# New 55 gal. Mbuna Tank



## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Hey guys-

Check out some pictures of my new 55 gallon tank. I kept a single yellow lab in a 20 gal. tank for a couple years, but he (she?) got an upgrade and some tank mates. Right now I have 13 Yellow Tail Acei and 9 Yellow Labs. The plan is to eventually keep 5 Acei, 5 Yellow Labs, and 5 Rustys. I used rock from a local river and pool filter sand. The filtration is an Eheim 2217 and the back of the tank is painted black.

This is my first time keeping cichlids beyond that initial Lab, so please let me know how you think the fish look. Are they healthy? Are they hybrids? (if so, I have some words for one of the site sponsors...) Except for the one Yellow Lab, they are all juveniles.


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## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

A nice looking tank. Be aware that acei can easily get to 7 plus inches when mature and might be too large for a 55 gallon. I had acei in a 90 and they made the tank look small. I ended up rehoming them.


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Yes, that is an area of question for me. I read both sides of the opinion for keeping Acei in a 55 gallon (although it was my understanding that they topped out at 5-6", not 7+"). In the end I decided to give it a go based on their temperament and tendency to swim in the upper part of the tank. We'll see how it turns out.


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## bunchofcichlids (Feb 21, 2013)

Look great. What is your lighting?


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Nice job.


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks. The lighting is Marineland's Double Bright LED system.


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## Hap man (May 28, 2012)

nice tank! I like the lighting and clarity.


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## bunchofcichlids (Feb 21, 2013)

Is your substrate pool filter sand? If so how much did you use?


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

bunchofcichlids said:


> Is your substrate pool filter sand? If so how much did you use?


Yes it is, 50 lb bag. I used egg crate on the bottom of the tank to support the rocks and in certain areas they have dug down to this.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Tank looks good, nice layout! Acei can get aggressive, not as bad as others but some can be awnry. Same with Rusties, and if you add Rusties your gonna need a bigger tank for sure, along with more filtration.

Nice tank though!


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## jas1313 (Dec 3, 2012)

The additional rusties sounds good. That would bring total to 15 (after adjusting) not bad for a 55. I've heard that acei are very peaceful for mbuna, same as rusty so should work out great. I did here the acei can get big for a 55. That many fish I would add a secondary filter like Jim said. Maybe a hob. Tank looks good!


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

jas1313 said:


> The additional rusties sounds good. That would bring total to 15 (after adjusting) not bad for a 55. I've heard that acei are very peaceful for mbuna, same as rusty so should work out great. I did here the acei can get big for a 55. That many fish I would add a secondary filter like Jim said. Maybe a hob. Tank looks good!


I like idea of an HOB to supplement the external canister filter. I guess I'm looking for the proverbial 7-10 times turnover rate, which the Eheim does not currently provide by itself.

As for weeding out 5 from each group... this is going to be difficult. It is easy for me to identify the alpha male of each species, but very difficult to distinguish between a subdominant male and a female.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

You've got plenty of time to figure that out, as they mature. The fish will 'tell' you when they begin breeding, fighting, etc. Just keep a watchful eye.

Nice looking setup, btw!


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## scully (Feb 6, 2013)

letsgoflyers6387 said:


> bunchofcichlids said:
> 
> 
> > Is your substrate pool filter sand? If so how much did you use?
> ...


Did you rinse the sand our really well first? I'm setting up a 55 too and i can get Mistic White pool sand looks like what you used.


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Probably should have, but I didn't rinse the sand. There was hardly any dust in it. I don't remember the water being cloudy at all. I think the brand I used was "Lighthouse."

I did, however, boil & rinse the rocks I collected from a river.


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## scully (Feb 6, 2013)

What sheen black paint did you use as the background? flat,gloss,semi-gloss,satin?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I used flat black, but wish I had gone semi gloss. Flat looks a bit too gray.


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## scully (Feb 6, 2013)

Yeah i was thinking semi since full gloss may be too reflective


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I asked this same question last year. Here's that post, with a lot of responses...

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=248187


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## jas1313 (Dec 3, 2012)

If u paint the back side (dry side) u get the reflection of the glass anyway. Not the paint so I would agree with using a semi gloss for a deeper black.


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

If I remember correctly, I think I ended up using flat black. Ended up looking OK for me.


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