Cichlid filtration.. Thinkin bout what is neccessarry filtration for cichlids ne help si highly appreciated!?

Question

Alright... i'm settin up a lake malawi cichlid tank. Its a 30 galon. (i know that all of you are thinkin: what? cichlids in a 30 gallon?) but im gettin dwarf cichlids and stuff liek that. they dont get to big.. 3-4 inches max(im gettin about 7 of them)

ok.. so what i was wondering was what type of filtration should i get for them? (cichlids love hard water) and are messy fish, thus require good filtration. I was going to get A 350 gal/ph Penguin-bio-wheel filter. I think it would work fine (it might even be to much b/c its meant for a 75 gallon tank)
my question is, should i also add an undergravel filter to the tank? alot of people have already told me that thos edo not work well at all.. but I'm thinking that any extra assistance would be good. Any ideas? please n thankyou! =]

Answer 1

I agree with the above - undergravel filters aren't such a great option for these tanks. Any power filter, hanging filters like that penguin, will do the job you want. There's no such thing as too much filtration, as long as you aren't plastering the fish to the side of the tank - Malawi's have no trouble with decent current though. Also, if you have any plans of building rock formations in the tank, they'll grow their own bacteria and become a biological filter on their own - a natural back-up filter.

I want to give you fair warning - the reason these fish are not recommended for smaller tanks isn't because of size, it's because of aggression. In tanks too small they'll simply start to harass each other to death. Aggression gets worse as they mature, so how it's going at first could be misleading.

You can do a 30 gallon, but do it wisely. Choose only mild types of fish. I would recommend types like l Caeruleus (electric yellow) I. Sprengerae (rusty), P. Saulosi, and P. Acei. Aulonocara (peacocks) can work too.

The fish from Malawi like moderately hard and alkaline water, but nothing as drastic as lake Tanganyika, so don't go out of your way to change it - tap water is usually fine and these fish are highly tolerant. I rockscape my tank with limestone to help keep the parameters up, and you can use crushed coral as a substrate or filter media to do the same.

Answer 2

Here's the deal with U/G filters and Mbuna, they are diggers so if you just put in a U/G they will constantly be exposing the "plate" and interfering with the filters operation. But there is a way! Put down the plate,then add 1/2 to 3/4" of gravel then put down a piece of "diffuser grid"(that's the stuff that covers the bottom of fluorescent light fixtures,they're plastic grids with approx. 1/2" squares),then add another inch or more of gravel and let the little buggers dig all they want.
I also saw in a British magazine that you can use a fiber filter mat,but I think it would be hard to clean.
I agree with you that having an U/G is reassuring. A little redundancy provides peace of mind.

Answer 3

The penguin-bio-wheel filter is a great filter highly recommended. I myself have chiclids as well and love them they are a lot of fun! Regarding the under gravel filter, they are really just a pain and not necessary. The extra assistance is really not assistance at all. Good Luck

Answer 4

I have a30 gallon ,penguin filter also , and use and undergravel with it.It works fine for me.I have 2 jack demseys in it.Ive had them for 7yrs now. Both are dong fine.