cichlid substrate and filter

leoman777

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mesa,az
im getting a HUGE new tank in a few days and whats is the best substrate for african cichlids im thinking crushed coral or sand but most likely crushed coral to raise the pH levels and what is a good filter?? im not really sure how many gallons the tank is but it big. any help is appreciated

thanks!!

Matt
 

Sunrise Reptile

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New Haven, IN
Matt, I use pool filter sand in my tank. I love the stuff. It's inexpensive ($12 per 50 lb. bag), looks nice, and has been pretty easy to keep clean. You can put crushed coral in your filter and get equal benefit.

Really what it comes down to though is what kind of Africans you're keeping. Coral will be OK with Malawi Mbuna, but Peacocks and Haplochromine are substrate sifters. They'll end up shredding their mouth parts if you use coral substrate. Just something to think about.
 

leoman777

New Member
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1,199
Location
mesa,az
Matt, I use pool filter sand in my tank. I love the stuff. It's inexpensive ($12 per 50 lb. bag), looks nice, and has been pretty easy to keep clean. You can put crushed coral in your filter and get equal benefit.

Really what it comes down to though is what kind of Africans you're keeping. Coral will be OK with Malawi Mbuna, but Peacocks and Haplochromine are substrate sifters. They'll end up shredding their mouth parts if you use coral substrate. Just something to think about.

cool thanks!! i was thinking about getting the malawi mbuna... what would be the best for them??
 

Sunrise Reptile

SunriseReptile.com
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New Haven, IN
You can use either sand or coral for Mbuna. Of those two substrate types, I would suggest sand, and put some crushed coral in your filtration to help the ph levels.

Also, make sure you have plenty of hiding spaces. :main_thumbsup:
 

fishyfan

New Member
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275
Location
California
Don't use crushed coral, its hard to keep clean...fine coral sand or pool sand will work just fine though. It really depends on how much money you want to spend, pool filter sand is way cheaper but coral sand looks nicer imo. How big of a tank are we talking about? What types of mbuna are you looking at?
 

crotaphytidae

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370
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Utah
I would also think that if you are in Arizona the water should already have a high pH and hardness so the substrate giving the water a higher pH would be less of an issue. Desert water is usually hard and basic, at least I know Utah water is. Good luck, and I think sand would be a great choice with some rockscape in the tank which will also increase the pH levels.
 

leoman777

New Member
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1,199
Location
mesa,az
thanks everybody!! im getting the tank from a friend i dont know the exact gallons but it is big and i plan on just getting a few cichlids to start out with im planning on getting: an auratus, red zebra, kenyi, lemon yellow, and a snow white.
 

fishyfan

New Member
Messages
275
Location
California
thanks everybody!! im getting the tank from a friend i dont know the exact gallons but it is big and i plan on just getting a few cichlids to start out with im planning on getting: an auratus, red zebra, kenyi, lemon yellow, and a snow white.

That auratus is most likely going to dominate the tank and may kill the other ones, they are one of the most aggressive mbuna. The kenyi is also a fairly aggressive mbuna.

You could check out this website for some ideas on what can mix depending on what type of setup you want, stocking levels, etc...

Just scroll down to the mbuna section:
http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_75g.php
 
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PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn

Guest
find out what the size of your tank is to start with. this is key to seeing what and how many you keep.

then find a filter thats either rated for a tank double its size or buy 2 filters rated for that tank size (or more, believe me, there is no such thing as over-filtration)

personally I like play sand as a substrate, colour can be a bit pale for my liking, though it depends on the brand.

crushed coral may or may not be needed in the filter, depending on your tap water.
I personally keep a selection of cichlids from soft water through to hard. luckily for me my tap water is almost RO in quality, with an average of 1ppm nitrate, and less than 9ppm GH (1/2dGH) and 5ppm KH (1/4dKH) and I buffer up using sodium bicarbonate and Magnesium sulphate (baking soda and Epsom salts) and this keeps my pH up and stable in the 7.8-8 mark with no coral in the filters.

I've attached a photo of my main tank (a 6by2by2) which contains a mixture of Mbuna,Haps and Peacocks, as well as some S. petricola
MalawiTank.jpg
 
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project1

Guest
thats a nice tank!! i use sand with my chiclids and iv also liked the small river pebbles. i have black sand in mine right now i wouldnt suggest the black sand you really half to clean it lucky for me i have 2 55 gal tanks. i thought i cleaned the sand pretty good put it in the tank and added water and instant cloud i used 2 100 gal filters to clear it up and am still using them with my fish. i like the marine land magnum filters if your looking still.
 

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