sika Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hello all. I have recently dismantled my cold water marine tank and am thinking of setting up an African cichlid tank Tank specs 5ft x 600 x 600. Has a overflow[durso]/sump setup. I have heaps of coral rock (which is now drying in the sun) and coral sand. Few Q's. 1. Do people use sump setups for tropical fw? 2. Obviously the skimmer is useless so what is a good mechanical filter media (to use in the sump). 3. My light fitting is an Aqua Medic 4x54 T5. What tubes should I fit in it? Will start with those basic questions first and see how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 sump will be great someone will no what media just use your old marione bulbs they will make the colours pop in the fish especially peacocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 a sump is just another way to filter your water so if you already have one set up definatly use it. the africans will be suited to a high ph of anywhere from 7.4 or higher so the coral rock etc will be useful for that. your tank is a good size & as long as you filter around 6 times teh tank volume per hour you'll be set up well & will have great success keeping africans. other than that just put plenty of compatible fish in there & feed plenty & every thing should be fine. what species have you got in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Cheers so far. As for types to stock, no idea!! I had no idea there were as many varities as I am seeing here! I am open to suggestions, and also advice on where to buy (I see some members sell) I do like the look of this tank My Mixed african tank - cichlid_fan Other than that, I guess I have a lot of reading to do. I will keep the 2 Vortech MP40 power heads I have to give some random flow. May as well since I have them. Is there any use for my RO/DI unit. I used it to top up my marine tank. I am on rain water supply here where I live so my ppm is pretty low anyway at 20-30ppm. I read somewhere it isnt good to add pure di-ionised water to fresh water tanks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 As the others have said the sump is ideal and the coral rock etc you already have would be good for that too, although it is probably better to sell it off live and get some dead stuff Most of the fish in that mixed african tank are available in NZ so just let us know what colours/shapes/sizes you are interested in and we can give you some suggestions.. Also what part of the country are you in? And yeah no point in RODI water for fresh water, you just need to add minerals back into it (especially for africans) as it is too pure and just causes deficiencies in the fish.. Sounds like you might need to add some stuff to your water anyway if it is only 20-30ppm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Thanks. I see your adds on trademe. Cool. Im in Sth Ak so now that far away. I see adds on trademe for some in Papakura and Takanini selling cichlids also. I will search what minerals to add. I have a dosing setup some place (ex marines). I was thinking of using some crushed limestone as one media in the sump. Good idea? I have a couple of reactors as well that fit in the sump, so if you have ideas of stuff to put in them, fire away. Activated Carbon may be useful. The 'live' coral rock is now dead too. Been in the sun for sometime. Will need to be cycled in new tank setup. Will coral rock stay white in a freshwater tank or go brown? I dont want tank to look too stark if that makes sense. I see members using black sand too, will look at heading that way. So much choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 you wont need to do any dosing the coral rock and coral sand if you use it will keep it sweet as. id be inclined to put the coral rock in a bucket of water with some bleach for a day just to make sure theres no bad stuff left on it that can rot and rinse well (do a few 100% water changes in bucket) you wont need the reactors or carbon sell that stuff and use it to buy some sweet fish. i would look at peacocks electrric yellows theres heaps of options but it would pay to decide on what you want first then check on here for compatability issues before buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Lol, I just checked my coral rock. Its sitting in fish bins outside and getting rinsed daily atm with the amount of rain we are having! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beets82 Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hey goat. I've been running my Malawi tank for about 9 months now. Just made an update vid (look below in my signature for link). The main mistake I made was hitting that buy now button to fast and wasn't 100% sure what I was buying. I got some "sunshine peacocks" but I don't know what they are, probably hybrids? They are still awesome looking tho here a pic More recently he has started showing some red in the anal fin as well. If you google sunshine peacock you will see that they are not sunshines. PM me and I'll tell you who the seller was. If you are looking on trademe just post the link here and some of the gurus :sage: will tell you if they are likely to be pure or not. Good Luck - Also I'm in (south) south Auckland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Cheers. Yeah, I will be looking here for fish when the time comes for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Your coral rock should be fine, just setup the tank and get it all running and monitor your ammonia levels in case there is still anything left in there, if there is ammonia it will just help the tank cycle anyway As beets has said there are plenty of dodgy dealers out there And plenty more or have no idea or care what they are doing or breeding/selling so watch out for them.. That is still a nice fish beets, similar to what has been sold (incorrectly) as jacobfrybergi in the past, but the body shape and stuff is all wrong, looks like some form of stuartgranti but who knows what.. Goat if you are interested feel free to come over and have a look at my fish I have a couple of tanks of africans setup that may give you some ideas of what you might like.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 hi sika/goat did you forget your name and password sorry to see you gave up the CW marine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Yeah la, forgot. Been a while. PC blew up a while back, only just set up another one. Man, its a pain not having a PC! I was heading overseas so had to put the coldies to one side, then the trip got canned. I figure the cichlids will be easier for someone else to take care of if I go away for a few months. I will get back into marines one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 probably the easiest tank to maintain once up and running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 A 500W element should heat this puppy ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 A 500W element should heat this puppy ok? Might be enough to boil that puppy :sml1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 500W would probably do the job, providing the room wasnt too cold.. Most people like to run 2 smaller heaters because if they fail they tend to jam on and cook fish. If you have 2 smaller ones you get more time to remedy the situation before your fish are cooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 got any pics of setup :spop: :spop: :spop: :spop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 i would use a 300w jager, if you find that isn't enough add a 150 or 200w just to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dattofish Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 have a few cichlids with community fish they get along fine.. redparrot fish & also a green one,red jewels,electric blue ram,golden,green,yellow servums.. just wondering what other cichlids are as peacfull as them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 got any pics of setup :spop: :spop: :spop: :spop: Pic of the tank [before I even had marines in it. Some here may recognise it. Sump is below. Wont be using the closed loop system, the 2 Vortechs I already have will give enough movement I figure. ************* Question on coral rock. Does it grow algae on it in a freshwater system? Obviously grew coraline algae in my marine setup, just dont really like the look of white coral rock. Probably looking to mix back and white coral sand too. Pepper look. I have a boat to build so this project is not high on the list as yet. Just getting stuff together and ideas. Will stick with the 500W element. I have an Omron PID temperature controller and solid state relay to run the element. Will give me plenty of grunt should it get cold outside. With the PID and solid state relay the element is only really half on anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 nice !drool: it should look amazeing with bright coloured cichlids.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hi, the tank looks great! Yes, the algae will grow on the coral rocks. It looks great and also provides food for cichlids. In my tanganyikan setup I have corals to keep th PH up. My fish love them, but remember the Malawi and Tropheus are very active fish, so choose pieces with not sharp edges to avoid injury to fish. If you want to clean them bleach them on the sun for couple of days. Some people use chemicals to clean the corals which is WRONG. Good luck, can't wait to see "stereo" aquarium lol :happy2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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