1/2 DIY tank with refugium

[J. H.]

I am currently setting up a 90-gallon tank I got on Craigslist. It will have a HOB overflow, 30 gal bioball wet/dry, a 50 gallon refugium (my old display tank), with aquatic and aquaponic plants. I will also be growing anubias and sacred lotus in the main tank as it is hardy, deep rooted, fast growing, large, hard water plant and many people have successfully kept the smaller tiger lotus with mbuna. I have two 300 gph submersible pumps I got from the previous owner of the tank and my old 350 gph magnum 350 canister that I don’t like and don’t want to use and two bubble pumps rated for 10 gallon tanks and one for a thirty rigged to a collection of airstones. I intend to allow the tank to cycle with daphnia in the sump before I put any fish in. I have never kept any cichlids other than angels before and want start with African cichlids.

Is my filtration inadequate? I intend to upgrade anyway, but although this may be low gph, there is a massive amount of bio and plant filtration.

Do I need/want activated carbon in my filter(s)?

I have hard water from the tap and intend to do a lot of buffering (limestone in the main tank and coral sand left over for my hermit crabs in a reactor) Can I make the refugium a dirted tank?

Has anyone kept a sacred lotus with Malawi cichlids before and what was the result?

I am somewhat strapped for cash. Can I just get three Cyrtocara moori aka Blue Dolphins and five Labidochromis caeruleus aka Yellow Labs and let them breed, as I only want these two species anyway, or will the understocking (8 fish/90 gallon tank) cause them to rip one another to shreds?

Is there anything that will leave the algae on the rocks, but remove it from the glass?

 

[stempy]

You will be fine with just those fish and filtration. Both species are pretty mellow as far as africans go. As for your algae question just clean your glass and leave algae eaters out. BTW those 2 species together will make a really nice display, especially once they grow up.

 

[J. H.]

Thanks Stempy
By fine with those fish and filtration, are you counting the canister and are you coutnting future population growth?

 

[duanes]

If you have hard water from the tap, you probably won't need to buffer, unless its mineral hard but calcium low ( low alkalinity). Hard water is perfect for rift lake cichlids.

 

[stempy]

As long as you have enough bio balls in the wet dry it'll be fine with just that. Though I'd use a canister as well for mechanical since Africans can be a little messy. I wouldn't worry about future population for a while. Blue dolphins can take 2-3 years before they spawn and the yellow labs won't add much bio mass, unless you buy a ton

 

[J. H.]

Thanks,
I'll be setting up the tank soon, maybe I'll post pictures

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I would buy several varieties of labs for better genetics:albino,yellow,and if u can find it there is a orange variety.

 

[markstrimaran]

If your going to breed them. Get you fish as distant cousins. Not brother and sister. If you can.