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MYTY1705

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
356
Location
LUBB. TEXAS
So I go to a great sale at the LFS and see a 29 gal. loaded with hearter filter UGF and air stone and wife asks if I want it. DUH!!!!!!
Well now what to do. I don't want a salt tank that small, so I want to do ciclids. What do I need to know about their upkeep and tank arrangement.
I have 1.5 years experiance in salt but very little in fresh so any info would help.

The heater is 100 watts, the filter is don't know but have another whisper 400 that I could use that looks in better shape. Light is I think 10 watts.

I will cycle without fish (too cruel not to) and have ammonia ready. (by the way check out reproduction companies for 28% ammonia they use it to make bluelines) I have no rock or sand or any other decoration for the tank.
 
Welcome to the FW world MYTY1705! I somehow knew if I were patient, I would actually see the day a saltie came over the the "fresh" side.

Cichlids are a good choice...depends on what region of the world you want in your tank (or actually...your wife). There are literally tons of choices here. Also, think about some bottom dwellers for maintenance and the variety that they add (ie: Corydoras, loaches, dwarf plecos, etc.)

Ditch the UGF...it has the same problems you guys found with CC. Nitrate factories. Sand is also a good choice...you may want to put a pre-filter on the intake to keep the sand out and clogging the filter.

Take a browse through the FW full tank galleries...some decor choices and aquascaping pics are really outstanding.
 
Not trading sides, just branching out to other experise.

I started looking at a cichlid gallery and liked a lot of the central american species.

Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus
Spinosissimus
Gymnogeophagus Australis
Meridionalis
Cichlasoma Octofasciatum
Salvini
Uropthalmus

Would any of these work in my tank most are 6" max. except the cichlasoma group they are 8".
Could I put 3-4 of these in the tank?

Yeah I thought that about the ugf. What size filter and type would you recommend seeing my choices?
 
For a 29 gal, the Aquaclear 70 (formerly 300) is just fine. Relatively cheap and a dynamo.

I didn't think you were giving up on SW...just happy to have you in the FW fold. :)

I noticed you have another thread regarding stocking so I will look there. So far from what I've seen, you've got some good choices going there so far.
 
Cichlids are diggers by nature, right? Wouldn't they play havoc with an UGF? While I don't like UGF's, I don't take sides in that debate, except in the case of burrowing fish. Besides Aquaclear, canister filters are great too!
 
some of us have the older canisters.. cracking them is a pain! LOL.. but HOB's are supper easy to borrow media from!.. :mrgreen:
 
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