# New 55gl African Cichlid tank, just added fish



## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

It took me sometime to allow the tank to cycle but I wanted it perfect. Today I added 2 african cichlids from a local petsmart. I only bought the cheapest they had because I didn't want to lose the fish as I haven't had a tank setup in a while and I am out of practice but my water did test wonderfully.

Current setup is Hagen Fluval 304 canister and a Penguin 330 BioWheel for filtration. A Marineland 200 watt heater and dual overhead lamps for lighting. I have a few broad leaved live plants along with some artificial plants, rocks, driftwood etc. in the tank.

I did have a undergravel but I removed it figuring I had enough filtration and it seemed to create more of a problem trapping junk under the platform, also my air pump was going bad.

I just wanted to get some general advice on if anyone feels this is an adequate setup for Africans....I have gravel substrate and also some African Cichlid specific substrate (i forget the brand) that helps raise the PH.

I have seen some African tanks with air bubble strips/wands and some without, is this a good idea? And is there any specific water flow or movement I should be trying to aquire for this breed of fish? I have both intakes for the filters on the left side of the tank. The fluval sits near the bottom and the biowheel is midway. The water out from the fluval is making a cross stream from the right going towards the left.

Thanks for any help
Zack


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## Pali (Dec 22, 2009)

Air bubbles are more for show then anything else, you need a lot of air bubbles to really make the surface break enough for suficient oxygination of the water. So add a air stone if you like the, IMO very unatural look of it.

If you don't like the look of alot of air bubbles, then don't add air stones.

The best oxygination you will get from a powerhead breaking the surface, or a canister outlet ect. ect.


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## Kerricko (May 26, 2010)

Your set up sounds sufficient but without actually knowing the types of cichlids you have pinning down the perfect set up might be difficult. But it sounds like you have done some reaearch and are headed in the right direction.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

Thanks for the info

I will stay away from the air bubbles then. So if I keep my tank very very full and the biowheel and the canister in flow are not making any waves or breaking the water bc they are below the level it would be good to let the water level drop or at least raise the fluval in flow to help with oxygen?

I also forgot to mention I had added some liquid plant food when introduction the 4 plants as I do not have plant lights but a few people told me the african substrate will help greatly with the plants because it has nutrients and things in it that will help them root and grow. I also keep a small cup full of aquarium salt in the tank and let it dissolve slowly, once its gone I fill the cup back up. I moved the intake for the fluval to the other side this morning also seems to make more sense to have one intake on each side rather that both on the left side.

OH and as for the specific species I bought that are in the tank right now....one is a red peacock and the other wasn't named on the tank at the pet store but i am guessing its a electric blue zebra?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

It's tricky at the start so try not to get too tied up in details. One is the air exchange. It can get oversold, sometimes. The water doesn't need to actually have waves most of the time. If the water is moving so that water at the bottom is brought up to the surface it will do the exchange if their is not a scum on the top. If there is scum or oil then you need to break that up as an oil slick will not let O2 through. It certainly doesn't hurt to have more movement but it is not a real big problem especially with limited numbers of fish as you have. In my thinking the bubbles do carry water up as they go and as such help but they don't actually do much exchange on the way up. Lots of ways to get circulation and with two filters, you probably have it going. Watch your fish for signs of distress. They will let you know when they feel bad.

I would think you should think more on fish selection and how the nitrogen cycle works. Those are some of the real basic items that cause problems if not done correctly. I would not recommend too many of the "assorted cichlids". Some of them are just real problems as they often are some of the more aggressive cichlids around.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

*I would think you should think more on fish selection and how the nitrogen cycle works*

Both being really important, but I agree with spending a bit of time looking at fish you really like.
Don`t settle for what the LFS has in stock.
Most all of the really impressive fish are not going to be in a tank of "Mixed Africans".
With some looking around you can find super looking fish mail order, for not much more than you would pay locally.


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## Stellaluna (May 8, 2006)

Plants must have UV light to utilize any nutrients in the water. Otherwise, the plant food you added will feed only algae.

Now, you need to watch water params for the next month and a half or so. Don't add any more fish and be patient. Make no changes. Disturb not the filter or the contents of the tank. Don't dig around in the substrate when doing water changes.

Patience has been the hardest lesson for me to learn in this hobby, but is probably the most important.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

so the regular light bulbs will not sustain the plants?

they seem to be doing great so far and some growing quickly


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## Stellaluna (May 8, 2006)

If they are growing then no worries- there may be enough light coming from somewhere for them, depending on the species of plant. At this point I'd not feed the plants though, as your fish likely supply enough nutrients. - I have 4 tanks choked with lush plants and never use ferts (lower light tanks). The plants supply oxygen to fish and fish supply food to plants.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

I check the roots on a few of the plants and they didn't seem to be spreading too much, not sure because its been a while since I had a planted tank. But that one also had c02 injection and plant lights


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)




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## Stellaluna (May 8, 2006)

What are the overhead lamps you have?

I'd just try to leave things alone for the time being and let the tank mature. Test for ammonia and nitrite and otherwise sit tight. Don't worry about the plants unless they start rotting or something.

I could not open your photo links.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

yeah im not sure why they don't work

so the electric blue zebra cichlid i have not seen since i added him into the tank, the red peacock is doing great tho, so im not sure what to do. i dont see him in the tank anywhere and i moved stuff around to look in and under and nothing


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)




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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

I am not sure what kind of bulbs the lights are, I don't think I have ever had to replace them since I bought the setup


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Hey I have the same heater as you! Sweet :thumb:


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## z400 (Jun 30, 2009)

Eeeeek

Did a horrible job on the substrate. 
Should have kept the first layer about 2 inches from the corners and the sides 
and filling in the gaps with your 2nd layer of substrate.

This hides the layers. :thumb:


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

i could care less about how the gravel and substrate looks, the fish are just going to dig in it anyway

i had the gravel down first and then the cichlid substrate and i had an undergravel that i decided to take out at the last minute so that messed it all up

it isnt a big deal to me at all


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## z400 (Jun 30, 2009)

Well thank goodness!

because that is what i was oh so worried about!! :lol:

:roll:


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## bookwyrm (Jul 13, 2006)

I would remove the live plants you have in there currently. I could be wrong, but they do not look like true aquatic plants, but bog plants (i.e. their roots can be submerged, but they will just end up rotting if their leaves are under water). Most of the plants you can buy at Petsmart and similar places are actually bog plants. If you want live plants with African cichlids, I recommend vallisneria, anubias and java fern. You won't need a special substrate or lighting for any of these, and so far my fish are leaving them alone. You can wedge the anubias and java ferns between the rocks, and use the vals as a backdrop. Also, I recommend getting rid of the plastic plants if you want to do live ones - they'll just look cheesy in contrast. Each to their own, though.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

i will definitely look into those kinds of plants, and I am not sure about what kind they are but I know everyone I talked to at petsmart said they didnt need special lights or anything

i had planned on adding more real plants and removing the artificial ones as I add fish and change things i bought the silk plants and they look pretty real to me tho


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

ok so I added a few more fish last Saturday....they definitely mellowed out a lot more now thank goodness

I added: 1 blue cobalt cichlid, yellow lab, pleco

total tank now:

1 red peacock
1 red zebra
1 yellow lab
1 cobalt blue

2 cory cats
1 pleco

trying to figure out if I want to add anymore yet or not...










blurry cell pic


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## bookwyrm (Jul 13, 2006)

One thing I've learned from being big into planted tanks is that places like Petsmart and Petco know nothing about the plants the sell, and at least some LFS stores don't know much about the plants they sell either. However, most sales people are more than willing to tell you whatever they think sounds good, rather than admitting they don't know. You can always leave the plants in to see how they react, but if they look like they're starting to die I'd pull them ASAP before they affect the quality of the water.


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## mk3vdub (Oct 6, 2010)

thanks for the advice, so far so good. they are nice and green and growing to the top


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