# Starting an african cichlid tank



## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

I'm looking to start an african cichlid tank and I need a lot of help.

I'm at a bit of a loss at where to start, to be honest. Size wise, I was thinking of getting a 4ft, 240l tank, what kind of filter would I need? Also what kind of flow do they like?
I know alot of my questions are going to be subjective to the kind of fish I want to keep, but I'm a bit clueless on what my options, are they any guides out there on the different lakes?

I don't have much on my water readings, last time I checked my tap water, it was around 12ppm nitrates.
This is what my water company has to say on my water hardness.



> Your water hardness
> 271 mg/l CaCO₃
> 
> 19.00 English degrees or degrees clark
> ...


I greatly appreciate any help.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Go to the Cichlid-forum Library and read the articles on Tank Set Up.

Get a test kit with liquid regeants that will do pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and test your tap water. The nitrates already in your tap water will make keeping your nitrates low a challenge.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> The nitrates already in your tap water will make keeping your nitrates low a challenge.


As in not recommended?
What can I do about the nitrates in my water? Am I looking at using RO water?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't think you will need to use RO water. The test results from the water company don't always match up with what you actually have at your home so testing yourself would be a good thing.

Starting out with 12 ppm of nitrate in the tap water is not ideal but also not the end of the world, it may just require more frequent water changes to keep the nitrate as low as possible.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

Thanks for the replies.

Filtration wise, is it better to have 1 big filter, or 2 smaller ones?

Is it wise to maybe look into a sump?


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## NewkeeperRico (Feb 5, 2018)

You want to make sure you're cycling water in a 75 gal tank at 300-600 gallons/hr.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

The tank I'm looking at is 295l.
Would 2 x Fluval 406 Canister Filters do the job? They're rated at 1450 lph.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would double that level of filtration.

I like 2 filters in case one has a problem, but 1 filter will do the job just as well.

I prefer canisters to sumps for their quietness.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

So I'm looking at using 2 x 3000+ lph filters?
Can you recommend any?


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## Ivan Macko (Sep 10, 2017)

That seems like an overkill to me...anyway, I have a very good experience with fluval FX6. But I have 2 of those on a 1000+ l aquarium...


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

Well, I was getting excited, went out to have a look at some tanks today.
Come home to find JBL Pro scan kit had turned up, so gave my tap water a go.










I can't believe my nitrate levels, talk about a punch below the belt.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

DEL 707 said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> Filtration wise, is it better to have 1 big filter, or 2 smaller ones?
> 
> Is it wise to maybe look into a sump?


How about two large filters or a large sump?

Don't skimp on filtration.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

DEL 707 said:


> Well, I was getting excited, went out to have a look at some tanks today.
> Come home to find JBL Pro scan kit had turned up, so gave my tap water a go.
> 
> 
> ...


As for nitrates maybe consider plants and look into anaerobic bacteria.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

I was looking into a product like this, to try and remove the nitrates from my tap water.

https://www.pozzani.co.uk/water-filters ... _info.html

No idea how effective they are, or if it'll affect other water parameters.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

You may or may not find these videos interesting.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

On advice, I decided to go get a liquid test kit to confirm the results.










Not great, but definately not 40ppm


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would definitely consider a good number of medium fast growing plants to help with your nitrate.  Plants are not easy at first and require dedication and persistence (at least for me) but extra water changes are a pain too.


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

Would it be worth upgrading the Fluval 406's to FX4 filters?

Since I'm aiming to get Mbunu, I don't think I can keep plants in the actually tank, but I was hoping to add some sort of hanging basket around the top of the tank to hold pothos. Any suggestions?


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## DEL 707 (May 8, 2018)

Well been having a serious think about it all.

I'm still a little worried about my water quality and wondering if I should be investing in a sump. Not for filter material, but for nitrate eating plants?
I emailed the company I'm looking to buy from for a picture of the tank top, so that I could see how much room I would have to play with.










No room at all to play with to put on a hang on overflow, so I would need a drilled tank.
I either do that myself and risk damging my tank, or pay for a marine tank which is pre-drilled. Problem is, with a drilled tank, plus sump and piping I'm looking to add another £300 on top of the price.

So I'm at a bit of a crossroad, pay £800+ for a tank with a sump, or just get a normal tank.

Basically comes down to, am I worrying too much and should I save myself £300?


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