How would you set up an African Cichlid Aquarium of about 100 gallons?

Question

I'm wanting to set up a big african cichlid aquarium, and i've found some basic information but i'd like to get some other opinions such as:

Substrate?
pH levels?
Filtration?
Live Plants or Fake?
Aeration?
Temperature?
Overcrowding?
Does it matter which Rift Lake their species originate from?
Is it necessary to harden the water, and if so what is the best method of doing so?
Should i introduce all the fish at once or in small groups?
Cycle with Fish, Ammonia, or Bio Spira?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Answer 1

Rule # 1 with African cichlids (or any cichlids): Don't generalize them! Most of your questions regarding water, overcrowding, stocking, decorating - depends on what type of African setup you want! Continue reading for more info.

Substrate: I use basic beach sand (sold in bags for sandboxes). Sand or fine gravel is best because it allows the fish to dig (a natural behaviour for the bottom dwelling types) and keeps the tank cleaner by not allowing all that waste to sink in and be forgotten.

PH: For lake Malawi or Victoria, 7.5-8.5. For Tanganyika it's best above 8.0. Most species are fairly adaptable, but at least neutral, not acid. One poster mentioned 'if your water isn't at least 425... The average hardness in lake Malawi is actually closer to 100. Tanganyika is much harder and more Alkaline then the other lakes.

Filtration: Lots. They can handle the flow and can be messy. To tell you what type of filter to buy is just silly, it depends on your budget and preference - just make sure you over filter the tank, unless you want to go with a sparser Tanganyika setup. I do not recommend undergravel filters for most of these fish - if they dig, and many do, they will expose the filter plates and render it useless.

Plants: They don't need plants at all. They tend to shred plants and can really only be kept with tough, thick leaved ones like annubias. Fake is fine, but plants are generally for you and not the fish - The rift lakes contain very, very few planted area's and most types are rock dwellers or open water dwellers. More important is the rockscaping - most Rift lake types use rocks as security and depending what types you end up with depends on how heavily you rock scape the aquarium.

Aeration: Usually filtration takes care of this - if not you probably don't have enough filtration. Air pumps never hurt if you want them.

Temperature: About 76-78 is good, higher then 80 is excessive. Many Malawi Africans can handle very high temperatures that would kill many Tanganyikans.

Overcrowding? Does it matter which Lake?:

Some you can overcrowd, some you should overcrowd, some you MUST overcrowd, some you can't overcrowd. This is the problem. African cichlids are generalized too often and this is not a good thing to do. They range in aggression from mild to hostile. They range in size from less then an inch to two feet long. They range in diet from carnivore to herbivore, in breeding habits from colony to harem to monogamous breeders. Some do well in crowds, others need a lot of territory to call their own. Are you talking about Mbuna? Haplochromines? Aulonocara? Tanganyika rock dwellers? Deep water dwellers? Open water dwellers? Open sand dwellers? Shell dwellers?

What are you looking to get out of this tank? What are your expectations. Tell me what you want the tank to be like when you talk about 'Africans' and I can help you choose the right types to reach that goal.

For success with these fish you should choose one lake and stick with it. You should learn about the fish in this lake and what is compatible, and it's safer to assume they are not until you learn differently. Are they best kept in groups? pairs? Alone? Is the species best mixed with others of its type? As the only species of its type? It all depends. If you go to the store and randomly stock your tank (or base your purchases on what they say) you will be spending a lot of money replacing fish.

If you do a full fishless cycle with a good amount of ammonia you can stock them all at once - if you have the budget this is highly recommended so the fish all start on the same foot... um fin. If you do a fishless cycle and then proceed to only add a couple of fish as mentioend above, then all your efforts of creating a large, healthy bacterial colony were for nothing when the bacteria dies off until there is only enough to support those few fish.
If you cycle with fish you do it in small groups to prevent toxic spikes. If you learn how to seed a tank with live bacteria (real bacteria is much better then bottled) you can add many more fish right away even without a fishless cycle.

Is it necessary to harden the water? Maybe, what's your water like? The best method? I just rockscape my tank with limestone. Others use crushed coral as substrate or in the filter. Some use some or all of aquarium salt, Epsom salt, and baking soda, which help with the ph, gh, and kh for good balance. Others prefer to spend the big bucks on manufactured products like 'Kent rift lake buffers'. There are many ways to do this, which is better depending on your water and preferences.

WWW.CICHLID-FORUM.COM. I'm not advertising this site, I'm recommending STRONGLY that you go there before buying anything, and read read read! It's a fantastic and reliable source for cichlid information. It's been around a long time and I spent months researching before setting up my first real cichlid tank, and I'm glad I did because it prevented me from making all of the hundreds of mistakes most beginners make by jumping into it with a complete misunderstanding of these fish. Only one other poster above actually mentioned how there can be a difference in decisions depending whaty ou stock, showing this misuderstanding is all too common.

Choose any type of African cichlid mentioned above and I could probably write out, or find you, information just on them alone that excedes the length of this long winded post. Good luck.

Answer 2

Substrate - can be gravel or sand, Africans don't really seem to care.
pH levels - If your fish are wild caught, then you have to be very careful with the pH. If they are farm raised, then pH is not as important, just try to keep above 6.5.
Filtration - Anything other than undergravel, but go heavy on the filtration. Get a filter that is rated for 175 - 200 gallons.
Live plants or fake - This one is easy, since most africans will destroy any live plants offered - fake if you want the planted look. Mbunas and tropheus really like rocks, Haps and peacocks enjoy open swimming room.
Aeration - Get a bubble wand and air pump, they will do the job.
Temperature - around 78 deg.
Overcrowding - works wonders for aggression. Don't start to overcrowd until your tank is cycled. Rearrange the decorations when adding new fish.
In many situations it does matter which lake the fish came from. It also matters what part of the lake the fish come from. Mbunas don't mix with haps, shell dwellers will get eaten by haps, tropheus will kill haps and peacocks. You are better off sticking to one type: peacock, mbuna, tropheus, lamprologus, haplochromis. You can get an amazing mix of colors if you stick to one type, and you will have much better results in the long run. If you mix different types of mbunas or other fish, beware of hybrids. African hybrids are usually worthless.
Do a water hardness test before worrying about water hardness. If it is very low, then you might need to do something about it. Of couse wild fish are much more sensitive to water hardness than tank raised.
Don't introduce all at once unless you do a fishless cycle. I would start off with about 6-9 fish, let them cycle the tank, and then add more later on. Bio Spira is a decent product, but the key is to not overstock, not overfeed, and have your water tested about once a week until ammonia and nitrite are gone. That is when you know your tank is cycled. Get high quality food like New Life Spectrum.

Answer 3

African Cichlids Aquarium Setup

Answer 4

1. Substrate: 1.5"-2" of sand (many african cichlids enjoy sand-sifting).

2. For Lake Malawi cichlids pH 7.8-8.4. Lake Tanganyika pH 8.2-8.6+. A lower stable pH will also suffice.

3. Canister and HOB combination providing at least a 10x turnover rate (1000gph+). Utilize a couple of powerheads (i.e., maxijet 1200s) for additional water circulation).

4. No live plants (the cichlids will dig them up or eat them); fake plants are optional. A rocky aquascape is actually preferred.

5. Aeration is unnecessary.

6. Temp: 76-82F.

7. Overcrowding is an option to control aggression but not necessary. A 100gal tank could support 20-25 mbuna. Overstocked levels would be 30-40 mbuna. Less quantity for larger african species such as haps and frontosas (no more than 6-10 max). You could stock lightly with less aggressive species.

8. Mixing african cichlids from different lakes isn't recommended unless you're able to match up dietary requirements and aggression levels (for example a mix of frontosa's and cyrtocara moorii will work, but not mix a of altolamprologus calvus and melanochromis auratus. Since you're just starting out, stick to one lake of origin.

9. Hardening and making the water more alkaline is ideal but not necessary (stable water perimeters is what you want). Commerical "rift lake" buffers or a combination of sodium bicarbonate/magnesium sulfate ('baking soda' & 'epsom salt) will raise alkalinity (KH & pH)and water hardness (GH). Depending on the parameters of your source water, kH/gH adjustment may be unnecessary.

10. Preferably added in groups of 4 or more at a time. Ensure your bio-media is fully cycled prior to doing so and add the most aggressive species LAST.

11. Do a fishless cycle with ammonia (that'll take a number of weeks, but it will be worth it) or use Bio-Spira (which will near-instantly cycle a tank...the fish will need to added at the same time).

Answer 5

#1 gravel and rock.
#2 8.3 with high buffering.(kH)
#3Undergravel (protected by light diffuser material) and a large Aqua-clear for ease of maintenance and versitility.
#4 If it's a Malawi tank the fish won't tolerate live plants,they'll tear them up. If it's a Tanganyikan tank you might be able to grow some tough plants like Java Fern or Moss,but there are very few plants that will tolerate the hardness and pH required by your fish.
#5 The Aqua-clear and the powerheads on the U/G should offer plenty of aeration.
#6 78 to 82 F.
#7 Don't overcrowd,Mbuna require tons of tank space,they each need their own territory,and are diligent in keeping it.
#8 Yes, ideal conditions vary for each lake(only slightly)
but for the fish to thrive and spawn it's better to have things "just right".
#9 If your water isn't at least 425 ppm hardness you should use Coral gravel and perhaps Rift Lake "salts" to achieve the water parameters particular to your chosen lake.
#10 Cycle the tank "fishlessly" then add the fish slowly 2 or 3 at a time over a period of weeks.
#11 See #10.
One last thing,the correct water condition for Rift Lakes(especially the high pH) makes the ammonia remain in a very toxic form. Fairly large weekly water changes are manditory to maintain good health in your pets. You can't slack on water changes.

Answer 6

First of a cichlid is usually a large fish and 100 is just barley enough for 2 of them. (going by Oscars)
pH of 7.0 is fine for them
Good filtration is a must, cichlid's are very messy. I personally find it best to use an outside filter, not the underground ones.
They will tear up any plants you put in there live or fake. So i say at most just put a few in the corners for any live food you are going to put in the tank.

They love bubbles so make sure you get a long tube that sits on the bottom.

Temperature : 72°F - 80°F
I'm not sure about over crowding you didn't specify what species you were getting.
You can harden the water if you want, all that means is you add a little salt. Its not necessary

Answer 7

Ok....Setting up a 100 gal(paint me green with envy) is about the same as setting up a smaller tank. substrate, depends on what you like...for my cichlids, we collected some really cool smooth stones from the beach, it makes for a very cool look....and brings out the 'lids color more. If you do something like that just make sure you boil the rocks first to clean them. pH for Cichlids is usually a little higher than tropical fish, so you'd want it around 7.5. Not too high, not too low. Filtration,...I would definately use a cannister filter for such a large tank. some tanks have their own over flow systems, and unfortunately I do not know how to go about using them, I have never had a reason to. Live fauna vs fake is all you. That's mainly a personal choice, which do you like better? I like live, but can't afford to keep them....my fishes like to eat them, and if you are getting cichlids, yours will like to eat them too. It's their version of lettuce.lol. Aeration.....in my tanks we do not use aerater.....but my largest tank is a 54 bow, and I think you might want to get one if you were going to go so large...one thing to think about though is the cannister filters are pretty powerful, and the outtake might pump enough oxygen in the tank that you may not need one. It's one of those set it up and see things. Temp is supposed to be around 78degrees...Overcrowding, HOW?? It's a 100 gal?! lol..just kidding....Rule of thumb, 1 gal per inch adult length....so you have 100 inches to put in. Now, If you were going to do cichlids, most of them get 7-8 inches. so, about 15 fish would be good....don't forget that cichlids are aggressive, and you want to add the fish you want while the others are small.wait too long, and the natives will attack the newbies. Cycle your tank by not doing any water changes for two months, then do 25% every month.

Answer 8

3 bala sharks(they get 1'4) a black ghost knife fish(unique 20 inches) an elephant nose(also unique 18 inches) a gar(for 20 inches -6 feet depending on type) some freshwater angels silver arowana(up to 6 feet)(watched video of it eating dead rabbit vicious)