African Tank pics

[dss2004]

Okay here is the tank that I set-up for my folks. It is a Malawi tank all mbunas. There are also 5 tiger barbs and one little bristlenose pleco.

The tank is standard 55 gallon

Dual filtration
1) Magnum 350
2) Cascade cannister filter

Plain gravel

The rocks came from a local rock yard for about 20 bucks.

The light is a Jebo 220w dual actinic and daylight bulb, well one daylight bulb
now. I was doing some renovations and I moved the light and my clumsy hands lost grip and needless to say I will be replacing one of their bulbs.

I strongly advised against adding the fake plants but they just couldn't restrain themselves. I am going to try and find some better looking plants as the ones they purchased are quite cheesy.

The tank is so much fun to watch. I am really jealous it is not in my apartment!!



African tank pics.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Very nice!! I love it. The rocks look great. Although i'd set that one in the center top down in that crevice just to make it a bit more natural...plus i'd be scared of that baby rollin. The plants don't really distract to much, just adds another hue of color i think.

Very nice.

You should get one for your apartment too

 

[dss2004]

Not a bad idea with the center rock. Next time I am home I will give it a shot. Yeah I gave all the rocks a nice push and pull to make sure they were set well. all the bottom rocks have the substrate built up around them.

We are about to move into our first house and an african tank is the first thing I am going to set-up. I am probably going with the 75 gallon I have been eye-balling.

Thanks C-man. Your advice was tremendous help. The fish are all doing great. I actually got to witness yesterday a battle for territory. I had rearranged some of the rocks so areas were back up for auction. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I can see how addictive cichlids can be.

Thanks again for the nice words.

 

[Lotus]

Looks great! Usually, the darker green fake plants tend to look more "real." I kind of liked the fake cabomba ones when I had fake plants. The more "bushy" looking plants usually work quite well.

 

[dss2004]

Oh yes the day of fake plants. Life was easier but not nearly as much fun. Thanks for the input lotus. I really want to use these fake plants I found at a hobby store. They are like you commented darker green. They are tall and spikey and I feel a little more natural to the habitat.

Are there any problems with using ordinary hobby store fake plants in aquariums?

Thanks again for the nice words and input Lotus.

 

[Orion]

That looks great dss.

I too have a great concern for those large stacked rocks in the center. As high and big as they are, if they were to fall, chances are good that it very well could do some damage.

Dont know about the hobby store fake plants. Boil them, clean them, boil them some more too see if anything happens. I have used fake vines before in tree frog setups with no ill effects.

 

[phOOey]

Looks great *thumbsups

i to think those centre rocks could be changed, to me it looks a bit 'top heavy'. I think those fake plants look alright aswell.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

striking appearance with the rocks. I like it a lot. I might set up a cichlid tank soon so i relly enjoy seeing what others have done. I like the rock formation, but I would take it out, let it dry, and then seal it together with silicon. If you wanted, you could always pry them apart later. I fiddle around too much in my tanks to have something like that in ther because I'd surely knock it over sooner or later.

 

[h6w6ii]

SWEEEET!!!!!