New to Africans....

[BrandonJ]

So I recently setup a 75 gallon tank and decided to try an African tank. Around here everyone does Malawi tanks, so I decided to do a Tanganyika setup. The setup is:

Tank/Decor

-75G(4ft.)
-sand substrate
-slate rock for caves

Filtration

-2X 75G HOB filters(carbon)
-1X 75G Canister filter(bio media)
-1X sponge filter
-1X hydor pump for circulation
-2X submersible UV sterilizers

Stock(so far)
-2X birchardi(male/female)
-3x Lamp. lelupi(1 male)
-1X Juli Marliery
-1X Frontosa(I know he will outgrow the tank)
-2X Lamp. Caudopunctatus



I do 33% water changes weekly which keeps nitrates low. The PH of the water is about 8.0 and I am using Cichlid Essentials to harden the water and also I use aquarium salt. My questions are in regards to the compatibility of the fish and quality of the setup. I am totally new to keeping Africans and I am open to any and all suggestions about the setup, current and future stock of the tank. I have also attached some poor quality pics if that helps. Thanks guys!

 

[BrandonJ]

i forgot i also have a 5 bar cichlid and a RTB shark(will move soon).

 

[swk]

you're off to good start. A few thoughts though...

Watch out for the brichardi once they begin to spawn. They will DOMINATE all other fish in the tank.

I would pull all the carbon out of your filters. It's just not necessary or beneficial to tanganyikan setups. I would consider adding purigen instead if you want to use chemical filtration. Does wonders for nitrate reduction. Not a replacement for water changes but i feed my petros and trophs ALOT. With 30-40% wc per week, my nitrates are rarely at 10ppm.

I wouldn't add salt to your setup either. Tanganyikans thrive on consistent water parameters more so than so called "ideal conditions". Ditch the salt and go with simple tap water with dechlor.

 

[BrandonJ]

I have heard that about the Birchardi...they are beautiful though. Thanks for the filtration tips also. I was wondering about some black calvus for tankmates. Would they be compatible??

 

[spyke]

calvus would be fine in there...but, they grow super duper slow, and can be very shy...especially with not too many fish, but i see no problem with them

 

[Blue2Fyre]

Nice set up

If you do get some calvus make sure they aren't too small. I would hate for one to be eaten. They grow very slow but are pretty interesting. If you ave other fish out and about they seem to be less shy. I have 3 1" white calvus in with the shellies right now. They hide for a week straight but now are out more and more.

 

[CornBread]

yes go with purigen instead of carbon so this way you have more room for your beneficial bact. And for the tank its great and if you want you probably can do a few more fronts with all of the filtration you have going on. Just try it out cause you have the room to do so.

 

[BrandonJ]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I have a friend who has some black calvus at about 3" and offered a couple for free. Would they be ok at that size? I was also wondering how much room I have to stock the tank and am looking for some suggestions for tankmates.
Thanks again for the input....

 

[BrandonJ]

I was also wondering how compressiceps would do vs. calvus and even if you can have both in the same tank. There is a wild caught comp at the LFS about 4.5" that looks really nice.

 

[Big Dog]

Very nice set up you got there. I am working on my cichlid tank right now. It is going to be a 65 gallon long tank. Thanks for the great information on the filter media.