Tank Help!!!

[jordan1212]

ive kept sw reefs for a couple years and also fresh but now i want to set up a african cichlid tank these are some ideas...

56 gallon column tank(30*18.5*24)
filstar xp3
carib sea sand


what type of fish would you recomend i was thinking lake malawi

any help will be great


thanks

 

[jordan1212]

?

 

[1974Pantera]

I'm bias but I would get some Victorians for that tank. I would also recommend crushed coral in addition to the sand as a substrate and as a buffer for the Ph and hardness of the water.

 

[Cookinit]

Well, before adding any crushed coral I would check out your water parameters.

When I first started this hobby I was the typical newb, saw "African Cichlid Substrate" and bought it. Turns out my tap water runs at 8.4 pH so I didn't need to spend the extra bucks on the "specialty" sand.

And I like Vics as well, but with Cichlids it's more to do with the footprint of your tank over the gallonage. Here are some combo's that I see that work for your footprint.

Malawi: Yellow Labs and Demasoni.
Tanganyika: Shellies & Julies
Victorian: Ruby Greens & ______

I'm still new to Vics myself, but I know Ruby Greens are smaller and some of the more passive Vics around. Hopefully someone else can give suggestions on what to put with them.

 

[jordan1212]

thanks, my tap is 7.0 so i need the subsrate for the buffer, is caribsea chiclid crushed coral good?

im thinking the labs and the demasoni are good but howmany can i add?

 

[1974Pantera]

thanks, my tap is 7.0 so i need the subsrate for the buffer, is caribsea chiclid crushed coral good?

im thinking the labs and the demasoni are good but howmany can i add?

Any crushed coral will do. Start with some, test the water and continue to add until the Ph stabilizes to around 8.0

You should also test for Kh and should be kept between 200-240 ppm.

Adding limestone rock or crushed limestone will also help buffer the tank.

 

[1974Pantera]

im thinking the labs and the demasoni are good but howmany can i add?[/quote]

The dimentions of your tank limit the amount of guys you can have IMHO.
If you build a nice rock wall with plenty of caves, I would say a max of 10-12 adult size Mbuna but I would add additional filtration with that many guests.