My wife went with me recently to our lfs. She fell in love with an African Cichlid display tank they had. She asked if she can turn her 75 gallon tank into a African Cichlid tank. Since then I've been youtube researching any and all info to get it started. As with most things on youtube there's conflcting info on how to get the tank started and what it takes to maintain the proper PH levels. Can anyone include a mfk and or youtube link that has the right step by step setup/maintenance info? Also do I need to add buffers every week at water change time?Thanks
Point me in the right direction
- Thread starter The Wolf Pack
- Start date
I’m sure someone can add a good link.
Best way to raise pH, and keep it up is natural buffers like crushed coral in the substrate. Using marine dry rock would help a lot.
Best way to raise pH, and keep it up is natural buffers like crushed coral in the substrate. Using marine dry rock would help a lot.
What would be helpful is to know your tap water parameters for pH, GH and KH so if you know them already, post them up.
You may not need to add any buffers if your tap water naturally stays between 7.4 pH and above, assuming you aren't considering wild caught fish.
Is your wife looking for just a colorful tank with males only or is she interested in males & females and interested in spawning activity?
Lake Malawi cichlids are generally divided into Mbuna, Aulonocara (peacock) and Haps (Haplochromine). You may find more info the the African Rift Lake Cichlid section under the Stickies section.
You may not need to add any buffers if your tap water naturally stays between 7.4 pH and above, assuming you aren't considering wild caught fish.
Is your wife looking for just a colorful tank with males only or is she interested in males & females and interested in spawning activity?
Lake Malawi cichlids are generally divided into Mbuna, Aulonocara (peacock) and Haps (Haplochromine). You may find more info the the African Rift Lake Cichlid section under the Stickies section.
Substrate like above. Could also use dolomite, oolitic aragonite sand to buffer water. Texas Holey Rock is also a great option to keep pH & kH up and you can get it full of holes so fish swim through. Great way to aquascape a rubble rock pile.
Getting a migraine already lol. She wants a colorful tank so I'm guessing a male only tank. At 75 gallons, breeding would probably cause chaos. I'll test my tap water and see what the readings are. I also need to research the differences in the species and what would work best which are the hardiest. Thanks for the input so far .