# First Mbuna Tank - 75G Build Progress



## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

My parents had aquariums as I was growing up and I've always enjoyed them. About a year ago, I purchased and setup a 55G freshwater tank stocked with Tetras, Platys, and other tropical community fish. Since that time, I had wanted to start a Mbuna tank, but decided I would get my feet wet with the cheaper fish. The time has come that I've gotten the itch to upgrade and will be taking apart the 55G and replacing it with a 75G in the same location.

*Equipment/Materials*
Tank: 75 Gallon Glass - 48"L, 18"W, 21"H with Glass Tops
Filtration: 2 Ea. AquaClear 110 HOB Filters
Heater: Eheim Jager 150W (Thinking about purchasing a larger heater to replace the 150W or possibly run them simultaneous)
Lighting: 48"-52" Quad Double Bright LED Aquarium Light Fixture with Timer Module
Substrate: Pool Filter Sand
Rock: No clue what kind it is, but I had this readily available and decided to put some in my 55G temporarily to see if I would like the look. Here is a picture of the decor removed from my 55G and some of the rock installed.









*Stock*
Pseudotropheus sp. williamsi 1M:7F
Cynotilapia sp. hara 1M:4F
Labidochromis caeruleus 1M:4F

*1-5-14 Progress Update*
I currently have the tank and all the equipment/substrate/rocks minus 1 aquaclear 110 that has been ordered. I plan on using filter media from my AC70 filters on my 55g tank to seed the new AC110s, I might even just begin running my AC110s on my 55G now to prepare them for the trade. I also started my first attempt at a 3D background and have completed just about all the foam work. By no means is it as intricate or artistic as many of the other DIY backgrounds I have seen on the forums, but i'm really not that artistic myself. I figure this background will be better than no background at the end of the day.









Besides finishing the background, the last piece of the puzzle will be waiting in my aquarium stand and canopy to be completed. I decided to scrap my current petsmart stand and have my uncle (owns a custom cabinet shop) make me a new one that will match my living room furniture. We had a little hiccup in the stand build, or a miscommunication, and the tank height dimension I gave him of 21"he interpreted as the stand height. Needless to say, at the moment I have a great looking extremely short stand. On Monday he will begin adding height to the stand, to get it up to about 36" to the bottom of the tank. Once that is finished, the entire stand and canopy will be stained to a chocolate brown finish.

Current lower stand that will be made taller:









Canopy (has a removal top not pictured as well as the two doors on the front are hinged):









So far my total build cost is right at $1000.00.

I think my biggest question I still have concerning this build is how to introduce my planned stock to this tank. I would like to start the tank off with all juveniles, as I would enjoy watching them grow. 
- How many juveniles of each species do you think I should introduce, in order to have the best changes of ending up with the ratios above? I understand that I will have to reduce the number of males/females as they get old enough to sex to prevent over crowding.
- How far apart should I wait to introduce each group of juveniles? I was thinking 1-2 weeks between each species so I do not introduce to much bioload at one time.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Tank, stand and canopy look great! In the past, I've stocked with twice the number of what I want as my final ratio.
Regarding the heater, I run a 150w on my 75g in the sometimes chilly basement. It maintains 78 degrees without issues.
Once the tank is up and running, and before you order fish, dose ammonia to 2-3ppm. Ideally, you should see 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite within 24 hours along with a positive nitrate reading. Once you've reached this point, you'll be able to add all of the juvies in one shot without risk of any spikes.


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## Austinite (Jul 27, 2013)

Looks great! Can't wait to see it all come together. You are really going to like PFS as opposed to gravel. I've never kept williamsi so I've never seen them in person, but when I googled the image, they seemed slightly similar to yellow labs? Just a thought, but what about williamsi, cyno hara, and then maingano (vertical blue barred)? Then you'd have 3 very different looking, colorful species? (although I do love yellow labs!)

As far as how many to buy, I wanted 1:7 for my maingano's so I bought 12 of them. For the other species that I wanted 1:4, I bought 8-10 of them.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

GTZ said:


> Tank, stand and canopy look great! In the past, I've stocked with twice the number of what I want as my final ratio.
> Regarding the heater, I run a 150w on my 75g in the sometimes chilly basement. It maintains 78 degrees without issues.
> Once the tank is up and running, and before you order fish, dose ammonia to 2-3ppm. Ideally, you should see 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite within 24 hours along with a positive nitrate reading. Once you've reached this point, you'll be able to add all of the juvies in one shot without risk of any spikes.





Austinite said:


> Looks great! Can't wait to see it all come together. You are really going to like PFS as opposed to gravel. I've never kept williamsi so I've never seen them in person, but when I googled the image, they seemed slightly similar to yellow labs? Just a thought, but what about williamsi, cyno hara, and then maingano (vertical blue barred)? Then you'd have 3 very different looking, colorful species? (although I do love yellow labs!)
> 
> As far as how many to buy, I wanted 1:7 for my maingano's so I bought 12 of them. For the other species that I wanted 1:4, I bought 8-10 of them.


Thanks for the advice, with that being said I will keep the current 150W heater. I also will plan to add all juveniles as once, shoot for 10 of the Hara and Yellow Labs, and 12-14 of the Williamsi. I looked up the mainganos and I do like them, if it were my choice I would probably take your advice and replace the yellow labs with these. The Williamsi was my first choice as i like their coloring/blue lips and being they aren't as common. But, my fiance insisted we have the "bright all yellow fish" we saw at the LFS. I figured since she allowed me to upgrade tanks in our living room, I better honor her request. The only thing I am worried about is the possibility of those two species crossbreeding, think I will have any problems with that?


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

I've also been researching the best food for mbuna, wow what an array of opinions when it comes to this topic. I've heard alot about NLS pellets, Omega 1 Cichlid Flakes, New Era Green pellets. Some people say pellets cause bloat due to slower digestion then flake. Some people like a mixture of both. I don't know where to begin!


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## Austinite (Jul 27, 2013)

I use NLS pellets. I've never experienced bloat, but I don't feed my fish every day either. I feed every other day. I also feed them spirulina flakes.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

More goodies came in today, two battery powered air pumps and some air stones, these pumps will kick on automatically when the power goes out, a little peace of mind being from south Louisiana with frequent hurricanes and tropical storms.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about any cross breeding with the fish you listed, especially with the quantities you're planning on. Great idea with the backup pumps!


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

The williamsoni and the labs may cross-breed. I would not keep any fry from this tank.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't see an issue with L. caeruleus and Ps. sp. 'williamsi north' as far as hybridizing goes, however the williamsi can reach in excess of 7" so you may need to deal with that in a few years.
clhinds78, have you witnessed or read about crossbreeding issues with these species?


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

GTZ said:


> I don't see an issue with L. caeruleus and Ps. sp. 'williamsi north' as far as hybridizing goes, however the williamsi can reach in excess of 7" so you may need to deal with that in a few years.
> clhinds78, have you witnessed or read about crossbreeding issues with these species?


I guess my main concern was that they look similar and often times similarly colored mbunas cross-breed. Perhaps they look different enough that they won't. You'd have to keep a careful eye on the fry to make sure they look very similar to their parents.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

From seeing many pictures of males and females of each species, I see barely any similar coloration so I don't think crossbreeding will be a problem unless it common within these two species, which I doubt.

Juveniles start out brownish with strange blotchyish barring that the females keep. Males turn to a nice orange/brown/golden with blue lips and hints of blue in fins. Obviously males and females of L. caeruleus are yellow assuming it is the Lions Cove variant.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Michael_S said:


> From seeing many pictures of males and females of each species, I see barely any similar coloration so I don't think crossbreeding will be a problem unless it common within these two species, which I doubt.
> 
> Juveniles start out brownish with strange blotchyish barring that the females keep. Males turn to a nice orange/brown/golden with blue lips and hints of blue in fins. Obviously males and females of L. caeruleus are yellow assuming it is the Lions Cove variant.


Ok, if they are dimorphic it should be fine.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Seems like the general consensus is that I shouldn't have problems with hybridization, which is good news because I would love to raise some Williamsi fry knowing that they are tough to find.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

*1-31-14 Progress Update*

Just purchased 14 Ea. Pseudotropheus sp. Williamsi juveniles from a breeder in New Jersey, he is holding them for me until I finish the tank setup. The aquarium stand has progressed a good bit but is still not complete. Understandably, the real cabinet business comes before the family business, but all that is left is a final sanding and staining. I have also located a breeder with yellow lab juvies about an hour away from me, who I will be picking up 10 Ea. from. I am still working on locating the cynotilapia sp. hara juvies to finish off my stock list for this build.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

*2-22-14 Progress Update*

Never thought this day would come but the stand is finally finished. All and all i'm pretty happy with the outcome despite the original miscommunications. The biggest downfall of the way the stand turned out is the 4 small doors below the aqaurium. I would have preferred just 2 taller doors, allowing me room to upgrade to canister filters. The tallest canister filter I will be able to run can only be about 16" tall which is pretty limiting. Now the real fun begins...


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Background siliconed in, both 406 canisters plumbed, lights in. Won't be long!


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Received my first species this morning, 10 cynotilapia sp. hara. they are being houses in my 55G temporarily until I finish this project.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Tank looks awesome. Is that the 'Crevice' from Designs by Nature?


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Thanks, yes it is Crevice but I thought it was by Universal Rocks unless that is the same company/different name.


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Couple updated pics:

Aquascaping complete









Cyno Hara


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Picked up my yellow lab juvies this morning...









Just need the weather up north to clear up so my pseudotropheus sp. williamsi can be shipped


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## Austinite (Jul 27, 2013)

I really like the way you placed the rocks. Bummer about the smaller doors on the bottom part of the stand; like you mentioned, limits your canister size. It looks good though!

Did you cycle the tank, or seed it from your 55G?


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## tcald429 (Dec 27, 2012)

Austinite said:


> I really like the way you placed the rocks. Bummer about the smaller doors on the bottom part of the stand; like you mentioned, limits your canister size. It looks good though!
> 
> Did you cycle the tank, or seed it from your 55G?


I seeded it from the 55G, i moved all the media from an AC75 on the 55G into one of my fluval 406 canisters. I also moved an AC110 from the 55g and have it running on the front of the 75g temporarily. I plan to remove it this Sunday as that will make 2 weeks that it has been running on the 75G in unison with the 2 fluval 406 canisters. So far I have had excellent water parameters, but beginning 2 days ago have noticed cloudy water and am assuming it might be a bacterial bloom...


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

You may want to move the media from the 110 into one of the 405s, especially if you're experiencing a mini cycle. Or just continue using the 110. Water changes and a product like Seachem Prime will help with that.


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## kd5exp (Mar 21, 2014)

The battery back up sounds great to me. I have an old UPS that needs a battery and I think I will hook it up to air pumps and external 3 stage filter. I lost many cichlids years ago from a power outage. I had way too many fish in several tanks. They were multiplying like rabbits. I also have a wind gen and 4 12 volt solar panels to charge a deep cycle battery torun the UPS. Thanks for giving me the idea.


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## ozman (Sep 7, 2012)

your uncle has made you an awesome cabinet/hood, lucky you! 
it's a pity that you did'nt get together at the planning stage to iron out the miss communication, so you could have canister filters if or as desired.
please don't take my comment as being nasty because your set-up looks great and every best wish to you


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