Newbie, saying hello with a few questions

[godzilla]

Just wanted to say hi. My wife just got me a 55G kit for my Birthday and I am thrilled! I have been reading here regularly for a week or so now and it seems like I can make this as easy or difficult as I want!

I started off on the wrong foot. Stand she got me was missing a piece...no big deal right? We finally get the tank on it (after going back and getting the missing piece) get 50+lbs of CC and 40+ gallons of water in it, when we hear water dripping on the floor.....ARGH....so we siphon out, remove substrate, return to store...very frustrating....

Now that the stand is complete and the tank holds water, I have a few questions.

I plan to fishless cycle the tank, and from what im reading I have a few options to help speed things up. I will probably go the raw shrimp route, but I wanted to ask if I could also add live plants during this time, or if I should wait. I am going to go with some low light hardy plants, just to get some life into the tank until its time to stock...is that ok to do?

My pH is a bit high (7.8 ) but my choice to use CC is most likely to blame. As I read this forum, it seems CC is not the substrate of choice, but I like it

I also have a question about lighting, My hoods are generic 24" hoods with 15W, 18" T12 bulbs in them. I did some reading on how to calculate WPG and in my case its very easy (1+1=2)...but what options do I have aside from replacing the hoods to get more light into the tank for live plants? I cant seem to find a T12 18" bulb in higher wattage, so am I SOL or do I have options I am unaware of? I would rather not replace too much as it might offend my wife!

Sorry for the long post, im the kind of person that cant just start a hobby easily. I always go feet first and usually end up getting the most out of everything I try. I hope this experience will be the same...

Thanks!

Mike

 

[blazeyreef]

are you trying to use CC in a FW? I have never heard of that being done but I guess it could work......... ya...ok this is way OT, but it said this message was posted NOV 02/ 06 ...ya ok anyways, do you want like live plants or...? cause it depends on what you want to tell you what kind of light is good!
HPH

 

[godzilla]

are you trying to use CC in a FW? I have never heard of that being done but I guess it could work......... ya...ok this is way OT, but it said this message was posted NOV 02/ 06 ...ya ok anyways, do you want like live plants or...? cause it depends on what you want to tell you what kind of light is good!
HPH

Yes, CC is what im using...I really like the look of the Malawi Cichlid and hope to start off with a few of them once the tank is ready. This is another reason I want to go with a low light plant, something hardy that the Malawi Cichlid wont want to eat or dig up (tied to a piece of driftwood/rock)

That should answer your other question, yes...live plants (java fern, Anubias)

Mike

 

[severum mama]

Hi godzilla, and welcome to AA!!!!!

CC is a great substrate for Malawi cichlids, so I am glad you are interested in them. As it buffers up your pH, it is not so well suited for a community tank. Rift lake cichlids appreciate a higher pH though, so it's good for them. As far as decor, have you checked into Texas holey rock (honeycomb limestone)? Same story there, limestone buffers up your pH so it's not too great for a community tank, but Africans will like it as well as all the holes/caves in the THR.

Fishless cycling is an excellent choice as well, and obviously is a much less stressful option for your fish than fishy cycling. You should buy a test kit, so you can test your own water and figure out where you are in the cycling process IMO. The Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Test Kit is a good one, and is recommended a lot here. Just don't buy the test strips- they are notoriously inaccurate. You can go ahead and add the plants while you are cycling if you want. Both of those plants look awesome tied to a rock, and after a while they will attach so you can cut the string off. Some will tell you otherwise, but anubias and java fern are very hardy low light plants and I've had a lot of success with growing them in stock lighting. Try it and see how it goes before you spend the money on new lighting.

What kind of filtration do you plan to use? African cichlids are very messy, so I would shoot for at least 10x turnover with HOB filters, and a little less if you want to go with a canister. Overfiltering is good for ARLCs.

Congrats on your new tank, and if you have any other questions, ask away!

 

[blazeyreef]

the light (for those) does not have to be much, I grow java fern, java moss and anubais in less that 1WPG as the anubia, *and they are THRIVING let me tell you....* doesnt need the light as it is SOOOO SLOW to grow, they dont need higher lighting! and CC would be cool for a cichlid tank,..you diddnt specifi (opps hehe)....although, you may want to provide a sandy "area" as they like the sand (like in a corner or something...) I have seen that done and it looks really cool! I will add more in the AM hehe good luck!

 

[godzilla]

Hi godzilla, and welcome to AA!!!!!

What kind of filtration do you plan to use? African cichlids are very messy, so I would shoot for at least 10x turnover with HOB filters, and a little less if you want to go with a canister. Overfiltering is good for ARLCs.

The kit came with a whisper 60, which does NOT live up to its name by any means. It claims 330GPH so I would need more filtration for the fish I want....based on what you are saying (and what im reading elsewhere). If I have a low stock of fish (my plan for the first few months until I get comfortable with the maintenance), do you think I can get away with this filter for a while? I am not cheap by any means, but I hate wasting things and its a brand new filter! Later on I can add a canister filter to help with the workload if necessary

 

[JustOneMore20]

I suggest a cannister filter for Africans. I am learning now just how messy they are and mine are still juveniles! I have a Rena XP3 cannister and an Aquaclear 70 HOB filter. I had to add the AC because my XP3 wasn't cutting it with these messy guys. A 55g is a great size tank for them....you'll have many stocking options.

There are a couple options to increase the lighting on your current hoods. You could over drive the fixtures, but I am not the person to explain this...maybe someone else can help? Another option is to by a retrofit kit (I suggest ahsupply.com) where you will replace the bulbs and ballasts in your current fixture with CF ballasts and bulbs. Really though, this may be too much light for the plants you are wanting to grow. I don't think you will find T12 bulbs that are that length and more than 15w.

Besides those options, you could buy a new fixture. A 48" double T12 32w (64 total watts) would work. You could try growing java ferns and anubias with your current lighting and see if it will work. I'm not sure exactly how low of light those 2 will tolerate.

Welcome to the site by the way!!

 

[godzilla]

Ok, so things change quickly, and I dont do 1/2 hobbies. Either I get into it or I dont. I swapped the whisper 60 for a AC 110 and the AC is SILENT. what a difference. I also ordered a Eheim 2217, since my fish of choice are messy looks like I have a few items to go on ebay.....

I upgraded the hoods to some all glass ones, and stuck a 48" 110W CF strip on top...Now this is more like it. the tank looks 100x better under real light. 30W of NO light on a 55 gallon tank should be against the law....forget about plant life, just the look alone of more light is worth it...

Of course, I got many different opinions about cycling and decided to stick a few mollies in the tank to help get things going. this was reccomended on a few forums as well as by the LFS. I am learning so if I have done something taboo, let me know!

I plan to keep my stock low for a while, to make sure I know what the heck im doing with this thing but I plan to get a few (3-4) yellow labs and 1 demasoni to start. ill pick up a BN pleco later on down the line and see what else goes well with the labs

anyway, here is a picture of my tank as it sits...a few fake plants, a few real ones....

 

[jamesrm]

That is a very nice looking tank indeed! Good job and good choices on your filters.

 

[severum mama]

Lookin' good!!! I'm not surprised that you prefer the Aquaclear to the Whisper. The 110 moves a LOT more water, too. You'll love the Eheim too, I'm sure- those are really top of the line.

One comment- if your real plants don't last (and with African cichlids, they may not), you can use 50/50 bulbs (10000K/actinic) in your CF light and it will really bring out the fishes' color. If your plants survive all the digging and you want to add more, skip the 50/50's- the plants can't utilize the actinic light.

Great looking tank!