A little help?

[Kobarg]

Hey MFK's, Just signed up been reading for the past few days lots of info and awesome tanks on here.

I'm going to start a 90 gallon Malawi cichlid tank in about a month, I am trying to find the best equipment i can get in my budget which is near a grand or so, so far I picked out.

Filter- Eheim Pro 3E 2074 or 2078 ( 10 dollar difference on foster and smith)

Lights- i am not sure at all for this but the marineland reef led(48-60)" look pretty cool, but I am wondering if it will be to bright or will the night light be to distracting for fish and any other ideas?i will have a few low light plants(cant remember name of them but the ones cichlids dont bother to much)

Substrate- Was looking at the Eco-Complete cichlid sand one. or anyone have any other opinions i don't like the crushed coral look though. kinda want a nature look.

Rocks and maybe a piece of wood- ok i read drift wood is bad for cichlid tanks from the pH dropping, but i want to get a pelco or two and i heard they love to have a little wood in the tank. For rocks i like the look of slate rocks but is there a more natural one and whats a good website to buy them i found (http://store.seacorals.net/naturalstone.html) any good?

Miscellaneous stuff- how many powerheads should i get if any also any brand you suggest.

Fish I want- I Would like to get a good number of medium size cichlids that have a good variety of colors. I also want a pelco or two, is it better to get one big one or two medium size ones?
any suggests on websites to buy some cichlids would be great my LFS has a crap stock, i want to get them small.
If possible any invertebrates like clams and snails can go with cichlids?

Ok that's all i could think of, any suggestion or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kobarg]

I forgot to but that the cichlids want are Mbuna , Also i will be feeding them NLS But for frozen food not a clue

Thanks any again for any help

 

[shellies215]

the reef LEDs are overkill. You will be happy with the double bright or even single bright depending on how tall your tank is. (taller tank get the double bright) For rocks, check out a local landscape supply co. they usually have a good selection and cheap.

 

[Willz]

I would add a couple of powerheads to move the water around a little more (it helps with aggression). I prefer crushed coral for it's buffering capacity, but I have never tried sand in any of my tanks. If you are doing your weekly water changes the wood shouldn't lower your Ph significantly. I have a albino bushy nose pleco in each of my tanks and they do love driftwood. Sounds like you have your bases covered. Have fun picking out your fish and once you have a tank list post it up and we'll see if you'll have compatibility issues. Good luck!
w

 

[Mokujin22]

Yeah, sounds like you have a solid plan. I use either pool filter sand or fine grade black 3M Colourquartz (or a mixture of the two) in all of my tanks. All except for my two 6 footers have crushed coral mixed into the sand to help buffer the water. If you don't like that, you can buffer the water with 1 TBS baking soda per 10 gallons of tank water, but the crushed coral is easier.

For powerheads, I use Maxijet 900s on my breeder tanks (left over from my reefing days), but like the big blower-style for larger tanks (Corelia, etc).

Are you looking for your pleco for algae control or for entertainment purposes? Like Willz said, I use albino bushy nose plecos for algae control. Keep a large sailfin in my 180, but he really doesn't help with the algae... just poops a lot. Look into synodontis catfish for entertainment value. Most come from hard waters and are fairly well armored and aggressive enough to stand up to Africans.

 

[Kobarg]

Thanks for the info so far guys,
I am looking for a pelco for entertainment and just another fish but should I get 1 large one or two like medium sized ones?

Also for lights wouldn't the double bright leds(they come in 36in length)not get to the bottom of the tank or the corners good, if so whats everyone using for lights?Tanks is just the normal 90 48 x 18 x 24.

Thanks again so far and any good website would be awesome using foster & smith right now for equipment.

 

[shellies215]

You should be able to search around and find some pics of 48" tanks with 36" double brights, I think they will light the tank pretty well.

 

[Kobarg]

Ok I found some pictures of the double bright, they look alright but whats a good T-5 HO light instead.Whats the best combo of bulbs for them( what color what Kelvin....ect),Also Remember i will have a few plants

Also whats a good website for some good cichlids, and is there many different types of pelcos that like same water chemistry of cichlids?

For the substrate if i but down like a 1/2" of crushed coral or crushed coral sand on the bottom then some sand up top will it still retain all its buffering ability's or do i have to mix it in?

If I am missing anything please let me know just trying to get everything down before i go start buying equipment?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Ash]

I dont know much about lighting... I have a T-5 but I use it on saltwater, they are great lighting set ups for sure though and would be good and cheaper for a freshwater palnted version, I know they make the units with bulbs for planted tanks.

As for substrate I use 3M colorquartz or you can use the 3M replacement if you cant find it which is estes. I would suggest this.

As for pleco's.... If its a SA/CA pleco its probably going to like softer water than what African chiclids like. A bushynose pleco usually does good though and your right that they do like wood and will gladly make a mess of it.

As for buffering, is it to offset the wood, or do you just have soft tap? I personally dont bother with it but I have hard tap water.

As for rocks... from some of the videos/photos I have seen I see hugeee boulder looking rocks. I got boulder rocks from my local landscaping place you can get a bunch of rock for really cheap.

 

[Mokujin22]

Africans like to dig a *lot*. No matter how carefully you layer the substrate, it will be mixed up eventually. If you don't like this idea, you can always just add baking soda/Epsom salt if you want to raise pH/hardness.

I have twin T8s on my show tanks. Works fine for me. I say save the money on the Cadillac light fixture and use it for fish.

If I'm ordering fish from an out-of-town retailer, I call Dave Schumacher. His company is Dave's Rare Fish. Best selection, prices and advice from any of the African retailers imo. www.davesfish.com. Awesome guy.