Plants/lighting For Malawi Tank?

[rixy]

hi,i have a jewel rio 240 tank with the original internal filter plus a eheim 2028 external filter.i have approx 1.5" of black sand and various pieces of ocean rock.i need help with the lighting.i've tryed the blue/pinky red tubes and i dont really like them.my lfs sells the arcadia light tubes.i have a freshwater tube in the front and a marine white in the back(only had the marine white for 2 days) is this lighting ok for the malawishow long should i leave the lights on for(lights on for 10 hours at present) i'm having problems with water clarity.i do 2 x 50% water changes a week,but the water is very green in colour.not too bad from the front of the tank,but,terrible from the side.should i add plants???if so,what plants.i know java fern would be ideal,but any othersthanks in advance.ps i am considering adding 3 bristle noses to the tank.does this sound ok

 

[sylvia]

Bristlenoses won't do anything to stop the green water. In fact, if anything, they'll be adding to it as they produce huge amounts of waste. They are also territorial so, unless you are getting a sexed pair, keeping just one is a better way to go. If you like, just one of these little plecs would be a nice choice but keep in mind that it'll be eating the algae off rocks/glass (won't do anything for the green water) so your mbuna, who also like to graze algae, won't appreciate his presence. They should get along ok though.
The green water is the result of poor water quality and/or too much feeding and lighting and not enough water changes. Reduce your lighting to 8 hours a day. That's fine for the fish. Actualy, they don't realy care about lights at all. And I'd also reccomend you stick with only one simple fluorescent (white) tube. Like I said, the fish don't care about the lighting at all as long as it's turned on and off on a regular basis and allows them at least 8 hours of darkness. More than 8 hours of daylight encourages algae growth, as well as green water.
Plants don't survive with mbuna. they get dug up and destroyed. Things like java moss and java fern may work, attached to rocks, but they won't solve your algae problems or green water issues.
Actualy, the green water should clear over time if you are careful to keep up with maintainance and not over-feed. Is your tank cycled? This is likely to also play a role in just how soon that green stuff goes. Plus, you shouldn't add any more fish if it isn't cycled yet.

 

[rixy]

thanks sylvia.i could still do with help over what lights(marine white,freshwater etc) and whether any plants might stand a chance.

 

[ozzy47]

hi well i have 4 tubes in my tank and they are on about 10-12 hours aday, i origanally had a rio 240 for my malawis and had a marine white at the front and a marine blue at the back i found this gave nice light and really showed off the malawi colours, as for green water i also suffered this in my 240 i got some carbon added to my external filter and within a few days or so i could see the difference along with my water changes. the plants i notice some people do put plants ikn thier malawi setup but i have never added them as the fish just uproot them and destroy them, although i do have a couple of wisely chosen plastic plants which i am pleased with.
hope this helps

stewy

 

[rixy]

thanks stewy,that helps a lot.i've only had the external set up for a few days.its not got any carbon in it.my filter has 3 baskets.bottom basket has ehfi mech and the middle and top basket has substrat.should i buy a carbon filter,or,buy carbon to put in one of the baskets.if so,which basket would i put it inps brother in law wants to swap his rio 400 for my 240 in a couple months (yippee )

 

[ozzy47]

just buy a box of carbon from your lfs, and i generally put it in the top box, as for the 400 nice i upgraded from my rio 240 to a 5x2x2 and noticed a massive difference.
just out of curiosity where do u get your fish i notice u r in st austell i am only in plymouth.

 

[rixy]

my local shops are cudra in st austell and trimar in cambourne.use both on a regular basis.any good shops around the plymouth area???

 

[Matty]

apparently, the java fern is good for a mbuna aquarium, as the malawis dont like them.

 

[rixy]

thanks matty,my lfs never has any java fern though.

 

[ozzy47]

hi rixy there is a chap in plymouth who sells only malawi and his fish are superb, and of course theres me i have some fry from his fish they are all f2 as well so from a good strain if you would like his number just pm or if you are interseted in any of the fry i have just pm.

 

[rixy]

pm sent.would be interested in the guy in pylmouths number as well please.thanks