hey folks

[tyvex]

hi all

i have been keeping a reef tank for the last three years, with some success.
however i feel, that due to work, family and last but not least pocket depth
i should consider a change.
i also like the look of a busy tank, which stocking levels in marine is sadly undesirable.
but with malawi i understand it is the reverse (within reason)
just a few simple q's to start,

i have a 5 x 2 x 2 tank atm, i believe bigger is better in this section of aquaria as in marine, would this size of tank be suitable and how many fish would / could you accomodate ?

i have an arcadia twin 250w pendant with 14thu k lamps, is this overkill ? also would i need to reduce the kelvin of the bulbs, or could i still use the 14k's

in the pinned article, it suggests using limewater (calcium hydroxide) for magnesium/hardness/ph buff
atm i have an auto top-up using a deltec kalk stirrer (used with r/o water) - would this be of use with malawi ?
my tap water has an average ph of 8.5 +, is this ok, or a tad on the high side, or would i continue using kalk buffered r/o water as a top off (kalk water drips at approx ph of 10)

what is the recommended flow/circulation rate for malawi, atm i have a virtual washing machine in there with a tunze stream (12000l/h and an ehiem at 3500 l/h + return from sump at approx 2000 l/h less head of 1mtr) i would think this is too much the tunze gives a good wide flow not as direct as a normal p/h so not as drastic as it sounds on paper.

this may be a silly q, but i'll ask it anywho

can i use the same oolite sand substrate, (stands back and waits on the barrage of replies to this one )

ok so play sand it is


can someone point me in the right direction to a good beginers to malawi site cheers


probably lots more to come, but not 100% decided to change yet, just looking at the practicalities.

tia

ty


oh ps, anyone want to buy 70 kilo of live rock a skimmer etc etc etc

 

[tdins_2]

u kinda lost me with that but ill give it a try malawi cichlids like a sand substrate anysand will almost work silca sand is best prefered and a rocky tank with little or no plants the lilke some driftwood and some watermovement but can adjust and u have a fairly large tank and can keepall (i think) kinds of cichlids with the right ligh and u have it they can be just as beutiful as a reef tank and they r busy fish heres a sight with some fish

http/www.amateurcichlids.com/fish.shtml

http/www.cichlidrecipe.com/cichlidrecipe/

 

[Exiled]

ummm.... that was sort of difficult to read but I'll do my best as well....

First off-- that's a nice sized tank (you're lucky), and you could choose just about any aquarium-type rift lake species you want... The number of fish will depend on their size and species. For instance, take Pseudotropheus demasoni from Lake Malawi... not a big fish (tops off at about 4 inches)...but this fish is highly territorial and can be aggressive. So although it's small you couldn't keep more than maybe 5 or 6 adults in your tank. You could stock a nice number of mbuna, or have a graceful Peacock setup or go with the always impressive Frontosa tank (Tanganyikan, but I'm not sure if you were only interested in Lake Malawi?).

Just start researching all the rift lake species until something strikes your fancy--and then work around your top choices.

I've found these websites the most useful for species profiles:
Cichlid-Forum Articles
"Malawi Cichlid Homepage" -- fish index
and Greater Chicago Cichlid Assosciation

Your current lighting is fine--you can use it.... and sand is perfect. I have no idea what "oolite" sand is but if it's safe for your marine species of fish it's fine for African cichlids. Oh, and your "virtual washing machine" will be much appreciated by a majority of the mbuna species--they love current.

I also did not understand how your r/o water is at a ph of 10? Did I read this correctly? I always thaught r/o water is very soft and acidic. Anyways, as a keeper of marine fish you are way ahead of the game as far as knowing how to manipulate water conditions. Your tap water is 8.5 right? That's perfect for the rift lake species, and you may only need to add a buffer and some magnesium sulfate to bring up the GH (although not critical). There's a terrific article in the first link i gave you regarding the rift lakes' water parameters--check it out.

Would love to hear back from you once you've narrowed down your fish choices.
I'm excited for you! Have fun!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

•Your PH is 8.5? Perfect, I don't see any reason to start messing with your water, IMO you can use your tap water as-is. If you prefer to use r/o water then you should learn as much as you can about water chemistry regarding cichlids. Here is a good additive mixture to use with r/o to provid what the fish need. This is not necessary with your tap water.

•Your oolitic sand will work fine, and help buffer the water too

•There really is no recommended water flow. A lot of people think they need more then they do. The idea is that you want water moving in all areas of the tank. That doesn't mean you need to have the water moving at lightning speed. A powerhead is a great way to get water moving. I don't use them, I find my filters provide the water circulation that I need.

 

[tyvex]

hey

thanks all

i will try to explain myself a bit better )

1/ "I have no idea what "oolite" sand is"
- aragonite (helps buffer ph etc), but my question was really, would i need to replace my sand with fresh / unused sand or could i use the existing substrate with all its salt, bacteria etc ?, but i think i would probably replace it "just in case"
there may be a large die-off and i get a big nitrate spike.

2/ "I also did not understand how your r/o water is at a ph of 10?"
- r/o water is, as u say, soft, with undetectable ph, when mixed with a powder called kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide) it reaches a ph of around 10 and a dkh of about 14. it is used in marine to add calcium and magnesium, buffer ph and maintain hardness. this is then dripped extreamy slowly into the sump, controlled with a float switch, to top the tank off with fresh water to replace evaperated water.
if my tap water is fine then i may not need r/o anyway, my tap water is pretty healthy with a tds reading of only 40ppm

anywho, thanks for the links given
i shall read them with vigor

i get the impression i am maybe better keeping things simple, the less fuss and gadgets the better, its the salty side of me that looks for thingy's and whatsits to help control things, old habbits die hard as they say.

thanks for you're help so far m8's

stay fluffy
ty

ps, is william still trying to play the guitar ?

 

[Exiled]

Hey there, Aragonite sand is great, like cichliaddict pointed out with his nifty bullet format (cool! how'd you do that, Cory?)
I'm interested to know which types of bacteria live in the marine aquarium environment? Is it Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter? If it's those you might be able to use that "live sand". If you're getting out-of-control nitrate levels and it isn't due to infrequent water changes or overstocking, maybe wash out two thirds of the sand in hot chlorinated water, and mix it in with the remaining third of the live sand, to get that nitrobacter colony reduced.

And that r/o + kalkwasser setup sounds like overkill for the African cichlid tank. You're right when you said "better keeping things simple, the less fuss and gadgets the better" Less can go wrong that way too. Your tapwater is perfect--you're lucky. My tapwater is terrible--it might as well be distilled bleach water , and I have to add all sorts of salts and minerals to my water weekly.

Did you find any species yet you'de like to keep?

--Lee

 

[tyvex]

thought u might like to see my reef

heres a pic from a previous post when i frequented this forum
more often (when i had time)

i love my tank and it will be heartbreaking to change

yoohoo here it is


ty

 

[thecichlidaddict]

(cool! how'd you do that, Cory?)

heh, I have no idea how to do that on a PC, but on my mac I simply hit option 8.

Tyvex, that is a very nice tank you are considering exchanging for cichlids, I can see how it can be a tough decision. A cichlid tank will not, no matter how you look at it, replace a reef aquarium. On the other hand considering the time, effort, and money saved by going with cichlids I think you will find that they are very rewarding to keep as well, not to mention entertaining.

 

[tyvex]

If you're getting out-of-control nitrate levels



Did you find any species yet you'de like to keep?

--Lee

hey

nitrates are a tad high atm, but not critical for marines anyway - under 12mg/l


heehee, as for species, i thought marines were picky, but geeeez.

as far as i can see, lake malawi fish appear to be the most colourful,
but i'm not sure yet which fish can go with which
or even if you can mix lakes, i guess i have alot more reading up to do

colour and mass are the 2 factors i am looking for,
i'm fedup with only being able to keep 10 fish at most, i want more

anywho, back to the books

stay fluffy

ty

 

[Exiled]

Mass and color? look into Placidochromis phenocilus.... Sciaenochromis fryeri.... Haplochromines.... and Aulonocara's. I'm sure some scaly sirens will pull you in there.