First Malawi Setup

[Groovemaster]

As some of you probably know I'v decided to sell all my American Cichlids and move onto Malawi's.

Only ever kept Americans and general community fish so expect some questions from me over the next few months!

Managed to get most of the tank sorted today and this is how it stands at the minute:

Juwel Panorama 100 - 170L

2213 Eheim External Filter
Eheim Internal Filter

15kg Coral Sand
11kg Ocean Rock
​

Will be buying more rock as I go along as its... EXPENSIVE!!


My questions today are.....

My tap water is pH7.5... Will the amount of coral sand and ocean rock I have at the minute be enough to buffer it to 8+?

And how long does it take to raise the Ph?


Also...

The filters are in need of a clean but since I have no fish at the moment and I have fresh substrate and rocks... am I best leaving the natural bacteria in the filters to keep the levels up until I introduce new fish?

Shall I just run the tank as normal until I get new fish?


And....

What bottom dwellers do you have in with your Malawi's? Will be keeping mostly Mbuna. And how risky are the small blue lobster species? Seen some at lfs and whoever I asked said it was 'a grey area'


And.... (Last one I promise)

I see loads of African setups without airstones, is there any other reason for this other than visual preference? Like certain fishes requirements or chemical balance?

Thanks in advance!



Now some pics for ya..

Any advice/criticism on my setup would be great!

 

[Squidward]

Hi,

To answer some of your questions:

Yes, the coral sand and ocean rock will make the water harder and improve the ph.

Unless you "feed" the bacteria in the filter, the bacteria will die and the filter will be useless. Either chuck some fishfood in every few days to produce some ammonia, or buy a bottle of ammonia and dose asif you were cycling your tank.
Or you could put some fish in their (Some Danios for eg) and take them back to your lfs when you get the Malawis.

Bottom dwellers - the Rift Valley Synodontis are best. Syno petricola or multipunctata
But you could also have tank Bristle Noses.
I wouldn't risk a lobster.

I had an airstone in my tank.
Didn't start with one, but switched on the lights of my tank one morning and all the fish were gasping at the surface.
Bearing in mind that your tank will probably be overstocked, it's not a bad idea to have one. And I think they look nice.

Btw, your tank is relatively small for Malawis. Are you planning on keeping the smaller Mbuna species?

Hope this is of some help.