# Moving from a planted setup on a 400l tank.



## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

I have had a 400l tank for the last 4 years and while I have enjoyed the community setup with the plants, I felt it was time for a change and a Cichlid tank seemed to be the way forward. So with the purchase of a new filter (FX6), heater pump, 25kg of Lava Rock and 45Kgs of coral sand, I set about making the change.

The previous setup.









Almost cleaned out after 4 hours.









Filling the tank after the egg crate, Rocks and Substrate had been washed and fitted. 









I've put the old fish back in for the time being, to keep the filter cycle going but most of these will have a new home before the new arrivals come in. 









And the next day, once the water had pretty much cleared down. 









I'm now working on a stocking list for my LFS to supply me with. Any ideas are more than welcome but I will be doing quite a bit of reading up on here to get some good ideas.

I've also got to decide if I leave the wood in place or add further rocks to the scape. 25kgs didn't really go that far so I added the wood from the old setup to 'bulk' it up for the moment but do also like the contrast. Any thoughts?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Wow if I could grow plants like that, I would never stop.

Rocks depends on your species choices.


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## Aaron S (Apr 4, 2015)

I agree with DJ that I thought your old planted tank looked amazing! You should have just gotten a second tank  Keeping the wood is fine. I wanted some wood like that in my tank, but it got all gross for long enough that I couldn't handle it and threw it away. The nice thing about the wood is it provides something that goes all the way to the top of the tank which is really difficult to do with rocks.


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

Thanks for the comments. The issue i had with the plants was the level of work needed to keep the tank clean. The sand ended up very dirty in the places where the cleaner couldn't reach.

Any recommendations on species? I was looking at this thread as there were some good stocking ideas for a 5ft tank - viewtopic.php?f=9&t=398034

Cheers
R


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Those are good, but all we needed was Malawi mbuna mixed gender.

Shoot for 25 fish (of comparable small-average, peaceful-medium aggression fish). Lots more rocks...try to get at least 1/3 the height of the tank.

Rocks first...then substrate so dirt can't get underneath. And use a turkey baster to blast debris out of the rock piles if desired during water changes.


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## Aaron S (Apr 4, 2015)

It is really difficult to make a recommendation for the fish you should keep without knowing what you like. mbuna or peacocks and haps (all male)? There are pro's and con's to each, but if you dont have another tank you could put troublemakers in then I would suggest against the all-male tank. Once you decide on that question then you have to select the aggression level you want for the tank. This is closely tied to the next decision of "is there a fish in particular that catches your attention?"


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

Fair play on the rocks. I think it will need another 25-35Kgs as a minimum so will get that ordered over christmas.

Fish wise, I had seen a number of tanks that I really like online and which gave me the idea for the change of tank (pictures below). I do like the darker blue fish colours but with either silver or yellow tank mates to offer contrast. The black background should help with this. I have also switched off one of the 4ft led strips to cut down on the lighting as well.

The mixture of colours and number of fish appeal here. Especially the different shades of blue against the darker rocks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That is an all-male tank of haps and peacocks. Read the Cichlid-forum Library article on all-male. As mentioned...extra tanks and tinkering for 2 years to get a workable mix. But for all-male you don't need as many rocks.

Also note the photo lighting is "managed" here...the fish don't look that intense day to day.

In the picture is not a recommended mix...aggressive mbuna like auratus and red zebras with haps and peacocks.


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

sounds like I have a lot of reading to do.

Many thanks for the advice!


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

So, the last of the rock arrived as well as my air pump (still not sure if I will be keeping this)

Day lighting (water is still cloudy from the moving the sand around. 









and night lighting (this is about 1/4 of the light of day lighting but the camera likes to make it look a lot brighter than it is.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Good for mbuna...not so much for haps and peacocks. Have you decided on species as yet?


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

Taking your advice on the mbuna idea and looking at the suggestions in the cookie cutter section, I'm thinking:-

8 x Metriaclima callainos - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=787
8 x Labidochromis caeruleus - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=713
8 x Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1460

Opening to other suggestions as always though...


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

To me the acei and callainos colors are a little too close...I like some contrast. Maybe you would like the Ngara acei (navy). Or Cynotilapia sp. hara instead of callainos to get a barred male.

You might want to buy more than 8 to end up with 1m:7f of each.


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

Thanks. I'll take a look at those. On stocking quantities, I was a little wary of overstocking the tank but sounds like 24 fish might be too little. What is a good number to be looking at?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Twenty four or twenty five is perfect...even if your tank was 72". You could probably do fine with 20 individuals as well.


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## 1stRaven (Dec 8, 2016)

I'm liking the Cynotilapia sp. "hara" to be honest.

On the stocking then, would it be best for just two species, to ensure the male:female ratios?

on a side note, crystal clear water again:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In most cases a single male/species works best. Yellow labs and acei can be exceptions. So no, I would go with the three species or even four.

Sometimes multiple Cynotilapia sp. hara will color up (like 3m:9f) but I have not had luck with it. If you go with Metriaclima callainos a single male is probably safest.


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