Aquascape Help

[Lolly123]

Hi all,

Broke down my tank on Saturday, many thanks to Steve for the help

I am setting up my mbuna tank and have got to the first stage of the process. I bought some okiishi resin rock from unipac and I am expecting some more during the week, smaller bits which I can fill the corners up with.

Here is the tank so far, at the moment I have 6 labidochromis caeruleus in there to maintain atleast some of the bacterial colony within my filter (which is mature) they are all juveniles and settling in to their new environment. I am monitoring stats and have bought some prime just in case I get any spikes. Water change buckets at the ready too.

Downside to my tank is that it's pretty tall which leaves top half looking bare, I can't afford a 3d background yet, but is there any way I could build up and use more of the space. Unipac resin rock comes with a flat bottom and I'm not a particular fan of sticking in loads of differently coloured rocks, I want the tank to be as uniform as possible, but the okiishi rock doesn't provide caves as such, I,e no holes drilled in.

Any suggestions of other rock that may match what I have already.

Thanks!

 

[techen]

I really like the rocks in the middle, Love that idea

 

[Lolly123]

I was impressed with the realistic look that they have. They are so light which is also a plus. I can't wait to receive my other order and start 'bulking' out my tank to make it look less bare. All in good time they say lol.

I thought I could also try some small seiryu stone to make some more rock protrusions from the sand bed, they are similar in colour.

 

[techen]

The sad thing is I love it the way it looks now, If you added plants around the back and such it would look epic xD

 

[Lolly123]

Haha plants are my enemy, they have always been completely decimated in my tank, which is unfortunate. And I don't fancy my chances with plants and cichlids. But I do agree, someone who was talented in the planted arena could do a fab job working around that rock.

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

A great start mate, gonna follow this as im interested in seeing the end result. Any stocking list ?

 

[Lolly123]

Thankyou

Well I am looking at:

Pseudotropheus socolofi
Pseudotropheus salousi
Cynotilapia afra (cobue)

I'll up the numbers of my caeruleus to 8 or 10 and then maybe choose 1 or 2 of the above and have large groups instead of a big mix.

I love the demasonis and the kenyis but I would rather stay towards the lower end of the aggression scale.

But I also love the Metriaclima estherae too.

 

[bullit]

You say the rocks have a flat bottom and they are light. Could you not do a back ground with them?, and then with some similar coloured rocks add them to the front and build some caves etc. Cheers

 

[Lolly123]

A decent background for my tank is easily £190 for a tank with my measurements.
So for the moment, that's not an option.

Would look nice though.

 

[leighton_87]

Where are you based UK/USA/other?

I was reading a thread recently from a uk based user who bought an Exo Terra 3d background for like £18 - they are designed for reptiles but work fine underwater.

 

[Lolly123]

Im in the UK.
 
Thats a good point about the reptile backgrounds, I have had a look at them. i'm toying with the idea as a good background looks fab. However, I want to try and retain as much water volume as possible.
 
Once my other rock turns up it should start to come together a bit more. But ill certainly look in to your suggestion a bit more.

 

[bullit]

I mean using the stuff that youve bought already and do a background with that? If its flat then you could just silicone it to the glass. cheers

 

[Lolly123]

Ah okay. Now I'm with you. That's actually a pretty good idea lol!

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

if you look on here or even on google people have written guides on how to make your own 3d type background out of polystyrene. just an idea.
 
Are backgrounds(3D or the stick on paper/plastic ones) really important if the fish have plenty of plants and hiding places anyway ?

 

[Lolly123]

I wouldn't say that they are a necessity at all if you have adequate hiding places for the fish, but they do look amazing when done well.
 
I might just leave off the background and mess around with the idea of using 2 or 3 turtle islands which you can stick to the glass with suction cups around the corners etc. It sounds odd, but I have a picture in my head. As soon as I get home I can start to move forward with the tank. Work gets in the way!
 
I'll update with pics in due course.