SirPsycho Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I tested my water today and I think my tank is finally ready for some fish! I had a nitrite spike that has now dropped to 0ppm, pH is steady at slightly below 8. Ive decided to go with African Cichlids from Lake Malawi and Ive been looking into some Yellow Labs and some Cobalt Blue Zebras, but id like to have a bit of variety if possible. Id like to avoid fish that are going to inter-breed and Id like to put a few fish in that will keep algae/fry under control. I dont wanna throw huge amounts of cash at it yet as its my first tank and I might be moving soon. I dont want to set it all up and then loose a heap of fish. Tank is 400L(100gal) and ive got a 2600Lphr canister filter with 2L of Ehiem substrate balls, about 2L of glass rings and a small amount of carbon in the top layer. So, what do the experts think I should look for? Anyone know of any decent/cheap places to buy fish in Brisbane? I greatly appreciate any help and opinions offered!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristlenose2008 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi, I have read your post and thought I would comment on a few things. Your tank is fairly large and a CF such as the one you mentioned may not actually be enough. 2600LPHR is only the rating. You also want to keep in mind that the higher the CF needs to pump up to your tank the less it is capable to filter every hour. I am assuming you have spacks of rocks on top of each other with holes and gaps all over the place. The current will slow down greatly and even if your filter does turn 2600LPHR you should consider a small internal power head to add more current. Cichlids you are after can cost as little as $5 from private breeders. it is just a matter of waiting it out. They will grow very fast, so small is okay. For algea control bristlenose are good cleaners of uneaten food. Algea from the glass won't be eaten by them as the grow larger as they eat less off the glass and tend to eat more left over foods. Some snails can help your algea issues. The SAE's would eat algea but will probably get eaten by your cichlids when they grow large. What sort of soil are you using if any in the tank? To make your rocky tank more interesting get drift wood and stack the rocks on that. Tie and grow anubias only the wood and make an anubias forest out of the wood. All plants will take up nutrients from the tank and aid in reducing the algea causing nutrients, therefore help prevent it too. This is my 2 cents. Regards, Bristlenose2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirPsycho Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks for the reply. I had some driftwood in my tank but i found that even after weeks of leeching, the water was still turning yellow and the pH was dropping due to the wood. I took it out and now have a few lava rocks with hiding places and a few java fern tied to the rocks. I picked up 1m and 2f yellow labs today to see how they go. They seem really happy exploring around everywhere. Theres a few hiding places but still a huge amount of open space so i wont be putting huge number of fish in there yet. 2600 is the rating yes, so how much does that mean it should flow? The pump isnt really doing any lifting as the system operates like a syphon, the pump just moves the water around. Ill happily put another pump in if needed but i think there is still quite a bit of water movement at the moment. Ive tested it by placing some nuetrally boyant containers in various places and they always tend to move around quite a bit. Substrate is playing sand that has been washed out. Theres some pics of my tank in this thread: http://www.aceforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=42393 Once ive got all the pumps i need sorted, id like to have a well stocked tank and im led to believe that even 40 fish would be ok with my setup. If im going to buy that many fish it is well worth my time finding a breeder as most shops want at least $15 each for small fish. Anyone know of any breeders in SE Qld? Everyone thats selling fish on here seem to be in Sydney. How do people buy fish out of the Syd area? Get them posted? Who is a good breeder than ships fish? Ive heard some bad stories about livefish.com.au and they arent any cheaper than normal aquarium shops up here anyway. Im thinking of a couple peppermint bristlenose down the track. I really like their black colour, The catfish ive got in another smaller tank eat every bit of algae on the glass, im a bit surprised to hear that bigger ones dont to be honest. I guess some snails might be the go. What does CF mean? Is that the tank:filtration ratio? Thanks again for your interest. 25 views and no replies, i had almost given up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristlenose2008 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 2600 is the rating yes, so how much does that mean it should flow? The pump isnt really doing any lifting as the system operates like a syphon, the pump just moves the water around. Ill happily put another pump in if needed but i think there is still quite a bit of water movement at the moment. Ive tested it by placing some nuetrally boyant containers in various places and they always tend to move around quite a bit. What does CF mean? Is that the tank:filtration ratio? CF means Canister filter. The type of filter the sits outside under your tank and has 2 hoses attached to it. I am not seeing any filters on the photo you have posted. You have hidden it well. What brand is it? Oh...well done on the background. looks fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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