Hello from Miami, Fl
- Thread starter thebouncingparty
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Aquavic
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- Jul 28, 2012
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Dude that's awesome, how big is the tank?
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Its a 75 Gallon. I only wish i would have gotten a bigger tank. I guess there never big enough huh? Lol
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I just painted the sides black and ill be using tahitian black sand as my substrate. Im thinking the dark sand along with black walls are gonna make my cichlids really pop!
Aquavic
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- Jul 28, 2012
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No tank is ever big enough -_- Tahitian sand sounds great!! Are you putting live plants?
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OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Not planning on it since cichlids love to eat then up!
Aquavic
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- Jul 28, 2012
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Man that wouldve been amazing, what kind of cichlids
Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Awesome tank! Plant look nice I had over 80 Anubias but as they got older the plants just became toys and they chewed them up pretty bad, so I removed all of them.
Any rock work planned? Places for them to hide?
Any rock work planned? Places for them to hide?
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I was thinking of rocks but i dont know if it will take away from the look of the theme. I also only have about 7 inches on each side of the pyramid for it. Ive seen some cichlid rocks for sale. What would you use? I guess i really need that for a cichlid tank huh? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kinda stuck on what to do there!
Aquavic
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- Jul 28, 2012
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To not ruin the theme you could make It look like ruins. That would look spectacular.
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Would using driftwood be equivalent to using rocks as far as hiding places?
Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
You would really wanna get some type of rock scaping in there for them to hide and to break up the line of sight. In the tank you have going I think driftwood may kill your theme. Rocks would look much better IMO. Maybe get some rocks the same color or close like dark grey and light grey? Stack them towards the back to allow the front for open swimming.
This of course is just my opinion.
This of course is just my opinion.
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Thanks. Most appreciated. Do you think those cichlid rocks with wholes already in them would look good with this setup or are natural rocks better
Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
thebouncingparty said:
IMO I've both. Go with the more natural look plus those Cichlid stones which I had for awhile and a lot of them catch a lot of debris in them and hold them. Go natural, with your tank it will look amazing!!
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nice looking tank but...
For what it's worth, if you are going with African Cichlids, the driftwood would probably acidify your water which is not good for the Africans. They need hard alkaline water which Miami is noted for. (I'm a former South Floridian
who was in the fish biz there) Since you are not using any calcium based gravel, the last thing you want in the tank is something acidifying the water. You CAN use driftwood if you are going with South American Cichlids tho. More in tune with the Mayan theme BTW If you are going with Africans, they need many hiding spots to keep the peace amongst themselves so I'd use some rocks and make caves. If your decor is more important, you may want to rethink your fish selection. Just a thought
Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just to note I have 6 pieces of driftwood in my tank and no issues. I think the OP can still have a very sick looking African Cichlid tank if the OP just adds a nice rock scape like posted earlier. I don't think adding DW is bad for the tank. But do agree it will hinder the theme.
Stick with rocks for your tank to keep the theme going. Like I said before use some dark and light grey rock, make some caves, stack them towards the back and leave the front open for free swimming.
Stick with rocks for your tank to keep the theme going. Like I said before use some dark and light grey rock, make some caves, stack them towards the back and leave the front open for free swimming.
Number1cookie
Aquarium Advice Activist
Awesome tank theme!!! I would go eith the natural dark looking rocks as well!! Can't wait to see it finished!!
OP
OP
thebouncingparty
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Should i use round rocks or those flat stones everyone seems to be using. Ive seen too some round looking cichlid rocks with holes in them as well. Ive seen some texas holy rock too which is nice but that i think wont fit too well with the theme
Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
thebouncingparty said:
I'd use the flat stones. It would work better with your theme and you could easily stack them safely.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
For what it's worth...
Having come from New Jersey in the fish biz and moving to South Florida again into the fish biz, I can tell you that NY water is not the same as FL water and comparisons from the 2 places are not really suggested or at best, need to be taken cautiously. I moved fish down from NJ and the fish reacted poorly to the change, and these were Oscars and Angels so fragility was not the issue. It was the water.
I also know that driftwood, depending on which company it came from, did change the water chemistry in S. Florida. Anytime it leached, it acidified the water and the African Cichlids reacted poorly. Those that didn't leach anything and were "cured" were okay but you didn't really know for sure which one was safe until it was too late. (One company's cured was not another's.) Using a coral based gravel like Carib Sea's African Cichlid mix, for example, would have counter acted the acidity from the DW BUT the OP said he wasn't using a coral based gravel making it a crap shoot as to whether the fish would thrive in the tank.
The one thing that we aquarists need to remember is that water is not the same everywhere. It can be and usually is different from region to region, area to area, city to city and sometimes street to street. Having worked in Pet Stores and wholesalers from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami, I know this to be true
Here's an example: Eat a sub roll from Blimpie's in NY and one in Blimpie's in Miami and you can taste the difference. It's the water
Just some thoughts to think about.
Having come from New Jersey in the fish biz and moving to South Florida again into the fish biz, I can tell you that NY water is not the same as FL water and comparisons from the 2 places are not really suggested or at best, need to be taken cautiously. I moved fish down from NJ and the fish reacted poorly to the change, and these were Oscars and Angels so fragility was not the issue. It was the water.
I also know that driftwood, depending on which company it came from, did change the water chemistry in S. Florida. Anytime it leached, it acidified the water and the African Cichlids reacted poorly. Those that didn't leach anything and were "cured" were okay but you didn't really know for sure which one was safe until it was too late. (One company's cured was not another's.) Using a coral based gravel like Carib Sea's African Cichlid mix, for example, would have counter acted the acidity from the DW BUT the OP said he wasn't using a coral based gravel making it a crap shoot as to whether the fish would thrive in the tank.
The one thing that we aquarists need to remember is that water is not the same everywhere. It can be and usually is different from region to region, area to area, city to city and sometimes street to street. Having worked in Pet Stores and wholesalers from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami, I know this to be true
Here's an example: Eat a sub roll from Blimpie's in NY and one in Blimpie's in Miami and you can taste the difference. It's the water
Just some thoughts to think about.
