Chris' African/mbuna Journal

[chr15_8]

Type of setup ?
mbuna

Tank ?
40 UK Gallons (185 litres/48 US Gallons

Filtration ?
Eheim Pro 2224 (700 lph)
Eheim Ecco 2232 (400 lph)
I will be constructing and Under Gravel Jet. Each jet will be around 570 lph and there will be 6 jets (around 3400 lph)

Lighting ?
A twin 36w standard fitting (plus 30w tube & t5 compact ready if i want/need them)

Substrate?
Argos play sand - 2 inches above the egg crate min.

Decor?
Slate (from a mixture of lfs and garden centre)

Water chemistry ?
Still need a test kit
about 25 degrees c

Maintenance ?
about a 20% water change each week
Clean 1 filter every other week (as i have 2 filters it will work out around once a month)

Feeding?
Cichlid pellet
Pea's, Cucumber, Lettice
The European Shrimp Mix (homemade food)
each of these twice a week leaving 1 day a week for a few live brine shrimp

Fish ?
Labidochromis caeruleus 2m+2f
pseudotropheus salousi 1m+3f
metriaclima callainos 1m+3f


the egg crate/filter grid is on order and should be here soon. i have 4 kuhli loaches to move and 6 shrimp to move also.

so on sunday i will be getting the 'playsand' and add it to the tank if the filter grid is here (which it should)

nothing else to add i think
all constructive advise welcome as im sure it will be helpfull!

thanks for reading
chris

 

[Ferris]

Good thread. It would be nice to see a few more of these.

Don't forget plenty of pics.

 

[chr15_8]

Good thread. It would be nice to see a few more of these.

Don't forget plenty of pics.

pictures will be the main 'structure' of this post.

i would also like to see more cichlid journal as everyone does it with planted tanks. i gives people ideas as well as help/advice

chris

 

[kubora666]

loving the idea mate, im thinking of turning my tank fully mbuna =) just got some Yellow labs... and wow you are gonne love em!
good luck mate, looking forward to seing how this turns out!

 

[LineDropper]

Great detail - thanks for sharing... I'm working on a mbuna tank myself. One question, what is the significance of a under water jet? Looking forward to seeing some pics!

 

[chr15_8]

thanks. i also hope it turns out well!

some info on the ugj
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php

i will also be taking pictures though the constuction of the ugj

chris

 

[chr15_8]

hi

ive got rid of all the fish now. so tank empty.

ive put the eggcrate down, made up the ugj's all i nee to do is glue some sand on the jets so they blend in better.

im going to start washing out the playsand tommorrow and add after the glue has set (glue should only take 10-15 mins to fully cure)

ive got a few pictures but ill wait till tommorow becaus ethere nothing special (and there only 3-4)

chris


also i might be changing the stock around slightly

 

[jakeroberts]

it sounds very good but isnt 3500lph a bit of an overkill

 

[Ferris]

it sounds very good but isnt 3500lph a bit of an overkill

Nope - you can't really have too much. That's roughly 20x tank volume per hour, which is perfect for an overstocked Mbuna tank. The minimum to aim for should be 10x.

 

[chr15_8]

ok ive glued the ugj's and added sand to the tips to help blend in (will post a few pictures)

ive bought 9 large rocks (each rock will be broken down into 3 sections so i'l have around 21 pieces)


tommorow i plan to brake up the rocks, add them to the tank. i will rinse all the sand to add to the tank

should take about 5 hours im thinking. (i need to finish by 3.30) so will start at 10.



chris

 

[chr15_8]

well today i didnt get out of bed till 11ish.

i started to brake up the slate which didnt turn out as i planned. turned out alot smaller but to be honest im glad as i like the look of the smaller bits. ive only used about 3 rocks (ony about 1/2 the rock due to the size and shape of the broken of pieces) and ive got 9!


the rock is about half way there at least so not much to go

i also went to a fish shop (took about an hour) to buy a pump the most suitable pump was an eheim which they wanted £90 ($180) so i bought a pond pump for £35ish ($70). its quite noisy and will have to be turned off at night (i could hear it in the living room about 15ft away when the tv was turned off) the jets are very powerfull and im glad i only got the 2400lph one instead of the recommend 3500lph pump.


sand i almost all washed used 2 out of the 3 bags and will use a max of half the last bag

ive put 4 under water leds in that was in my previous tank. ive put them behind the rock so at night/dark they glow though.

ive got a few photos but will post when ive finished the rockwork.

chris

 

[chr15_8]

i still need to buy the eheim ecco from a mate (second hand)
and fish thats all i think i need to get now


chris

 

[chr15_8]

well ive finished now!

the rocks are all in place the tank is full of water.

the only problem is no pics! when i filled up the tank i used the hose form the garden, there is alot of condensation on the outside of the tank due to the water being so cold anyway the water is reading just below 60 degree f and about 10 degree c.

so ill take pics after the condensation has gone (every time i wipe it its back in seconds)

chris

edit.
my mum says she's worried about the weight of rocks in the tank being to much lol

 

[chr15_8]

i have pics!

the pump for the ugj

front view of the rock

right hand side

left hand side

view from the right hand side of the tank as you come into the room

 

[dthoffsett]

Looking good, they're going to LOVE all those rocks.