Best way to set up a Reef Ready 150 gallon for cichlids?

[bcopley]

I just got a 150 gallon reef ready tank and would like to set it up for a cichlid tank with mbunas and peacocks. It is empty now....no lighting, filtration, heating, substrate, etc. I would love suggestions/opinions on setting this up the right way. I've always had aquariums, but never this big and never a reef ready tank. Thank you!

 

[bcopley]

I want to go with Marine Land double brights, but the tank is 72 inches long....the longest led I've found from Marine Land is 48" with brackets that extend to 60"

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I just got a 150 gallon reef ready tank and would like to set it up for a cichlid tank with mbunas and peacocks. It is empty now....no lighting, filtration, heating, substrate, etc. I would love suggestions/opinions on setting this up the right way. I've always had aquariums, but never this big and never a reef ready tank. Thank you!

Since the tank is reef ready it has two built in overflows for a sump filter. You will have a couple different options like a wet dry filter or a refugium. You can make these by yourself with a little research and less than half the price of buying new. If you do a refugium you'll need to add another light to grow plants inside your stand. You'll also need a pump pushing around 1500-2000 gph.

One nice thing about using sumps is your tank will always look full and any other equipment as in heaters can go in there. Mthat doesn't cluster up your display tank.

Cichlids love sand and there are many to choose from. There is play sand, pool filter sand, sand at a fish store, blasting sand, general purpose sand. Some are a tan color some can be found in black. Black would be the way I would go if it was me. I have the tan color and wish I would have done black. Anyways you should need 3-5 50 pound bags depending on how thick you want it.

With a heater I'd buy two 350 watt or two 400watt

These articles should help you out some with a few different things.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-aquarium-stocking-cichlids/
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-mbuna-stocking-dcor-hardware/

Nice tank and house by the way, if you have any other questions just ask.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Very nice, that will make an awesome cichlid set-up. Where it me, I'd go with the white/tan aragonite sand rather than black, as it will off set nicely with the black stand and hood. Additionally, if you use the aragonite, it will help maintain a higher pH which is desirable with your africans. I'd run a ridge of rock down the center of the tank, providing lots of hiding places on both the front and back side of the ridge. That will give you plenty of free swimming space both in front of the ridge and behind it. The back side will provide opportunities for the fish to get out of sight and will still be viewable from the ends. With such a large bioload of africans, you're going to have a lot of waste being produced, so I would DIY your own sump with a refugium section and place a high nutrient absorbing plant like elodea in there. I'd leave the sump/fuge bare bottom.