Need your help setting up a new tank

[Emo1]

Hello all,
I am new here, and I am sure from what I read on the forums that I am in the best place for good advice.

So I not new to fishkeeping, but new to African cichlids, and need your help setting up a new tank.

This new tank I am hoping to use for keeping Aulonocaras Peacocks. I did alot of reading about them, and so I know all about overstocking, their mild Aggression, the need to overfilter, ........etc.
HOWEVER, my space is limited so I am having a bespoke tank built to order, and so I have 2 options available to me (for 2 different locations)

Option 1 is a 3.9 feet tank: (3.9' x 17.7" D x 15.7" H) which is (110cm L x 45xm D x 40cm H)
Option 2 is 2.0 feet tank: (2.0' x 21" D x 17.7" H) which is (60cm L x 53cm D x 45cm H)

Now here is my main question: Which of these 2 sized tanks you think I can use to keep Aulonocaras?

Another question is: As you can see my depth on both tanks is on the lowish side 15.7" for the 3.9 foot tank and 17.7" on the 2 foot tank, is this an issue with Aulonocaras?

Thank you very much for any advise you can give

 

[charliebankston]

I keep mine in a 4'L x 21"w. I think the depth is less important, because they all congregate at the bottom anyway. Really, the only time mine rise to the surface en mass is during feeding. I'd go for the longer tank, they'll swim more and enjoy the escape room. A few other tips I didn't learn from reading that I've picked up keeping them in the last couple of years. Keep the decorations to a minimum, no matter how big they'll knock them over anyway. Of course you know they like high ph and hard water. In my tanks, I don't bother messing with that stuff, but in the African tank I have limestone and crushed coral. If I keep the ph, gh, kh high, they have better colors. No caves, they'll just fight more. No females. They'll just fight more. Heavy filtration and bio filtration, esp if its heavily stocked. I have 5 filters (3 canisters) on my 100 w 24 fish. Be ready to see plenty of nipped dorsal fins and some tails and occasionally damaged eyes. They're mean to each other. And they love to filter substrate, I used to have sand in there, they dug around so much the sand literally ate up a power head and 2 aquaclear 110s I used to have on there

 

[charliebankston]

Now I recently changed to gravel

 

[Emo1]

Thank you very much Charliebankston for the advice, I am leaning towards the 3.9 foot option, and was worried about the height issue. How many Aulonocara you reckon I can stock in this tank (52g = 200L)?
Thanks again

 

[charliebankston]

I used to have 32 in my 100g, but it was hard to maintain detritus and nitrates, and several died. Now with about 2 dozen its easier to maintain. I think you could safely do 16-18 depending on adult size with no issues. Most peacocks are about the same size, it's the haps that get big

 

[charliebankston]

I do a weekly vacuum and 33% water change and with the high filtration I am clean and stable

 

[Emo1]

I used to have 32 in my 100g, but it was hard to maintain detritus and nitrates, and several died. Now with about 2 dozen its easier to maintain. I think you could safely do 16-18 depending on adult size with no issues. Most peacocks are about the same size, it's the haps that get big

16-18 ?
I thought more like 12. Given the shallow tank, I think I’d keep it on the lower stock level. You reckon 12 would encourage aggression?

 

[charliebankston]

No, I think 12 would be a good medium level stocking. 16-18 would be heavy max

 

[Emo1]

No, I think 12 would be a good medium level stocking. 16-18 would be heavy max

Thank you very much.

 

[charliebankston]

Yw! And good luck