New aquarium setup and equipment

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Jhagelberger

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Thank you for reading my post and hopefully help me with our new venture. I am not new to freshwater aquariums but I am new to the Cichlid world. I have a 110 gal. aquarium, tank measures 48" long x 31" high x 18" wide.

Some ideas for equipment:
  • Fluval FX4 High-Performance Aquarium Filter
  • Fluval E300 Advanced Electronic Heater
  • SICCE XStream SDC WiFi Enabled Controllable Wave Pump
I planned to go sand bottom with an assortment of driftwood/rock and plants.
Knowing all that - is the equipment appropriate? overkill? I don't want to spend a small fortune but aI lso want to make sure my investment in Cichlids will be healthy. I do have a Rena XP3 canister filter, but the reviews weren't good it is brand new, so I wouldn't mind using that instead of Fluval FX4, but I read and loved the reviews of the FX4.

Do I need another filter, such as a Fluval aquaclear 110 or will the Fluval Fx4/Rena XP3 be sufficient?

Now I'm open and interested in your thoughts and comments (please be gentle).

What am I missing in equipment? What type of Cichlids should I look at starting with, I was thinking American Cichlids?

Thank you,
John
 
Hi John and welcome to the forum :)

Is the tank new?
Can you change it for something more practical (4x2x2ft)?

What sort of cichlids did you want?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
 
I had a Rena XP3 many years ago, not seen them for a while but from what I remember it was pretty solid and a good price for what they are. It is a pretty good filter but it comes with quite a lot of media you dont need like a lot of carbon and specific pads that are designed to tie you into buying expensive replacements. But you can probably mod it with standard foam and biomedia. Compared to the FX4 the turnover is quite low, Rena turns over 1350 litres an hour and the FX4 turns over 2650 litres an hour. On your 110-gallon tank, you have 416 litres, meaning the Rena offers 3x turnover and the FX4 offers a bit over 6x. With big fish like cichlids I'd be going for the highest turnover possible, 10x wouldnt be out of the question IMO but for that you'd be looking at the FX6 which is 3500lph which would give you 8x turnover.

You could also run your Rena XP3 and an FX4 which would give you 4000lph and 9.5x turnover which would be really good and it would mean you could skip the wave maker :)

I agree with Colin that the dimensions are not perfect but it is doable. If you are looking at American Cichlids I would split that search into South or Central American Cichlids and I'd be led by your water. If you have softwater go for South American Cichlids, if you have hard water go for Central American Cichlids.

Really hoping you have softwater as a tank that tall would be perfect for Angelfish and you could also look at some smaller species for the substrate level such as smaller Geophagus like Pindare or Pyrophalceus. Cupid Cichlids would also be a good choice. In an 18 inch wide tank I'd only keep fish that get a maximum of 6 inches long as adults, but remember with American Cichlids its best to build a community around a couple of cichlid species rather than just cichlids as you would see in an African Cichlid tank. In South American tanks, Cory Catfish, Hoplos, Pimelodus would be great on the bottom Whiptail Catfish and L number plecos would be cool too. Headstanders or larger Characins like Hemiodus would be good for the mid levels or you could go for larger disk tetras like Lemons, Flame or Bleeding Heart Tetras. Perhaps some hatchet fish for the surface levels?

If you have harder water fish like Sajica, Rainbow Cichlids, Firemouth, Ellioti, Nanoluteus or female Nicaraguan Cichlids would be great. On the upper levels you could have colourful livebearers like mollys and swordtails and Tanganyikan Synodontis Catfish for the bottom.

Wills
 
I had a Rena XP3 many years ago, not seen them for a while but from what I remember it was pretty solid and a good price for what they are. It is a pretty good filter but it comes with quite a lot of media you dont need like a lot of carbon and specific pads that are designed to tie you into buying expensive replacements. But you can probably mod it with standard foam and biomedia. Compared to the FX4 the turnover is quite low, Rena turns over 1350 litres an hour and the FX4 turns over 2650 litres an hour. On your 110-gallon tank, you have 416 litres, meaning the Rena offers 3x turnover and the FX4 offers a bit over 6x. With big fish like cichlids I'd be going for the highest turnover possible, 10x wouldnt be out of the question IMO but for that you'd be looking at the FX6 which is 3500lph which would give you 8x turnover.

You could also run your Rena XP3 and an FX4 which would give you 4000lph and 9.5x turnover which would be really good and it would mean you could skip the wave maker :)

I agree with Colin that the dimensions are not perfect but it is doable. If you are looking at American Cichlids I would split that search into South or Central American Cichlids and I'd be led by your water. If you have softwater go for South American Cichlids, if you have hard water go for Central American Cichlids.

Really hoping you have softwater as a tank that tall would be perfect for Angelfish and you could also look at some smaller species for the substrate level such as smaller Geophagus like Pindare or Pyrophalceus. Cupid Cichlids would also be a good choice. In an 18 inch wide tank I'd only keep fish that get a maximum of 6 inches long as adults, but remember with American Cichlids its best to build a community around a couple of cichlid species rather than just cichlids as you would see in an African Cichlid tank. In South American tanks, Cory Catfish, Hoplos, Pimelodus would be great on the bottom Whiptail Catfish and L number plecos would be cool too. Headstanders or larger Characins like Hemiodus would be good for the mid levels or you could go for larger disk tetras like Lemons, Flame or Bleeding Heart Tetras. Perhaps some hatchet fish for the surface levels?

If you have harder water fish like Sajica, Rainbow Cichlids, Firemouth, Ellioti, Nanoluteus or female Nicaraguan Cichlids would be great. On the upper levels you could have colourful livebearers like mollys and swordtails and Tanganyikan Synodontis Catfish for the bottom.

Wills
Willis - Thank you so much for all this valuable information and insight. I am waiting for water testing results to see if we have hard or soft water and your comments will be extremely helpful moving forward. Always appreciate good advice so I look forward to more comments. Thanks Again - John
 
Willis - Thank you so much for all this valuable information and insight. I am waiting for water testing results to see if we have hard or soft water and your comments will be extremely helpful moving forward. Always appreciate good advice so I look forward to more comments. Thanks Again - John
No probs at all - you can usually get a good idea from your water companies website as well they usually give a hardness figure which you can get an idea from - test kits will be most accurate though
 

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