Cant decide...

[Wulfonce]

I'm trying to setup a 90g Lake Malawi Cichlid tank. I have the sand already. Its standard white/brownish sand that you would find on the shores of a great lake. I plan to have a rock pile formation along the back wall of the tank going up about 2/3rds of the tanks height. I have 2 nice pieces of driftwood that I'll mix in with the rock pile somehow.

What I cant decide on is what color and shape of rocks to use. I want them to be dark so the fish will stand out nicely against them. Some ideas I have in mind are:

-Flat rocks in a staggered formation
Example:

-Rounded rocks in a mound. Kind of like this but centered.
Example:

Volcanic rock pile. I would love to do this one but I cant afford it.
Example:

What one out of the first two do you like the best? Any other ideas would be appreciated as well.

 

[sick_lid]

Well the round rock formations won't be able to give the fish little caves/homes/hiding spots as the slate would, cause they'll just be piles for looks. I agree with you on getting darker rocks for standing out purposes since the sand will be light, but it really boils down to what you like..

Then there's the question, why not try something new?

 

[Austin]

when i kept africans years ago i went with slate for the stackability to create more usable caves...

 

[Natural_Born_Killer]

I would go with the first

 

[djarmstrong]

i like the look of the Volcanic rock pile best , but i think the Rounded rocks might be best . Might be able to make more gaps and hole for the fish to go in and hide .

 

[spo10bitoy]

i think the 1st ones better dude

 

[MonsterMinis]

Play with it.. toss everything but the fish in the tank.. 'n just play with it for a few weeks while it's cycling. tbh thats the only way to really know. and once you get the idea of exactly how you want it. fill it in. no 2 rocks are the same, and no 2 peices of driftwood are the same.

or save up for the volcanic rock-pile if that what you "really" want.

 

[Pharaoh]

Go with the first or third one. Save the rounded rocks for Fronts and Haps.

 

[Wulfonce]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll use flag stone. I went to my local garden and landscaping store and found some dark gray flagstone with other colors mixed in almost like a marble. They want 50 cents per kg. At that price I should be able to buy all the stone I need for under $20, and the fish stores want $4.99 a lb for the same stuff!

Some friendly advice to everyone...

Check your local landscaping place before buying rocks from fish stores.

 

[Wulfonce]

I got em!

60kgs of flag stone for $42 CDN. Not bad. The guy even gave me a 25 cent per kg discount because he said he was into fish keeping as well.

Hows she look?