I have finally restarted my 100 Gallon F/W tank after moving into our NEW home and although this tank has been with us for 20 years, it is the first time for African Cichlids. I aquascaped/Rockscaped the tank with 130 LBS of pool filter sand # 20 mesh and took my time deciding on the rockscape setup. I made sure I had caves both in and around the rocks as well as underneath. I put the rockwork in BEFORE adding the sand so the Africans can dig as much as they like without undermining my setup. to the left of the tank is my rockwork and caves and to the right is my malaysian wood and rock shelf with a resin log on top of that. I have 8 Africans from lake Mawlawi and 6 sedontis catfish to help keep things clean. The tank chemistry is coming along nicely and i am keeping the Ammonia nitrite/Nitrates where they need to be. My filter is a RENA X P-4 which keeps things in order and as soon as my tank gets cycled and when it's time to add some more fish, I want to add some nice yellow colored fish. The pool filter sand adds a nice look to the tank and I am very pleased at the way it turned out. It does not hang in the water if disturbed and falls right back down. I cleaned this sand with a hand held ice cream scoop sized screen sifter and it took me almost 3 weeks off & on until I got it all rinsed. I was pleasantly surprized how clean and dust free the sand was and It beats gravel anytime. here are a few pictures i took tonight, notice the caves at the bottom and in between the rockwork.
Bert
Bert
