!!! I love to research stuff that I want to do!! Probably too obsessed with it , if that's possible.

In this hobby it isn't possible to be too obsessed with research. If obsession was a problem we should all be in the nut house.

I'm considering ordering some Eco-Complete African Cichlid Substrate sand (its available in sand and gravel versions) from Drfostersmith.com. It comes in 20lb bags. I'm thinking three and see how it looks...if i need to add more. Here's the website: Cichlid Substrate
Has anyone used this before?

I'm buying a sponge filter from them. Sponge filter
It's Oxygen Plus Bio-Filter 1. The website says all i need in addition to the filter is airline tubing and a pump. I have a profile aquarium air pump 4000 thats a dual. I'm only using one outlet of air so I'm going to hook up the second to my filter and see how it goes. I know nothing about sponge filters, either. Most of what I'm doing is completely new for me. If anyone has any first hand advice please add your input! I also have a spare airline to use for it.

I'm also getting a mag-float to clean the glass! Mag Float

I'm considering a Mardel live meter kit. It attaches right to the aquarium glass inside the tank and constatnly monitors ph ammonia and temp levels for up to 4-6 weeks. They sell the refill strips to replace the old ones for the ph and ammonia. i'm thinking that this will be especially helpful with my 29 gallon temp tank. Since I may end up w/about 8-9 fish in there ammonia, nitrite levels will be a concern. Mardell LiveMeter Kit

I do have a test strip kit that measures nitrate, nitrite total hardness, total alkalinity abd PH. Today it read 20-40 ppm for nitrate, 0 nitrite, 300ppm hardness(gh), 300ppm total alkalinity(kh), 8.4 Ph. I guess it's good that these fish like HARD water. Mine's like a brick!

I'm going to get a digital thermometer...maybe two....one for each tank. I do have a regular one, but think a digital one would be easier. I'll keep the orig. in there to compare to the digital every now and then(just to make sure).

I'm getting fish at the end of february! My fish list is slightly adjusted. I've added one that wasn't previously on there!

Cynotilapia Afra Cobue....very stunning, but I've read also very aggressive. I'm prepared to put these 3 in there own temp tank until my 125 is up, if I have to. I'll be watching for any signs of distress in my neyerei. They are only 1-1.5 inches long(2.54cm-3.81cm). (I was going to get a spare tank for a hospital tank anyway, so I can chuck them in that if need be).



Pundamilia Neyerei Python Island These are stunning also. I'm hoping to get 6 but so far have 3 guaranteed to me. Very expensive at about $23 a fish!!! (compared to my community fish that were only about $1-$3 each).....


Thanks to a larger tax refund than we anticipated, I'll be able to get my 125 up and running sooner!

I just rearranged my 29 gallon tank. I took out some fake plants, put a ton more coral in and changed the background. I need to clean the algea off the glass, but am waiting to try out my new magfloat.(as soon as it comes in the mail). I'm also going to take out the floating plant. I just haven't yet. It was REALLY hard getting the background on. It curled really bad! It almost seemed like an uphill battle. Here's some before and after pics.





This post has been edited by kj23502: Feb 5 2008, 11:08 PM

Looking and sounding good so far! Can't wait to see it when it's all set up.

I can't wait to get it set up also! My brother in-law said that I could probably go ahead and fill my 125 right on the stand to check for leaks, since I'm home all day(stay at home mom). He said there's only a tiny chance that it'd explode on my floor. I will do that within the next couple of days and if all goes well, will start working on setting up the 125 feb 23 when we get back from vacation. I'm going to put an extra sponge filter in the 29 that I'll transfer to the 125 to help with building up the bacterial colony. I'm going to fishless cycle it. I read about it somewhere on this website. I almost want our vacation to be over with so I could work on it! (almost).

I decided I had better "officially" check our tap water to make sure I know where its at. I have before as soon as i filled a cup, but i heard it's better to let it sit for awhile to let the gases escape? or something like that. That it'll give a more accurate reading. What it read was:

Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Total Hardness (gh) 75 ppm
Total Alkalinity (kh) 80 ppm
PH was around 6.8-7.0

Thats really close to what I got before I let it sit for 24 hours.

Today my tank read:
Nitrate 20ppm
Nitrite 0
Total Hardness 300ppm
Total Alkalinity 300ppm
Ph about 8.2

I bought 3 pundamilia neyerei and put them in a few days ago. I'll be getting some more at the beginning of march. I'm prepared to do 2 water changes a week when they arrive.
i'm going to try to speed cycle my 125. Put in some sponge filters from my 29 gallon as well as using that eco complete sand thats supposed to have bacteria in it. I don't know...I'll have to keep testing my water to see how it goes. I'm almost bummed about going on vacation(how weird is that)(i think my husband's thinking i may love my fish more than him!) LOL!




The fish are only about 1 inch long (2.5cm). They lighten and darken their vertical stripes. It's really neat. Most of the time one is ALWAYS dark. And one is almost White!!! The other is in between. Every now and then they will ALL get dark. then the others will lighten up again. It's all in a matter of minutes! It's really cool. I can tell already that these fish have a lot of personality. (my husband is a fisherman and says they look like perch, but says they are neat)

My lights came in that I had ordered on ebay. One of them broke in transit, though. Suprisingly, all 4 bulbs are all right. I checked them all in the good light. Thank god I asked the sender to put insurance on them for me. He talking to ups and figuring out what we need to do.


I'm filling my big tank today to check for leaks! I'll post how it goes later! I don't have a python system yet so I'll be using a 3 gallon jug and filling all 125 gallons that way! Wish me luck.

----edit----
OK, I gave up on filling it by hand and went and bought an aquarium filling system. It's pretty much full....just have a few more inches to go until it's where it'll be when I add everything. Doing good so far!