60 Gallon Malawi Build

[FishyPhil]

Hi everyone. I have just recently purchased a used 4 foot long 60 gallon tank and stand, with Fluval U4 filter, two heaters, large two piece ship, two pumps (one being the aps 400) nutrafin mini master test kit, oh, and about 16 tetras and two large khuli loaches (which have gone into my 33 gal community tank). All this for only £50! (Roughly $79) Oh, and a 3D background! What a bargain! See picture below:

Ok, so here is the equipment i'm planning on using:

A good 300 watt heater (or should I use two separate heaters?)
2 AllPond Solutions 1400EF+ External filters, each with 9W UV light (combined = 300+ gallon rated. Is this overkill? I want extremely well filtered and clear water)
May keep the 3D background if it cleans up ok. Or possibly may tile the back with real slate tiles.
Will possibly arrange small square slate tiles from hardware store as caves and hiding places, or may just go with some other stone.
Coral Sand as a substrate (My tapwater PH is roughly 7.5. Will the coral sand raise the PH, and roughly by how much do you think?)

I'll be visiting the beach soon. Does anyone know if its safe to use small and large pebbles/stones from the beach? Would I have to soak them to remove any salt content?


This is where i'm looking for the most advice - stocking! I'm thinking about the following stocking:

8 Yellow Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus)
8 Pseudotropheus Acei
4 Cuckoo Catfish (Synodontis Multipunctatus)

Should I add more than 8 of each species of cichlid as they'll be juveniles, then remove some when they're larger to get the right ratio? If so, what numbers do you recommend?

From what i've read, the above should be fine together? However, I also love both Frontosa and Blue Dolphin (Cyrtocara Moorii). Would it be possible to have a single one of these with the above? Not together, just one or the other. I know they get big, but I would start with juvenile or mid size fish with all of the above. Perhaps then if they do get too big or there are problems I could put it in a larger tank? How long does it take for these fish to mature in general?

I'm taking my time with this setup, as I have only just completed my 33 gal a month ago I have been informed by my fiancee that I must wait until after our wedding (may the 4th) before I can start spending loads of money on this new tank! But I did save a lot on the tank itself, so that helps!

I love the contrast of blue and yellow, so that's why I like the above choices. Plus I think it looks more spectacular when you have larger groups of a couple of colours rather than a mix of everything, but that's personal choice!

What are your thoughts on my choices? I've heard the labs and acei are the milder type of mbuna?

I will keep posting more pics as I progress further with the tank! Thanks for reading

 

[Slade]

You got a great bargain. Over-filtration is good for Mbuna, I'd say you're just right. a 300W heater is fine - I have a 200W in my 55 gallon, although some people recommend 2 smaller heaters at opposite ends.
I started my tank about a year ago with 8 Yellow Labs & 7 Albino P. socolofi at about 1.5". None have died, but now that they're grown to 3-4" its about the max for this tank. If it were a 75 gallon, I'd add some P. acei.
You should have no problem with beach stones. Wash them well to remove any contamination, but stones don't retain salt.
Watch out for algae from that window.

 

[CraigMac]

Wow! Great deal and that background looks sweet! I have yellow labs and acei and I love the contrast. I have no issues between them.

Good luck!

 

[FishyPhil]

Thanks for the comments guys! Good to hear you're having success with both species!

I am slightly concerned about the window. Although the sun isn't normally on it all day. What can I do to prevent algae growth? Could I put a common pleco in the tank? SeaChem Purigen perhaps?

Here is a picture of the tank after several hours of rinsing, emptying, rinsing, emptying..... lol and a fair but of scrubbing:

And here is a close up of the 3D background. I can see it would of been great when it was new, however it has some wear and tear. Any suggestions of repair? It's made of foam. Could I use aquarium safe paint to restore it? Although if that's too expensive i'll probably just take it out!

 

[Slade]

Your background looks fine as-is - a lot better than my tanks. I just have a taped on black plastic background, a lot of people paint their tanks. As long as you can't look through and see the wires & tubing it is ok.

 

[CraigMac]

Most of the mbuna's graze on algae so if it's on the plants and rocks its a good thing. Get a magnet cleaner to take care of the glass. I also have some snails that keep the glass clean.

You don't want a common pleco, they get huge. I have a bristle nose pleco in with mine.

 

[CraigMac]

Oh, and as far as the background......once the tank is full of water and it gets a little algae on it it will look very natural and awesome.

 

[FishyPhil]

I just thought, considering that ill have uv filtering, doesn't uv destroy algae? Although perhaps it would make the background look better!

 

[Mogurako]

In my opinion the UV filtration is not really needed, you will however need roughly 600 gallons per hour of filtration to help keep the water in the pristine condition that your desire. I would go with one high quality 300w heater vs two cheaper ones.

You don't really need to buffer your water if the ph is already at 7.5 however if you do I would add crushed coral to the filter and it will raise the ph to 8.0-8.4. For substrate I prefer pool filter sand or aragonite based sand normally used for saltwater, just make sure not to use live sand.

As for the stock yes on the labs no on the Acei, fronts and moori. Fronts and Moori grow much to large for your tank and need to be kept in groups of their own kind. The Acei should really be kept in a 6' tank due to their activity levels.

 

[CraigMac]

Moguraki is right that acei are active and 6' is ideal for them. With that said though I have 4 in my 4' 90 gallon tank and others have them in a 4' tank and they do well. So, if your sold on them I wouldn't rule them out but thee are probably better options for a 4' tank for you that still are blue in color.

 

[Maxkolbe]

If you're looking for a blue mbuna you might want to check out cobalt zebras.
Here's a picture of mine with a red zebra swimming out of the picture.

Good luck, I probably spend more time looking at my 60 gallon Malawi tank than the TV

 

[T-man02]

Most of the mbuna's graze on algae so if it's on the plants and rocks its a good thing. Get a magnet cleaner to take care of the glass. I also have some snails that keep the glass clean.

You don't want a common pleco, they get huge. I have a bristle nose pleco in with mine.

May I ask what kind of snails you have and were I can find some. Sorry if this is a thread jack

 

[T-man02]

Here is my cobalt

 

[Jason7894561230]

Nice 3d! Can i segguest Labeotropheus Fuellborni i have some and they are so awesome!

 

[FishyPhil]

I really do like the Ps. Acei. Unfortunately I don't have room for a 6 foot long, at least not yet. So I may give them a go and see how it goes. At least there are a few others having success with a similar setup. Although I appreciate the comments and wish I could provide a 6 foot tank for them. Any suggestions on a lone mbuna (or hap/peacock that could safely go with the lab and acie?) that would really stand out and not exceed 6 inches? I want a bit of a show piece fish if I can. Not that the others won't be!

600 gallons? Wow, that's a lot. I'm currently running an external fluval 206 and an internal Fluval U3 on my 33 gal and the water in that is pristine, almost like the fish are floating in mid air! I'm careful not to overfeed and do weekly 50% water changes, which I will replicate with the 60 gal. Although I realise i'll have bigger fish in the 60 gal and therefore more waste. I'll have to see how it goes. What are your recommendations on filters to achieve 600 gallon rated?

Many thanks for all of the comments! I am leaning more towards keeping the background now! I may just touch it up here and there. I did think about cutting thin strips of green foam and layering it (with aquarium safe silicone?) where it has come away! Watch this space!

 

[Maxkolbe]

I don't know if you would consider it a show fish but the feather fin syndontis is really cool. You might also want to try an OB red zebra.

 

[CraigMac]

May I ask what kind of snails you have and were I can find some. Sorry if this is a thread jack

I have Mts snails, my local fish store has them for about 5 bucks each. They keep them in all their cichlid tanks to help keep clean.

 

[FishyPhil]

I have just spotted Pseudotropheus Socolofi! This looks very much like the yellow labs, but blue with black fins! Would this be ok to keep with the labs instead of the Acei?

 

[Maxkolbe]

According to a book about Malawi cichlids I have they get to three inches, are omnivores, and are mildly aggressive. It does say that they can be kept with Labs but to avoid keeping with highly aggressive species. Here's the pic in the book.

 

[Mogurako]

The reason I say 600 GPH is because most people agree that when overstocking a tank or having a tank that contains messier cichlids is best to have enough filtration to turn over the entire volume of your tank 10-12 times an hour. Depending on the stock and how many fish are added you are looking at minimum two 30-50% PWC weekly to keep everyone heathy and happy. I would suggest a Fluval FX5 it's a great filter has 600+ GPH and can normally be picked up online for under $250 with free shipping.

I would not mix Haps, Mbuna and peacocks, I believe each is best suited to species only tank. If you want a "cichlid community tank" go with Lake Tanganyika fish. I know people claim that they have no problem mixing fish and report that they all get along fine. To this I ask how long has everything thing been " fine"? 6 months to a year or so? Congratulations you have kept fish alive for about 1/10th of their total life span, it's when they become adults an start breeding that you can run into problems.

As far as the Haps go IMO there are no Haps that are suited for a tank under 6' even though some of them only get 5-8" they require allot of swimming space to be healthy/ happy and need to be stocked differently than Mbuna.