advice on current setup.

[mitch86]

hey, i have a 80 gallon tropical aqurium

equipment:

5 ft flurecent light.
300 watt heater
2 x 300 lph pumps
1 x 1800 lph pump with bio filter


fish:
2 x arulius barbs
2 x clown loach
3 x brittlenose catfish
3x alage eaters
1 x red tail black shark
8 x electric yellows
4 x accei's
5 x rosy barbs

plants:
1/10 of aquarium dense in plants ( giant valllis, amazon sword, pongo grass)

water conditons: ph = 7.2 . temperature 23 degrees. water changed monthly ( 1/3 of tank)

just wandering what i should add or take into consideration with my setup because i know with cichlids your supose to have a alkaline water with no plants. but i was concerned about my filterration and i tend to have alot of alage growth.

reguards,

mitch

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You can have plants with Cichlids, it's just that they may uproot them and tare them apart with their digging. And when you say 23 degrees, I'm really hoping that's F, not C.

You are getting about 465 gal per hour with your filter. That is adequate for the Cichlids. What kind of filter is it?

The only change I would make is increase your water changes to 20% weekly. Cichlids produce alot of waste. Do you know your current hardness and Nitrate readings?

 

[mentallylost]

There are 3 main reasons that people say not to have plants in an African Cichlid tank...
1 - The plants tend to lower the waters PH level and hardness.
2 - African Cichlids most certainly do love to dig them up and up-root them.
3 - Plants are almost none existent in their home lakes. So making a natural environment for them means to leave out the plants.
If you like the look of the plants in the tank, then leave them in place. There are people on this forum who have had incredible luck keeping plants in their African Cichlid tanks.
I would however try and do those PWC's more often. I do my 2 tanks every other week, rotating between them. 25% usually.

 

[mr86mister]

of course its celsius fishy otherwise he would have some frozen fish , your tank seems fine so far but i agree with the plant situation...also if you want you can add lots of hiding spaces for them

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I just want to make sure because I've seen some iffy situations in tanks. For example, 2 bala sharks in a 10 gal tank. 8O

 

[mr86mister]

eeek :?

 

[mitch86]

the temperature is in degrees celcius. so 23 degrees celcsius is my water temperature.

i find that the pre mode selectrive temperature onthe heater isnt accurate because i have it on 18 degreees and my thermometers are reading 23 c.

filter i am not sure its just two seperate plastice caniseters joined together about 20cm in lenth and 10cms wide with alot of sponges acting as filters. this is conected to the outlet of a 1800L/p/h pump and lays on its side underneath the gravel so it isnt visible and uses the gravel as a filter base also. not sure if thats a good idea or not?

i also have a home made filter made from a 4L ice cream container lol whch sits ontop of the tank with filtration sponsges and compartments to cycle through before it re enters the top of the tank. this is conected to a 300 lph pump.
also probadly a bad idea too

as for nitrates and hardness i dont know that but i would love to be recomended a test kit that i can use reguarly.

and i will do the 20% water change weekly also.

as for plants i do love the looks of plants and whenthe fish swim by them it really brings out there strong colours and gives good hiding spots.

with plants lowering Ph i would of thougth that to be a good thing.
cichlids average ph range is between 6.8 and 7.5 ?

and hidding spots i would love to make some caves for my cichlids and see lots of limestone rocks in the shops but to me they look very dirty and dangerous for my aqurium *sighs*

thankyou so much for help i really appreciate it seriously. very fast and reilable information. i hope so anyway lol

Mitch

 

[Fishyfanatic]

this is conected to the outlet of a 1800L/p/h pump and lays on its side underneath the gravel so it isnt visible and uses the gravel as a filter base also. not sure if thats a good idea or not?

This would be an ugf. They are not too common nowadays just beacuse they are outdated. A hob, canister, or internal filter are more commonly used because of their flexibility. UGF's are known to be big nitrate holders.

as for nitrates and hardness i dont know that but i would love to be recomended a test kit that i can use reguarly.

Aquarium Pharmacuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit. It's highly rated and easy to use.

and hidding spots i would love to make some caves for my cichlids and see lots of limestone rocks in the shops but to me they look very dirty and dangerous for my aqurium *sighs*

Limestone rocks will increase your hardness and pH. African's like a higher pH while South/Central American (in general) like a lower pH. Idealy your pH would be in the upper 7's and low to mid 8's for Africans. Limestone can help increase the pH in your tank to the uper levels. It's not dangerous, just make sure you boil it before adding it to the tank.

Regarding your current stocking: You have a mixture of African Cichlids and Non-African Cichlids. In general this is a no-no, just beacuse African's are aggressive. But you have chosen two of the less aggressive. I'd watch them as they start to get older for signs of aggression. HTH

 

[mitch86]

if UGF are big nitrate holders should i remove this because nitrates are bad for my aquarium?

i will be asking for that test kit tommorow at my lfs lol

if i have a mixture of cichlids would my current ph of 7.2 be ok? or if i intoduce my limestone rocks to icnrease my ph? just got a lil confused when you mentioned that generl cichlids like lower ph but africans like higher ph and i had a mixture of the two thats all.

as for aggression they dont seem to to be doing any damage i have a shipwreck wich they hide in and dont let the other fish inside.

thankyou,

mitch

 

[Fishyfanatic]

if UGF are big nitrate holders should i remove this because nitrates are bad for my aquarium?

It's entirely up to you. If taken care of properly, it is ok. But most people don't properly take care of the ugf. For an 80 gal tank, I would just have a canister.

if i have a mixture of cichlids would my current ph of 7.2 be ok?

I don't know exactly what you mean by this. Your pH is fine the way it is. A stable pH is better than a perfect pH. But if you were looking for a more natural pH, then I'd increase it with limestone or crushed coral. But again, it's entirely up to you.

as for aggression they dont seem to to be doing any damage i have a shipwreck wich they hide in and dont let the other fish inside.

As they mature they may show signs of aggression. But the Labs and Acei's are generally more of a peaceful Cichlid.

 

[mitch86]

if UGF are big nitrate holders should i remove this because nitrates are bad for my aquarium?

It's entirely up to you. If taken care of properly, it is ok. But most people don't properly take care of the ugf. For an 80 gal tank, I would just have a canister.

if i have a mixture of cichlids would my current ph of 7.2 be ok?

I don't know exactly what you mean by this. Your pH is fine the way it is. A stable pH is better than a perfect pH. But if you were looking for a more natural pH, then I'd increase it with limestone or crushed coral. But again, it's entirely up to you.

as for aggression they dont seem to to be doing any damage i have a shipwreck wich they hide in and dont let the other fish inside.

As they mature they may show signs of aggression. But the Labs and Acei's are generally more of a peaceful Cichlid.

in that case il disconect the UGF. i just would rather more filtration than average.
also i when i go into my local fish shop the filters they use are these massive external filters made my EPHIM i think. (not sure on spelling there) just wandering opinions on these products.


aggression/size - i would of loved to have bought mature cichlids but they get very pricey as sizes increase and it adds up. but im happy to wait and watch them grow

with my fish i allways use the fish food brand Hikari when feeding. is there a better recomend type of foods for your fish? just allways wanderd what is the best for your fish.

thankyou,

mitch

 

[mitch86]

haha i dont think i have the qoute thing figured out yet. sorry

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If you disconnect the ugf, be sure to remove it from the tank. Most likely it is a 2 plate set. You are going to kick up ALOT of waste when you do this though. So be prepared for a big mess. You may want to even take out the plates, empty all the water in the tank, and add new. The longer that the ugf has been in place, the more waste that is just sitting under the plates.

The Canister brand I think you are referring to is the Eheim. I've never used that brand before. I'm a strictly Cascade user. If you post a thread in the General Discussion forum, I'm sure you will get alot of feedback on them. Someone may even suggest which model to buy. A canister on an 80 gal will give you a better filtration than an ugf.

Mature Cichlids are alot more expensive than the juvi's. I tend to buy juvi's because of the price and because it's fun to see how fast they grow. I've been watching my yellow labs grow from small babies to where they are now.

Hikari is a good fish food, but since you have non-African's with African's, it may be a bit harder to feed. Use a mixture of foods. Cichlids love variety. For example, I feed Cichlid Flake, Tropical Flake, Cichlid Pellet, Brine Shrimp, Frozen BloodWorms, Freeze dried bloodworms, peas, zuc, algae wafers (not on purpose, they just get to them before the pleco's do), plankton (on occassion), and baby shrimp (on occassion). I feed two or three different types of foods per day. Small quantities of each. I just started using a new Cichlid Pellet and the coloration of the fish seemed to greatly improve. I don't remember the brand off-hand (I'm not at home), but it was expensive, well, for fish food it was expensive. It was something like $30 for a container of it. But they LOVE it.

 

[mitch86]

thans,

i did go to the local fish shop to buy that aquarium pharmicutical test kit. but they didnt have it. so i bouhgt a new PH test, Nitrite and Amonia test kits.

and they all read at harmless levels.

i have disconected by UGF without problems. so now theres just a 1800 lph pump conected to a canister filter. but airation also came to mind. my pump used to push air out via a suction valve system but is now broken.

is it of beneficial to have constant airation in the aquarium?

yes i was feeding my fish hikari cichlid baby pellets. and feeding my brittlenose and clown loach hikari sinking wafers. as for the other fish they just eat either of the two. but i only feed them once in the morning everyday. sounds like you are feeding them smal amounts during the course of the day? and $30 i dont know how much you got but sounds expecsive. for 57 grams of hikari cichlid pellets cost me around $8

and with the limestone. i live near the ocean cost. and there heaps of lime stone rocks around. is it possible to treat found rocks and boil them in water as suggested previously. or is it not worth the risk and just pay the money at the local fish shop?

many thanks,

mitch

 

[Fishyfanatic]

What were the exact readings? I hope you didn't buy test strips, they are inaccurate. If you want the test kit cheap, try online.

The airation depends on the temp of the tank. The higher the temp, the less oxygen that is in the water. This is why when treating ich with the heat treatment it is advised to add airstones or lower the water level to allow for suface aggitation. Mainly it is used for asthetics. But it doesn't hurt to have an air pump in the tank. Most filters generate enough surface aggitation of the water, but canisters lack in this department. You may want to get a simple air stone and put it in the tank.

I only feed once in the morning and once in the evening. I don't give much...well to me I don't feel like I am over feeding. I will put in about 25 or 30 shelled and warmed peas (or 40 to 60 halves) beacuse I have larger sized Cichlids (many of them adults). If I gave each of them a single half of a pea, they would starve. We have about 30 Cichlids in that tank. Then we will also put in some pellets at the same time. Basically a variety. They love it and our Nitrates have never been out of control. In fact, I don't recall them being above 20 ppm. Their coloration has made a vast improvement. After I get home this weekend I will give you the brand of food that I started using. Again, it's a little more expensive and the container looks small, but there are ALOT of pellets in that container and the coloration has greatly increased. Variety is key. You can give them small amounts of several foods. Or maybe one day feed flake, then the next feed pellets, and so on. It's entirely up to you. Just be careful about what the other fish eat. I don't know the diets of the other fish offhand and I'm too tired to look it up. Sorry. But you may have conflicting dietary needs.

I'd pay the money at the lfs. When collecting your own rocks you risk contaminents entering your tank. It's just something that I wouldnt trust. You could try it and do the boiling and such. When it comes to things found in the ocean, there are so many things that could contaminate the tank. I personally just wait until rocks are on sale at the lfs then I load up. Last time they had all rocks $.25 per pound for their 25th Anniversary sale. Man would I have LOVED to be around for their 1st Anniversary sale.

 

[mitch86]

i dont know if they where strips. but each came in there own box with just a plastic capusle to mix test water sample then u add the tablets or the liquid drops.

cost about $30 for each test kit.

il look into buying it online. i just had alot of bad experiece with buying products over the internet. how much would that aquarium pharmacuticuls test kit cost?

wow 0.25 per pound is cheap. haha yeah but 1st anversisery is 24 years ago. but imagine how cheap there cichlids would be.


thanx heaps,

mitch

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm not farmiliar with the tablet. Do you have the brand of test kit?

I'm not sure what the price is where you are, but in the states it is $12.99 plus $6 shipping for the AP Freshwater Master Test Kit. IME the lfs jacks up the prices on the individual tests.

The strips would be a small strip about 4 inches long that has between 5 and 6 little patches on it. Then you dip the strip into water and let it sit for a few minutes then you read the coloration off of the bottle.

Do you have the exact test results readings?

 

[mitch86]

the only test that requres tablets is the AMMONIA test kit

Test kit: Brand: Info: Results:

Nitrite Sera Test tube & 2 x differant reagent droppers 0,1 mg/l

Ammonia Aquasonic Test tube & 1 x reagent dropper & tablets 0.1 PPM
tablets contain: sodium nitroprusside

Ph unsure Large chart container tube & phenol red 7.2
(from my old swimming pool)


hope thats what you were looking for.

but $13 for all those tests. thats unbeleiveable . is that $6 shipping charge just within the states isnt it? because if it where tocome to australia it would work out expensive?

i paid nearly $100 for 3 tests. but my tests are defintly not those dip strips.



and with the rock thing i found 2 large awesome lime stone rocks not in the ocean but 5km back from the shore in the sand dunes and was going to ask the lfs to treat it for me. because the fish shop must have to find rocks from somewhere and then treat them.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Big Al's only ships to Canada and the US. Sorry. But I'm sure you could find something similar where you are. Try the regional forums and see where people have bought theirs from or they can recommend some good sites to buy from.

I'm not really understanding the test results. Ammonia is at .1 ppm, Nitrites I don't know the conversion from mg/l to ppm. Same thing as ppm maybe? If you are showing an Ammonia reading, it could mean a couple things: 1) You recently added fish 2) There is a dead fish in the tank unnoticed 3) Overfeeding 4) An uncycled tank. Ammonia at a level of .1 is not bad. But if you are showing that it is present, then you need to find out why. I'm not farmiliar with that test kit so I can't really help you out with it. You really need to get a Nitrate reading. Can you take water to the lfs and see if they can test it for you?

Alot of fish stores purchase rocks from suppliers. I don't know any offhand that treat their own. Then again, they may do it and not inform you of it. 8O

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I did a quick search online to try and help find you a company that ships in Australia.

http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/6_65/products_id/7276

This is the Freshwater Master Test Kit.

Try searching their site.