setting up 55gallon african cichlid tank

[Chris86]

I am looking at a new 55 gallon tank that i want to make into a african cichlid tank. The tank i am looking at comes with a uv sterilizer hydro filter and fluval 305 filter. I have looked up african cichlids and here are a list of the ones I like.
in order from ones i like most to lest
1 Demasoni Cichlid
2 Electric Yellow Cichlid
3 Elongatus Mpanga
4 Maingano
5 Yellow Peacock Cichlid
6 Red Zebra Cichlid

Out of these what ones can be housed together what cant. This is my first african tank I have read and watch youtube videos that you should over stock them so they are not as aggressive is this true?

I will have more questions but this will get me started

 

[castlerock31]

I am fairly new to the hobby as well, so hopefully someone with a bit more experience will join in. I have a 29 gal with a few small African cichlids as well as half a dozen tiger barbs and a red tail shark. I will be moving them to a 55 gallon tank very soon and adding a few more cichlids to them. The main problem when combining cichlids seems to be mixing African with new world cichlids and this is mainly due to the higher water temperature and pH of the African cichlids. The best tool I have found on species information is on liveaquaria.com this site shows stats on most species for temp, pH, size, and aggression. As well as gives a little description. If you check each one you have in mind on there you should be able to see if they are compatible. As long as the required water conditions are similar and the species has a similar size and temperament you should be okay. The other factors to consider are avoiding species that look to similar and attempting to house multiple females with a single male to avoid aggression with mating and territory wars. From my experience with them so far, adding a schooling fish to the tank brings a lot of activity to the tank and acts as a target fish to draw the cichlids out from hiding. The tiger barbs have worked well and seem to be quite popular. The barbs are one of the only types that can live with the cichlids I believe and that's as long as they are similar sizes. A shark, catfish, or pleco will also help to keep the tank clean and fits in nicely. Good luck to you sir and let us know how it works out.

 

[castlerock31]

Oh, overstocking seems to be acceptable as long as you are willing to put a little extra effort into making sure the tank stays healthy. One of the main factors is making sure the filter is strong enough. A good idea seems to be getting a filter that matches the number of inches of fish you have instead of the gallons of water. Overstocking is supposed to spread the aggression around, its worked well for me so far. What I have read recommends stretching the inch of fish per gallon 10-20%. I plan on having about 70" in my 55 gal. You could probably get away with a little more if you really kept an eye on things. Cheers

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I am looking at a new 55 gallon tank that i want to make into a african cichlid tank. The tank i am looking at comes with a uv sterilizer hydro filter and fluval 305 filter. I have looked up african cichlids and here are a list of the ones I like.
in order from ones i like most to lest
1 Demasoni Cichlid
2 Electric Yellow Cichlid
3 Elongatus Mpanga
4 Maingano
5 Yellow Peacock Cichlid
6 Red Zebra Cichlid

Out of these what ones can be housed together what cant. This is my first african tank I have read and watch youtube videos that you should over stock them so they are not as aggressive is this true?

I will have more questions but this will get me started

Leave out the peacock and demasoni. This link will probably help with other questions.

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

 

[Chris86]

The ph out of the tap is 7.8 tested with api liquid kit. So would I be fine with pool filter sand. The fish me and my girlfriend I like are in order Electric Yellow, Red Zebra, Maingano, yellow aci. I am thinking 1 male 3 females so four of each but only want about 12 all together. so my question is out of the 4 different ones what 3 would get along the best.

I have a fluval 305 filter right now going to add another fluval 305 when they get a little bit bigger. That will give me 520 gph when I add the sec filter. I will be making a 2 ft spray bar for each filter with holes going across the top of the water and every other hole will be at a 45 to go down to the front of the tank. Will that be anuff turn over or will that be to much. I am planning on running a hydro 300 watt external heater which will be just on one filter.

I have a current usa t5 ho light with 12,000K White and 460nm Actinic bulbs in it. Do i need to change the bulbs out or will they work? Just got the back of the tank painted black tonight. Here is a picture of the tank after back was painted

 

[Andrew McFadden]

The ph out of the tap is 7.8 tested with api liquid kit. So would I be fine with pool filter sand. The fish me and my girlfriend I like are in order Electric Yellow, Red Zebra, Maingano, yellow aci. I am thinking 1 male 3 females so four of each but only want about 12 all together. so my question is out of the 4 different ones what 3 would get along the best.

I have a fluval 305 filter right now going to add another fluval 305 when they get a little bit bigger. That will give me 520 gph when I add the sec filter. I will be making a 2 ft spray bar for each filter with holes going across the top of the water and every other hole will be at a 45 to go down to the front of the tank. Will that be anuff turn over or will that be to much. I am planning on running a hydro 300 watt external heater which will be just on one filter.

I have a current usa t5 ho light with 12,000K White and 460nm Actinic bulbs in it. Do i need to change the bulbs out or will they work? Just got the back of the tank painted black tonight. Here is a picture of the tank after back was painted

The bulbs are fine it's the same that I have. I would leave out the yellow tail acei. They get a little big for a 55 and they like to dart around. Your ph will be fine as long as it doesn't drop. I would just go with the sand you want if you have ph problems later you can add crushed coral to a filter bag and put it in a filter to keep it up.