My First Cichilds Tank Taking Shape

[mark34]

hi made up my mind today sold all my fish but my plec

Went shopping today came back with-

50KG of UNIPAC aquarium silver sand

54kg of north sea cobbles

my PH is 8.4PH tank water and I tested from tap that was 8.6 so right on track I think ?

The guy at LFS said I don't need to buffer my ph as its high and stable at 8.4 never change is the last 7 months

now the fun part thinking about how i put the cobbles in the tank ?

washed all the sand already wow 3 hours washing sand what a day

going to love getting my cichilds CANT wait just the stones to work out would it be best to go end to end on my 480ltr tank or leave a gap at each end ?

my tank is

5.3ft long
2ft deep
2.3ft tall



and how high do i build them up ?

please

 

[minnnt]

I decided to go all along. Are the cobbles rounded? If so you may find it difficult to 'build' with them.

 

[Jinkz]

Sounds like you're gonna have a lot of fun mate

What type of cichlids are you planning on stocking? It'll depend on what fish you put in the tank as to how you need your rocks. Best advice I can give (after doing it myself recently) is to play around till you get what you think is a good layout, take a break and walk away from the tank then come back a few mins later and have a good look at it and think whether it'll suit the fish you want to stock. Personally I changed mine about 3 times before I started stocking and even now I'm thinking that I might add more rock.

 

[mark34]

some are round lots are flat thats why i got them 57kg for £12

guy at MD said good buy i took him one from a bag to check they were OK he said yep there get good buy we sell them for £1.29 for one

so be best going end to end I have some big bits of slat as well just is case PH dropped abit lol will post photo later so can check its all

set-up right before start looking at fish have seen Malawi Cichilds for sale cheap there is a breeder lives near me so great news

 

[elisew]

I would strongly suggest you look at getting some egg crate or similar for the bottom of your tank before you start adding sand/stones/cobbles etc. B&Q sell some plastic drain grids that can be used as an alternative to egg crate.
Have a look at some of the other Malawi/Mbuna threads here as there are quite a few with pictures and they`ll give you a good idea on what kind of scaping you could go for

 

[mark34]

i use the plastic sheet i got on line to make siding sheets on the bottom then put my sand in
thinking about Malawis just love them i am VERY new to this its my first i have had fish for a long time but not malawi so want to make sure i am doing it right as i have just sold all my stock to move out to cichlids i know the fish by seeing them will link photos of fish i want to keep

will add them in 5 mins names are hard to remember

Blue Dolphin cichlid
Peacock cichlids
yellow lab

will this work ?

the list is work in progress

 

[elisew]

I can`t comment on the dolphins because I have no experience with them but I can help you with personalities of some other Malawi, Mbuna and haps if needed.

You will more than likely chop and change your mind about what fish you`d like to keep, I have quite a selection so if it would help and give you some idea, have a read of the thread I started when I decided to keep Malawis and Mbuna:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/352272-380l-malawi-setup/page__st__40

There are a lot of us on here that keep these fish so have a look in the Member's Aquarium and Fish Pictures section as well

 

[mark34]

thank you reading as much as i can at min not going to get any fish till i make my mind up thinking the dolphins mybe a no no as thay will get to about 8incs in size and ever were i look it says keep them in 6s

i am looking for a tank with LOTS of COLOUR and lots of different fish i know you cant just have one of ever thing just dont want 6 great big fish
in my tank !!

had sliver dollar and thay got very big and it took over the tank when you are watching the fish tank so thinking smaller fish bright colours for me

 

[mark34]

hpe i fish love it just got back from MD after getting them