# Which of these 3 aquascape pics do you prefer? 97g bowfront



## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

Hi all, 
Putting together this African (Mbuna?) Cichlid tank. 97 gallon Bowfront.
Here are my first 3 attempts at aquascaping.
Would love to hear your advice & ideas. Pick one of these, or should I start over??
The substrate will be Cichlid Eco-Complete Zack Black sand.
I Will be adding a bunch of plastic plants (as opposed to silk)
Use your imaginations as there is no water or plants or ruble holey rock scattered around the bottom.
Hope you can see there are 3 large pieces of Mopani driftwood in there too.
I will hide heaters and stuff with the plants and more rock if necessary.
So, what do you think/suggest.
Thank You.

*NUMBER 1*









*NUMBER 2*









*NUMBER 3*








This one is just the start of a concept where I was going to raise a bunch of rock up 
off the floor of the tank. I wasn't sure if the driftwood could maintain the weight over time
though. I did kinda like where it was heading though.


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## Steveboos (Dec 23, 2011)

I like number one the most, but that's just me. Keep in mind you will be cleaning the tank every month or 2, so you can change it everytime you do so to do gravel vacuums/sand vacuums.

Plus your fish will like the extra caves created by the first design.


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## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

I agree. Number one.... by far.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

If you add plants, it's going to look really busy. But, if that's the look you're going for then Number 1. It also has the stability that options 2 and 3 lack. 
As mentioned, you're also going to have to rearrange the rock work to do regular maintenance so keep that in mind.

_(Also- no need for egg crate. Your fish are going to dig and it's going to look ugly once exposed.) _ :thumb:


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

I want this tank to look fantastic, so any and all suggestions would be welcome.
Also, I don't have any idea of the 'look' I want yet. That's why I'm just playing with designs.

Ref: the Egg crate comment:
Thought I needed the egg crate to disperse the weight of the rock.
I also found that the egg crate stabilized the rock as I was building it.
Hmmm, what if I somehow color the egg crate black?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

edshern said:


> Thought I needed the egg crate to disperse the weight of the rock.


It's a myth. The tank can withstand the weight.

True, it can stabilize the rocks but IMO, the rocks should be stable enough on a thin layer of substrate.

But if you prefer to use it, then go for it. I was just saying it's not necessary.


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## Cromak (Dec 29, 2010)

number 1 as well or 3 for easy cleaning


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## Bahilman (Dec 24, 2011)

Number one.


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## atorres (Aug 23, 2009)

Is that real driftwood? If yes, it will lower your ph and create ph instability which will stress your mbunas.


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## Steveboos (Dec 23, 2011)

The eggcrate is good, helps me a lot in my 125 gallon keep the rocks where i want them. I love it and have about 2 inches of substrate so i never have to worry about seeing it.


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

yes, it's real driftwood


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## Vamze (Feb 16, 2012)

atorres said:


> Is that real driftwood? If yes, it will lower your ph and create ph instability which will stress your mbunas.


how chemically unstable do you think water is? Water has such a thing as a buffer capacity.


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

I was hoping that all the limestone in there would buffer it.
Someone mentioned it was to crowded so I redid it with only one piece
of driftwood. How about this NUMBER 4 (before plants, substrate and water


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Number 4 looks a lot better. :thumb:


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## AfricanLove (Jan 2, 2012)

DanniGirl said:


> Number 4 looks a lot better. :thumb:


Yup I wish I could get a tank to look more like that. :thumb: Wait maybe I should get a bigger tank first


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## Vamze (Feb 16, 2012)

edshern said:


> I was hoping that all the limestone in there would buffer it.
> Someone mentioned it was to crowded so I redid it with only one piece
> of driftwood. How about this NUMBER 4 (before plants, substrate and water


Don't worry about your driftwood. If you, like most, have hard alkaline tap water, the buffer capacity will keep you PH value very stable for a very long period of time. Just do water changes once per 2 weeks to renew the buffer capacity and you are good.

It is correct that if you fill your tank with driftwood and leave it there without changing the water - EVER. The PH value might eventually decline. But it will take some time. And you will renew the buffer capacity with every water change.


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## Steveboos (Dec 23, 2011)

I like number 4 even more! Plenty of hiding spots AND plenty of open space, loving it!


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I still like #1. Any how now and then you will have to pull out the rock and scrub it to clean all the algae that will form unless you have some cleaning crew like BNP or nerite snails.

I think #1 is the most natural looking. none of the 4 will be easy to vacuum the tank unless you take the rocks out and re-arrange...tell me about it, I have a bunch of Holey rock in my 100 gallon....

It's going to look awesome and remember this is your tank and the design that really gets your attention is the one that you want to keep because you will be the one looking at it....just a thought :thumb:


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## D*N*R (Jul 27, 2011)

My rocks grow brown algae (alot do UUg) i would use half and rotate. And a vacuum hassle I do every other day,white sand and i dont want it in my water. But good luck and you can change it any time-i like pic. two. opcorn:


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I use olive nerite snails, I have 10 in my tank (100g) they keep the Holey rock...white and clean, they are my best alga cleaning crew...they run about $1.00 a piece...money well spend.


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## cdunn1221 (Feb 19, 2012)

Number 4 is nice too. Either 1 or 4 I say


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

Been looking at a bunch of setups, and I can't see a good way to make Texas Holey Rock look natural.


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## Azballa7 (Jul 12, 2007)

What kind of fish do you plan on stocking the tank with??

Skittish fish may hide more in all those rocks and you will hardly get to see them...which is no fun.


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

good question Azballa,
This is my first cichlid tank & I actually haven't started to narrow down my choices yet.
The only decision so far is that the tank will be high ph, and I would like very colorful fish.
I will now add to my requirements that they not be skittish too (great suggestion)
Any thoughts on what fits the bill?
Thanks
Ed


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## whiskeyriver (Nov 29, 2011)

I wouldn't put driftwood OR plants in there. Not very natural to the area where the fish come from.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

I think just a group of Yellow labs or Salousi would look great. Specially against the white rock.

As far as the set up just pick one and go with it. It will most likely change anyway as you clean it and do water changes. Thats the nice thing with holey rock it's pretty forgiving setting it up.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

is it just me, or does the rock look like a bunch of bleached out skulls? I find it super creepy when it is so white!

LOL


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

That's what I said, Texas holey rock does not look natural!!


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

The final setup. Just added Dr. Tims One & Only, so I will add fish in about 7 days if all goes well.
Probably an all male Hap tank.


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## AulonoKarl (Mar 9, 2012)

I think it looks fantastic. Good work. Bow fronts have been growing on me lately.


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## jkulysses (Apr 5, 2003)

edshern said:


> The final setup. Just added Dr. Tims One & Only, so I will add fish in about 7 days if all goes well.
> Probably an all male Hap tank.


Looks really good I like how it turned out!! Queston though, are you adding ammonia to the tank and doing a fishless cycle?? The only reason I'm asking is because Dr. Tims one and only should be added the same time as the fish.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

If you are doing an all male hap tank, why do you have so much rock? In general haps are more open water swimmers. By having this much rock you've built a very ideal mbuna tank, but not really an ideal hap tank. Just something to consider. Personally I would reduce the amount of rocks if you are going to go with haps.


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## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

I used Dr. Tims product in a fishless cycle. I wouldnt recommend adding Dr. Tims and fish at the same time.... I still had ammonia readings that are harmful to fish. Dr. Tims product just cut the cycling time down significantly.

Oh... and the tank looks great!! :thumb:


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

Yes, I am doing a fishless cycle. I did add ammonia to the tank, about 3ppm. Will add fish next Friday if the readings are zero.

LOL- all the rock is in there because I planned this to be a Mbuna tank, then changed my mind after buying all the rock. Someone convinced me that the male Haps are brighter colors. & yes, I may take some rock out, but I really like the looks of it now. Plus what am I gonna do with all that holey rock I pull out.

Anyway, now I am working on figuring out which fish. I've been advised to start off with about 10 Haps about 2-2.5" each. Any combination of all male is ok. So I'm going to be reviewing fish this weekend. Anything ideas about which fish HAVE to be in there?

Thanks for the kind words.

Ed


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

I would go with the 3rd one. I think it provides more separate hiding places.


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## Cajen (Mar 16, 2012)

Number 4 by far. :thumb:


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## Cajen (Mar 16, 2012)

Your last set up looks very good,wouldn't want to clean it though 8)


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## edshern (Nov 1, 2011)

Cajen,
Clean it? 
What do you mean clean it. 
No one told me I had to clean it.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

edshern said:


> Cajen,
> Clean it?
> What do you mean clean it.
> No one told me I had to clean it.


 You will have to do weekly water changes (of course) and sand sifting. Even with the best filtration and water movement you will still have poo poo collecting behind all your scaping. Like I mentioned earlier you will most likely end up removing some of the rock just to clean behind there.

Good luck to ya!!


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## SobrietyRocks707 (Feb 23, 2012)

edshern said:


> The final setup. Just added Dr. Tims One & Only, so I will add fish in about 7 days if all goes well.
> Probably an all male Hap tank.


 :thumb: opcorn:


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## Cajen (Mar 16, 2012)

:wink: I am going to cycle after I return from my next business trip. I am also going to use Dr Tim's, please let us know how the cycling goes.

Thanks... I agree with a couple of the other posters great set up for Mbuna tank.


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