howmanyds
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
- Messages
- 337
I've been reading quite a lot about the differences between the cichlid groups, but haven't made a final decision, so I'd love to get some more advice. Because of my work and my kids I'm looking for easier to maintain and fewer deaths (well, obviously).
Tank:
-75 gallon
-2 sunsun 303b canisters (I think 350 gph) each filled with bio balls and the included mechanical media and an open tray waiting for whatever else I'll need to add depending on the fish I choose - maybe coral if I need more buffering capacity.
-Non-silica playsand as substrate
-100lbs of quartzite to make caves and tunnels (original plan was to stock with mbuna - waiting for a well-water testing kit in the mail to test for harder metals to make sure the quartzite is safe before adding anybody to the tank.)
-various shells and starfish collected in Australia and New Zealand - boiled and bathed in bleachy water.
Water:
-very hard tap, higher than 300 GH.
-no chlorine
-around 150-180 KH
-around 8.4 pH (unsure since its maxing out the teststrip)
My assumptions (correct me if I'm wrong, please):
-New World cichlids are out because of my hard water and because I'd rather my fish pay attention to each other than to me.
-Victorian are out because of the price
-Haps are out because I'd rather have a rocky tank than an open tank.
-Peacocks are PROBABLY out because the dull females seem boring and I'd rather not have all-male -- I'd like my kids to see some of the spawning behaviors
I think I'm at an mbuna vs tang standstill. I love the different shapes of the tangs probably more than the brights of the mbuna, but I also love the idea of an overstocked tank with the mbuna over having just 12-14 tangs in my 75g (if they're roughly 6" as adults).
Any help making my decision would be GREAT!
Thanks!
Tank:
-75 gallon
-2 sunsun 303b canisters (I think 350 gph) each filled with bio balls and the included mechanical media and an open tray waiting for whatever else I'll need to add depending on the fish I choose - maybe coral if I need more buffering capacity.
-Non-silica playsand as substrate
-100lbs of quartzite to make caves and tunnels (original plan was to stock with mbuna - waiting for a well-water testing kit in the mail to test for harder metals to make sure the quartzite is safe before adding anybody to the tank.)
-various shells and starfish collected in Australia and New Zealand - boiled and bathed in bleachy water.
Water:
-very hard tap, higher than 300 GH.
-no chlorine
-around 150-180 KH
-around 8.4 pH (unsure since its maxing out the teststrip)
My assumptions (correct me if I'm wrong, please):
-New World cichlids are out because of my hard water and because I'd rather my fish pay attention to each other than to me.
-Victorian are out because of the price
-Haps are out because I'd rather have a rocky tank than an open tank.
-Peacocks are PROBABLY out because the dull females seem boring and I'd rather not have all-male -- I'd like my kids to see some of the spawning behaviors
I think I'm at an mbuna vs tang standstill. I love the different shapes of the tangs probably more than the brights of the mbuna, but I also love the idea of an overstocked tank with the mbuna over having just 12-14 tangs in my 75g (if they're roughly 6" as adults).
Any help making my decision would be GREAT!
Thanks!