# Tips for a low maintenance tank



## Mahseer (Jun 23, 2015)

I'm in the planning stages of a new mbuna tank. I kept tropical fish for many years and ended up with a heavily planted low tech tank that looked good and required minimal maintenance - which was good as my kids are at an age where I haven't got as much free time as I used to.

I've also wanted to keep mbuna though and now have space for a 55 gallon tank.

Has anyone got any tips for keeping the setup as low maintenance as possible? I'm planning on over filtering, keeping rocks away from sides for easy cleaning, setting up a system for easy high-volume water changes. Any other advice much appreciated.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Probably with mbuna, a 75, 90, or 120 gallon aquarium would work better than a 55 gallon, but would use up no more wall space, all being four feet wide. I would limit my mbuna to yellow labidos, one of the more peaceful of the mbuna if you stick with the 55 idea. You can mix the albino and regular tank raised varieties of these for some color selection. They are the same species and the albino gene was probably legitimately obtained. You can put lots of Java fern in its varieties and African water fern, Bolbitis heudelotii, in the tank. Mbuna rarely damage it. Vallisneria is another plant that they generally leave alone and it will often be happy in the crushed coral or aragonite substrate people often use in mbuna tanks.

If a 55 is your limit, I would consider switching lakes. You could have leleupi, or Julidochromis in a 55 no problems, and some of the dwarf Synodontis catfish.

The best low maintenance filter I know of is a Poret Mattenfilter. Put it completely across the back to double as a background and plant wall if you want to increase that low maintenance to the limits. Swiss Tropicals is a small US company that imports these from Germany where they are called the Hamburg Mattenfilter.


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## Mahseer (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks for advice. I may be able to stretch to a 120cm wide tank if I can get a cabinet with a narrower base. Eheim do one, but it is rather expensive here. I am looking for a good deal.

I was planning on keeping two types of dwarf mbuna - probably yellow labs and Rusties, although I will do plenty more research before buying. The Rusties in my LFS are like puppies, they follow you up and down the display tank as you walk past. My kids will love that. I don't want to overstock so am hoping to avoid aggression issues with less aggressive species and a good hardscape.

That filter looks very interesting - the filter I was looking at is also German - an Eheim external canister.

As for plants - I like Java Fern and Anubias attached to bits of rock and bog wood. That worked really well for me in my last tank as I could remove then ever now and again to get the algae off. I'm hoping to do something similar, though with lots more river rock.


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## Fishnut71 (Dec 7, 2014)

In my experience, a low maintenance tank requires heavy plantings. I would suggest utilizing a lot of pothos in a hydroponic set up........if feasible. For mechanical filtration, I would recommend a sump filter utilizing filter socks for super quick maintenance


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd just do rocks...my mbuna eat everything, even anubias and java fern. Maintenance only becomes a chore if you fall behind or have an illness. Choose a species tank of Pseudotropheus saulosi because they are likely to tolerate multiple males to minimize the need to rehome.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Mahseer said:


> That filter looks very interesting - the filter I was looking at is also German - an Eheim external canister.
> 
> As for plants - I like Java Fern and Anubias attached to bits of rock and bog wood. That worked really well for me in my last tank as I could remove then ever now and again to get the algae off. I'm hoping to do something similar, though with lots more river rock.


Eheim canister is low maintenance because it has no trays, so it can be easily back washed without opening the canister itself. That's one of the reasons I use Eheim for all of my canisters. Oh, it's very silent, too, by the way.

I've always kept low tech tanks ever since I started planted tank 5 years ago. There are various plants that grow well there. And like you, I like to keep the tank almost maintenance free, so I stay away from stem plants, moss and other fast growing plants that require pruning regularly.

Java fern and anubias are also low maintenance plants with almost no pruning necessary. And also bucephalandra and cryptocoryne. They all grow well in low tech tank. (I don't really like java fern because its leaves get "burned" at warmer temperature, 27 C and above, and become brownish).


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## Fishnut71 (Dec 7, 2014)

Forgot to mention: If you really want very low maintenance and sans plants, there's the option of a drip system or an automated water changing system


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