# Converting my marine setup to a cichlid setup



## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

I currently have a 5x2x2 marine tank setup fully stocked that I have fell out of love with for various reasons. So I was going to change it over to a tropical tank that I have had experience with in the past it was 15 years ago and I came across this forum. I absolutely love the look of different type of cichlid but have no idea where to begin. So I am hoping you guys can help me out with as much information as possible.

What can I use from my current setup?
Can I use anything to help with the cycle? Some of current tank water or Live Rock for example.
What fish will be suited for my size tank and how many can I get in? bearing in mind I have a Powder Blue Tang and a Regal Angel untill recently that I always thought were stunning fish so the brighter the better.

My water is a soft water if that make a difference. I am going to have a good read through the forum and see what I can find. So all help and input is really appreciated as you can see I am absolutely cluless.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Marine bacteria will not survive the switch to freshwater, so you will have to start over with the cycle. You can use the Live Rock but first you have to kill off everything that lives in/on it or it will rot/pollute your tank. The skimmer won't be useful.

What are your test results from the tap for pH and KH, both immediately and after 24 hours?

I don't do soft water, so I'll let others chime in with stocking suggestions. Focus on new world cichlids. Discus come to mind.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Will check out my tap water in the next couple of days. The malawais have really caught my eye. Was thinking some black sand and lots of rocks. Any suggestions on type of malawais and numbers. I am starting to get quite excited about the whole process. I appreciate your feed back dj.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Hey did my tests 24 hours apart and the pH was 7.0 and kh 1. Will that make it harder to keep mauba as that's the fish I have been reading up on.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Mbuna even.


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

I just bought a 72 gallon bowfront that was set up as a marine tank that I have just converted to a Malawi tank. I've had both fresh and saltwater tanks for about two years now. I've actually "borrowed" a few ideas from the marine side for this 72 gallon build (going to start a build thread here soon). In the past I've used power (HOB) filters, canisters, etc... but for me, I prefer a sump. My 72 is reef ready, so that's great! Is your tank?

I've set up a "Herbie" drain to the sump where the water flows through large poret foam sheets (30 and 10 ppi), I'm running low to moderate flow through my sump. Then it flows through some "live" rock (bought some dry rock for this), which I chose because it's so porous and will make great media for bacteria and harden the water a bit as well. That's all the media I have in the sump and it works great. I've cycled with ammonia and it processes a large dose overnight. I'm also setting up a fuge and algae scrubber down there.

Since I'm not running high flow through the sump I have a pair of Jebao wavemakers in the tank that keep detritus suspended until it finds its way to the overflow. If you have powerheads/wavemakers, I say use them! Marine skimmers do not work in FW, so I'm hoping my algae scrubber will compensate by absorbing some nutrients.

As far as water hardness, you don't have to match the lake. Consistency is more important... that being said, your water seems very soft. Luckily I have hard water from the tap, so I don't have experience with soft water. Lake Malawi is less hard than Tanganyika, so those fish may be easier to keep. Maybe others with soft water will comment. I hope you get the answers you need and I look forward to seeing pics of your tank!


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

Forgot to mention that I'm using marine LEDs on this tank and I think it looks fantastic!


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Thanks for your reply. I use the herbie method at the moment for my sump and it's by far the quietest. Got plenty of powerheads so that's a plus also have everything for setting up a algae scrubber. So you don't use any form of external filter at all? Was thinking of using colony to cycle the tank that I have used successfully on my reef but unsure as I would hope to put in a lot of fish in one go so don't know how it would cope. Any other tips more than welcome.


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

Nope, no external filters at all! All that I have are the 2 poret foam sheets and the "live" rock. The live rock chunks are fairly large, so I can pull all of them out, put them in a container of tank water, and use my "bucket head" shop vac to clean the sump... quick and easy. To "polish" the water, I can insert poly-fil pillow stuffing between my baffles. This stuff is cheap, so I plan to just toss and replace it when I clean my sump. I'll post some pics soon...

All you need to cycle the tank is pure ammonia. Make sure there are no surfactants or other additives (shake and make sure it doesn't foam). Dose it up to 3-4 ppm and wait for the bacteria to process it to nitrate. Repeat until you can process the ammonia in 24 hours. Do a large water change to remove the nitrates and you are safe to add all your fish. Adding media or filter sludge from an established FW tank will speed up this process A LOT, but it's not needed.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would bump up the KH to at least 4 to avoid pH swings. You don't have to have pH=8 but 7.0 might be pushing it.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

What would be the simplest way to bump up kh. As I imagine I will be doing a large water change every week.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Baking soda. Yes do 50% weekly or more. Or choose cichlids that like soft water.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Thanks again for your response. I have really fell for the lake Malawi species so hope to make them work. Would storing the water that I am going to use for water changes in a water butt in a outhouse at the same levels and temp as tank then when I wanted to do my wc water out then pump new water in. Sorry for all the questions just trying to get everything right and I am really enjoying going through the forum.


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

I don't think storing/aging water is really necessary. It looks like your tank is 150 gallons, so you are looking at ~75 gallons to change. I'd probably just fill 2 44-gallon brute trash cans with ~80 degree water, add conditioner and enough baking soda to get up to KH=4, and mix them with a couple old powerheads. Once it's thoroughly mixed, pump it in.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

Good news the simpler the better. Still waiting on pics of your tank. Is there not a tank thread section on the site where you can progress tank builds. Would be a good learning area. How are you getting on with your tank just now anyway.


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## Cyphound (Oct 20, 2014)

Get yourself a python or similar device Storing is not needed. I would think most use this method. Just put your additives into a 3-4 gallon new bucket that is only used for W/C. When refilling with the python dump that in as it refills. You can get your water temp right at the sink and then go.


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## craigyboy (Jun 20, 2015)

What's a python. I live in Scotland so have had to do a bit of digging to see if we can get certain things that are mentioned.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Flexible hose that attaches to faucet. Flip a switch to siphon or refill. No buckets. Aqueon also sells a similar product, but the hose is stiff and you would be surprised what a difference that makes when you are dragging it around.


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

craigyboy said:


> Still waiting on pics of your tank...


Yeah, I need to gather up some pics and post them.

Instead of a python, I bought an $8 RV water hose (for potable water) and a $3 sink hose adapter from the hardware store. Works great.


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## Cyphound (Oct 20, 2014)

Here is a link. for python
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=3910


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

craigyboy said:


> Still waiting on pics of your tank...


Ok, I've finally posted some pics of my setup... you can find them here:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=360690

I'll be adding more... but it's a start and may give you some ideas!


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