My Mbuna Tank

[guidedbyechoes]

I'm a little stuck on the route I should go I have the fish I want selected( not purchased) and the everything I will need except the decor. I'm trying to decide between slate and lime stone. And what kind of sand I should get. I was originally thinking a mix of black and white sand and limestone. But I also saw a nice setup with with argonite and black slate. I also have no idea how much I would need of each. I have a 55 gallon and I think I would need almost 40 pounds of sand possibly. The LFS near me charges almost a dollar a pound for sand and 3 dollars a pound for rock.

I went to some landscaping places and they gave great ideas for tanks that weren't centered around digging bottom dwellers. I had some landscaping stone but it is way too dense to be used in an aquarium. What did ya'll do?

 

[rossyboy]

Take a peep at my new aquarium-

http/s21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/R_Rossy-Boy/CICHLIDS/

I've used a combination of Slate and Pebbles to form stacked rocks, will a good layer of white coral sand on the bottom- it varies from an inch deep up to about 2 inch.

Also as you can see the background is a Juwel black 3d one to add to the effect. As a result the fish stand out really well and all possibilities have been catered for, i.e i've got plenty of caves for them, general nooks and crannies, good layer of fine sand and also shells for my tanganikyan shell dwellers.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Thats definitely original. And shell dwellers in it as well?

I like some thing like this


Or perhaps something that looks a bit more like a reef tank.

 

[darrel69]

At first i had Speckled Aquarium sand with some Black Rock, Plum Slate and cppl of fake plants.. it actually looked really well and i have some pics HERE..

Then i fancied a change (only a cppl week ago now) and i re-scaped with Aragonite sand (about 40lbs fit'd perfectly) and Ocean Rock, but after a week and half my Ocean Rock turned yellow with algae!! Now, i wasnt expecting it to stay white.. but i didnt expect it to turn yellow! it was almost illuminous and didnt look really nice against the white sand..

So.. i swapped the Ocean Rock for River Cobbles and its looks better than ever. Im really liking it..

Some tips though... shop around and check out online store's too, because prices varie alot from store to store!! Also buy rocks from Garden Centres.. rocks at lfs's are v.overpriced!!

Really it depends on personal taste and wether you want anything to buffer your water or not.. If you do i suggest Aragonite/Coral sand and/or Limestone/Ocean Rock. (I think the sand would do a better job then rock though.. you could also put some of it in your filter.) If you dont want any buffering, then it's all down to personal taste.

Good Luck

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Besides the fake plants I really like your first tank. I was thinking of a darker sand mixture though.


Do you have a pic of the second?

I do not need a buffer my water is at 8.4 maybe slightly lower.

 

[kj23502]

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Journals...-Cichlid-Tanks/

Have you looked here yet? There's quite a few pics. One tip, when setting up your rock make sure you can get to the bottom of the tank on all sides. It makes for easier wc and you can get to where all the poo and any leftover food are.

I have black slate in my tank. You can see it my journal...although the peices I bought off ebay aren't really big enough for my tank so it has a really stacked and unnatural look right now Keep that in mind when you buy/order rocks. You need them kinda big but not to big. I'll be re-doing my in a few months and was considering using ocean rock, but am concerned for the same reason darrel pulled his out. I may just end up siliconing slate peices together to make bigger peices and then put them back in .

 

[guidedbyechoes]

<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Journals...-Cichlid-Tanks/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/Journals...-Cichlid-Tanks/</a>

Have you looked here yet? There's quite a few pics. One tip, when setting up your rock make sure you can get to the bottom of the tank on all sides. It makes for easier wc and you can get to where all the poo and any leftover food are.

I have black slate in my tank. You can see it my journal...although the peices I bought off ebay aren't really big enough for my tank so it has a really stacked and unnatural look right now Keep that in mind when you buy/order rocks. You need them kinda big but not to big. I'll be re-doing my in a few months and was considering using ocean rock, but am concerned for the same reason darrel pulled his out. I may just end up siliconing slate peices together to make bigger peices and then put them back in .

As in the back as well? Another thing don't the rocks displace a lot of water? The one landscaping rock I put in was nearly 40 lbs and it barely took up any space.

 

[kj23502]

I won't silicone them to the back, if thats what you were asking. Just together to make bigger pieces and put them in like that. All together they'll displace a decent amout of water. At least several inches of water

 

[dthoffsett]

Also remember that with lots of rocks you don't need as much sand. When I had my 75gal set up, I only used 30lbs of sand (probably could have used another 10 though), since you put your rock on the bare bottom (or eggcrate) then add the sand.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

I won't silicone them to the back, if thats what you were asking. Just together to make bigger pieces and put them in like that. All together they'll displace a decent amout of water. At least several inches of water

no I ment being able to vaccum behind the rocks. Is that necessary

Also remember that with lots of rocks you don't need as much sand. When I had my 75gal set up, I only used 30lbs of sand (probably could have used another 10 though), since you put your rock on the bare bottom (or eggcrate) then add the sand.

aren't the 75s the same length only taller and possibly wider?

 

[darrel69]

If your after a darker substrate like a 'salt and pepper' look, what about the African Substrate made by Caribsea ? It buffers the water but has the look your after..

It isnt necessary to hoover muck from behind/underneith the rocks each week no, just the areas you can reach will do.. i give a complete hoover every 3mths or so..

 

[guidedbyechoes]

If your after a darker substrate like a 'salt and pepper' look, what about the African Substrate made by Caribsea ? It buffers the water but has the look your after..

It isnt necessary to hoover muck from behind/underneith the rocks each week no, just the areas you can reach will do.. i give a complete hoover every 3mths or so..

Its around 35 dollars per bag. If one bag would do it maybe but I'm not spending that much on sand. I wanted more of a marbled look if you can imagine that.

 

[darrel69]

Oh ok.. tbh i cant imagine a marbled look lol.. you mean dark and shiney like ? what about Black Tahitian moon sand ? Dont know how much that is though.. Have you decided on rock ?

 

[danon]

Just to add my 2 pennies worth,

I use ocean rock, it looks great with all the little holes and hiding places BUT as darrel says after a month or so the damn stuff goes green and brown with algae.

I have had to take all mine out a couple off times and power washed it in the garden, comes up ok but a real pain in the ass!!!!

Only turn the lights on for a few hours at night time to try and cut down on the algae growth.

Darrel, do you have any recent pictures?

 

[kj23502]

no I ment being able to vaccum behind the rocks. Is that necessary

well, my fish poo ALOT and it'd be great if I could actually get back there to siphon it off instead of swirling the water around hoping the intakes pick up most of it