Bbroom's Fish tank log!

[bbroom89]

Hey guys!

A big read at the start so apologies!

So i am returning (in a small way) to keeping fish again. I previously had a 400l tank which varied in residents from a community tank, Discus(Didnt have much luck with these  ) And finally a rusty Plec and Oscar creatively called Rusty and Oscar.

I have been wanting to get back into the hobby for a while now and i wanted to make a real good go of a Malawi Cichlid tank. So when i saw a full Jewel 125/180 (i'm not sure) setup for £100.00 with loads of spare items and decorations.

Now most of the decorations won't stay as i'm more of a natural kind of guy! And the fish are being phased out over to the cichlids.

We started with a Siamese Fighting Fish, He was actually a very nice looking little bugger but unfortunately a little bugger none the less so he was the first to go.


The tank arrived and settled out like this initially with the rest of the other residents.






In total i got 1 SFF, 1 Angel, 1 Cory, 1 Upside down catfish, 5 Tetras, 1 Guppy, 2 Plecs (1 bristtlenose the other not so sure) and some snails (Which i could do with some help identifying). Of which all but the Catfish, Plecs, snails and maybe Cory will be leaving.



When i took the SFF in to the fish store i acquired my first 5 Cichlids! 2 Labs (Not sure what type) 1 Peacock, and not sure what the other 2 are.



The plans are to get a much more natural look in the tank and i have already ordered Limpopo sand. Apparently you guys on here go crazy for it! And another bit of driftwood. I think i will build a rock feature on one side and it will gradually develop into a sort of tree root area with maybe some fern or other low lying plants that won't end up being cichlid eaten!

As always opinions and advice are welcome, and any identifying of the fish and snail would be greatly appreciated!

[TropicalFishForums]

[plankton]

Hello
There are a few things going on here which aren't ideal, although I can understand why you're doing them.
The new cichlids will probably eat the guppy and neon tetras which may well not be good for their health as I believe they're veggies who will get bloat if they eat meat protein, like the angel will need. The angel and neons also need soft water.
The butterfly fish won't do well either with the new fish, although it does ok in hard water (like the new cichlids and guppy).
The cichlids really need a rocky aquascape, they will eat plants. You won't be able to get many in there either, despite the fact they have to be overstocked to avoid as much aggression as possible. It's a bit small for them, I would normally recommend a 240l as minimum. Smaller tanks are better for smaller Rift Lake cichlids (like shell-dwellers). They do all need very hard, alkaline water though.
Sorry it's a bit negative, but I can't leave it without advising for the best.

[bbroom89]

Hi Plankton!

Thank you for your reply.

I appreciate the honest feedback. I think as you say there is a lot of work and tweaking to be done and i can separate certain fish i have at the moment if needs be.

I am trying to prioritize the order as you say because of the amount of adjusting that needs to be done. I did wonder if i would struggle with size, in a 180 how many would you suggest? I was thinking maybe 20 with no other fish except plecs. I will be getting an external filter as well to make sure its well over filtered.

[Siege]

Hi,

Is your tank the 125 (80cm) or 180 (1m)?

I'm assuming your water is hard with a high ph. Do you know the water parameters?

Are you buffering the water with anything?

I know you said you've ordered sand, have you ordered tonnes of rocks also, limestone?
Nb. Limpopo sand is inert.

Have you seen any lake Malawi tanks on the internet that you are aiming for?

You need to do some serious research into type of fish that you are stocking. You can't afford to be vague about what ones you bought I'm afraid!

Sorry if my post comes across as negative, but you do come across as vague on some aspects.

A good article tha I was reading the other day, if you haven't seen it already.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/2016/7/24/the-mbuna-keepers-survival-guide

I know bugger all about African cichlids I'm afraid, but a well researched good tank does look fantastic.

I'm looking forward to seeing your progression!

[bbroom89]

Hi Siege,

I believe it is the 180, Hard water PH could use a little work. I have heard that coral rock etc can work well to help with this?

No water buffer in place at the moment any recommendations appreciated.

I have a general idea of what style i want and how i want it to progress. It will be heavy rocky at one end and tree roots at the other with some java fern etc around the bottoms of the roots.

I have read a few guides on them and the one your mentioned from PFK was one of them.

Again i appreciate the feedback so do not fear if you feel it sounds negative as it is constructive!

[Siege]

No problem.

Have a look on your water providers website for water parameters.
Get a decent liquid test kit.

Both seachem and JBL do a African lake water buffer additive to add to the water.

http://www.seachem.com/malawi-victoria-buffer.php

You'll want decor to buffer the water (maintain hardness and ph)
- limestone rocks. You'll need lots of rocks for the rock dwellers anyway.
Crushed coral in the substrate and / or in the filter.

Maybe forget about wood in the tank, you won't want anything that will reduce the ph.

A big external filter 1000 lph flow as a minimum to add to your internal. (Make sure it fits in your cabinet before buying!).

You could add a small wavemaker for extra flow but an external filter will be a better option as your tank will be overstocked for the Juwel internal to cope with on its own.

Most pleco are soft water, so might want to look at lake Malawi catfish instead,many might grow too large though.

I'd suggest getting your scape and hardware done and seriously get on top of the water parameters before adding any more fish.

Go to a decent fish shop with proper labelling (not generic pets at home mixed mbnuna tank!). Research before you buy.

 

[bbroom89]

I thought they were hard but apparently the water is very hard!

The water in your area is very hard.

To help set your domestic appliances, the water hardness in different units is:
      328 mg/l (or parts per million)   :Calcium Carbonate
      131.2 mg/l (or parts per million)   :Calcium
      22.829 °C   :Degrees Clark
      32.8 °F   :Degrees French
      18.63 °dH   :Degrees German
      3.28 mmol/l   :Millimoles

I will take a look at the African Lake water buffer additive!

Next things i do will be transition away from the fish i have been given and work on getting the layout etc ok. No more fish additions for a while! I really like the look of wood but if needs must i have no problem removing!

I was intrigued by UV Sterilisers as well so was looking at this combined filter

https://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aquarium/filters/external/1400lh-9w-uv-ef2-plus/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwp83KBRC2ARIsAGMWFzpjSoEfryJi9hugB2JPOkXryIulVetN2uygdbmxd38NW0MgDTL44fAaAsz7EALw_wcB

Is there any catfish you would recommend?

[Siege]

Others on here use APS filters. I think they overstate the amount of flow but are really good value and they seem pleased with them.

Will be a good size for your tank. You could even go the next size up 2,000 lph! (You'll probably get half that anyway).

You'll need to change the uv bulb every 6 months or so (I use uv as well).

Stevie Mancini uses the pre filter boost box as well. You could do the same. Taking all the mechanical filteration before the main filter. You could then pack it with decent bio media and have spare room for crushed coral.

Just food for thought 

Your water is very similar to mine. I'm assuming a ph of 7.6 or similar. The seachem additive will push it higher, more into the mid range for lake Malawi.
The coral and tank stones will then maintain it.


Edit. I'd definitely go the next size filter up if it fits in the cabinet!

Ps. You'll probably be cutting a bigger gap in the tank lid to fit any hose above 12/16.

[bbroom89]

Yeah i think the readings on ph were 7.5-7.8!

That might be a good idea as i would like to grow eventually (Although i need to find a good new location) Better to future proof!

I like the idea of doing that and getting the coral in the filter. I have been debating what rock to go for in the tank, is it a case of anything or specific ones like the limestone to help maintain levels? I would like to to look as good as possible with the sand substrate.

[Siege]

Re rocks, its up to you really. Just don't mix types, it'll ruin it if you do.

Your ph is reasonable anyway so limestone will just stop the ph going below 7.5 ish.

Saying that limestone might look nice against your Limpopo sand but might look very dark?
Might look smart if you you have marine white light tubes (maybe 1 white and 1 white/blue mix) (have a look at iquatics website).

Have a look what you like. If you can get something that will buffer the ph all the better.

Just make sure if both your substrate and stones are inert do make sure you have crushed coral in the filters.

Edit. Don't forget you want ph at 8ish so it'll be trial and error as to How the seachem stuff and then crushed coral will hold it there.

[Siege]

Something like these?

Change your background to black?

[Stevie Mancini]

If your going down the route of using APS external filter then most definitely go for the 2000lt/h ex model with the UV bulb in them. Note: purchase it of their own website, believe it or not I've seen it being sold on fleabay for an extra £60 on top.

Again, if you go that route, spend and extra four flims on the booster canister. As Siege says, the booster will house the mechanical ( sponges - course, medium and fine ) which will collect all the muck. This would then leave the 2000 filter for just biological, four baskets of biological. It's the perfect set up.

For example. I run two 2000lt/h EX models with UV. So that's 4000lt/h. I also run the boosters on each. The sponges I clean once per month and the biological filter, well, I haven't had to clean it yet so it's a great set up.

Again, if you go down the route of EX filters then have a think about what media you want in there. There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not bio rings and bio balls do any good which come with the filters.

My experience is the media that comes with APS filters is just awful. I binned it. The foams that come in the boosters are great. In the main bio filter you may want to look into stocking it with Bioholme ultra or alfagrog.

I've been running this set up a while now with great success so if you need and help in this estate then I'll try and guide you.

Having said that, if you the money then get the eheim FX. No questions asked 

[bbroom89]

Something like these?

Change your background to black?

Will definitely be going black background. I like a bit more of the mixed rock in the top one. But yeah i like that idea!

edit: Sorry missed your previous post Siege was eager to reply after finishing work. I like the idea of having it dark with the right lights to make the fish pop.

Steve,

Typing eheim fx in amazon brings me no joy! I know this is a question but shed some light. Depending on cost i do like the idea of getting an overkill model to future proof and the booster canister.

[Stevie Mancini]

Something like these?

Change your background to black?

Will definitely be going black background. I like a bit more of the mixed rock in the top one. But yeah i like that idea!

Steve,

Typing eheim fx in amazon brings me no joy! I know this is a question but shed some light. Depending on cost i do like the idea of getting an overkill model to future proof and the booster canister.

https://www.eheim.com/en_GB/products/technology/external-filters

I don't have any experience with their external filters but i sooooo want a professional 4e+.

The link above is their range. Siege can advice better than me on eheim as he runs them, as do some others on here.

Top tip: you can still run a booster filter from APS with them and for only £20, why not   

[Stevie Mancini]

Forgot to say black is a great choice if you have the appropriate lighting to set up the scene for your fish. It took me a while to get it right. Have you thought about how your going to make it black? Paint? Laminate? Etc