Hi Everyone

[stevek77]

Hi everyone this is my 1st post of many, lots of questions anyway

my name is steve and im a cornish boy, i have kept tropical fish when i was a lad but 20 or so yrs later im picking up the bug again, i want to concentrate on malawi's as i used to do ok with them.

ok well it seems i have aquired a tank dont know much about it but it felt like an offer to good to be true now im not quite so sure

its called a aquastart ufo 550 corner tank little bit bigger then i thought at 2" tall not that im complaining but the other half wasnt to impressed when i walked in the door after saying just popping out to get a small tank

right well i only paid £40 for it because it didnt have the filter inside the lid or the powerhead, but i have got a fluval u3 from the famous online site,
hopefully this will be ok?,

secondly it came with a stand but its knackered as he left it outside and its a goner so im needing a cheap stand??? hint hint??? or i can poss build/make one myself using the other stand as a template.

so hopefully i have an ok tank to start with its gonna be a few wks before im up and running but any suggestions about tank, filters, stand, malawi's or just about anything would be great

look forward to hearing your views

thanx in advance

 

[dh058977]

Hi, welcome to the forum and welcome back to the hobby! If i remember rightly the 550 is 78 litres correct? So will be too small for Mbuna Malawis but there are other Cichlid options you could consider like shell dwellers. Dont forget they need specific water parimeters such as hard, high pH water - You can use this when considering your decor, things like crushed coral as a substrate and ocean rock will help raise your pH.

With regards to the filter, personally I would have used the opportunity to buy an external but the U3 should be ok. You can still buy the stands for this tank and I'd always choose that over something home made!

Finally I would urge you to buy a decent liquid testing kit and fishless cycle the tank with household Ammonia, it will take longer but requires alot less effort and is well worth it in the long run.

Good luck!