New 90 gal aquascape-number of rocks

[fibreheart]

Hi all
I'm new to the site but have had fish for 10yrs.

Right now I have a 55 gal american cichlid tank. It has a 250W heater, 1 canopy flourescent bulb 24", a hang on filter I think it's a tetra 300 not sure, but I'm getting rid of it anyway. The tank I got free from a friend 6 yrs ago.

In it I have
2 x 5" Jack Dempseys
6 x 4" Male Convicts
3 x 2" Male Pink Convicts
5 x 2" Female Pink and Zebra Convicts
2 x 1" yellow labs
1 x 5" pleco

I have had the JD's for 5 yrs and they stopped growing 2 yrs ago. I was told that that can happen due to inbreeding in aquarium stock and that they might not get much bigger. I believe the convicts stunted their growth......I'm sorry ..........Anyway, I realize this is a lot of fish for this tank. I don't do water changes. Just fill it up and clean the filters when it needs it. I don't add chemicals. I know this is unorthidox but nothing dies in my tanks at all. In 6 yrs the only deaths I have had was, of course, convict fry, JD fry(about 6 clutches ) and convicts that got beat down. No one has ever died from sickness at all. My tank is an enigma.

Anyway, I am in the process of setting up a 90 gal for these guys. I have some colvert stones that I got about 7 yrs ago. Some are med-lrg and some are smaller. These are going to be used for the base rock. I am looking for ideas on aqua scaping this 90. I am think about a tall cove type with a deep cave system. You know the kind where you can barely see any fish until feeding time I saw this type at a dentists office once with an African tank and I couldn't believe that even the 8" pleco could disappear in it.

So things I want to know.
How much lbs of rock can a 90 gal fresh water hold?
Can I go to the water line with the rock? These will be stacked only so I can change the layout to reduce aggression.
How much open space do I need for the community area in the centre of the cove?

Some specs for the 90. It's 48"x18"x24" with stand and double strip canopy.
A Rena canister filter rated for 175 gals
a 300 watt heater
3 x LED bubble strip
2 x moonlight bubblers
1 or 2 deep water air pumps.
I do plan on maintaining this one really well. Way better then the last tank.
I am using white sand for the substrate at about 1"

Other things too. I know convicts infest tanks and am well aware of thier aggressions. The ones I have are 2, 3 and 4th generations. And for some reason, have a huge respect for my Jacks. And the Labs are perfectly fine and happy and have dug themselves a little space in the tank. Finally, all rocks will be placed on the glass before the sand goes in

Ok guys, any ideas would be wonderful! Thank you

 

[qwiksilvr13]

Sounds like you have a great plan. I would think you would want to give your fish a little more room than they had in the 55 gallon. If you really wanted to be precise with what your water to rock ratio is just use the displacement method. Put your rocks in, and fill with water. Then take your rocks out to see how much water you have left. This should give you a good idea. I love the deep cave idea, and I have always loved seeing rocks stacked to the water line to give it that natural look. You could use flower pots for structure to stack the rocks around to create the cave, or pvc pipe.
Either way good luck, and send me a pic of the finished product to qwiksilvr13@gmail.com

Bill

 

[nanu156]

Ok, well I like your thinking but a couple of things.

1 yellow labs are african and need re-homed ASAP, not only are they african but they are the wimpy kids in that playground. (they do pretty well in standard tropical setups) They will eventually become food.

Next and this is a bummer for you, but you shouldn't really scape like that with South American/Central American cichlids. Swimming patters etc are going to cause them to get bashed up on the formations.

They also prefer the gravel bed as opposed to the higher areas in the tank. That being said I would actually leave them in the 55 and use the 90 to do a rift lake set up (Africans) you can and should do caves and rocks and heavy floor to ceiling scaping for them. Im suggesting leaving them in the 55 and using the 90 for the Africans because the Africans will use the height the south/central guys won't. so a 55 and a 90 are essentially the same for them as they both have the 48" footprint.

Gravel is the preferred substrate for both types of cichlids mentioned here btw as they are rock movers and diggers.

I understand my response may be frustrating to you as i basically said your plan is a no-go but there are options for you to do the scaping you spoke of.

I prefer slate to lava rock type rocks because the porus rocks will absorb food and over time become toxic to the tank. However if you look at my tank photo (attached) I do have some in my tank. I remove them about 3-4 times a year boil them scrub them and soak them and scrub them, if you want something that doesn't require this kind of maintenance go with slate, pots, slate stacks, regular rocks etc.

The other thing I will tell you now as someone who stacks stuff in their tank, is the stacks while relatively stable will topple if you touch them the wrong way, 90g high tanks are tough to reach down into, and one day you will inevitably have a dead fish or something on the bottom and you will then knock the darn stack over then mutter about 100 cuss words while trying to re-stack... I love the stacked look personally but It really makes me mad when i knock it down...

 

[fibreheart]

I would love to keep both tanks, but in the area that I am in I have my daughters 27 gal guppy tank and my 55gal. The guppies are being moved to my office but the 55 has no place in my apartment. I can't put it with the 90gal as I don't want to risk the poundage. I'm kind of swaping the two tanks, 1 Entertainment stand(27 is on), books and things, 1 solid oak buffet(55 is on) about 1250 lbs + for the 90gal/stand. Swaping one for the other as I think the lbs are the same. Once that is done the 55 is going to a new home. I don't want to get rid of my fishes.

My biggest problem is that I don't like the lake/river look. I don't like planted tanks or driftwood. I had the river rock and it was too much of a hassle to clean. I have used beach sand for the last 5 years and never had a problem with it and I love the look of it. I was kind thinking about more of a clean, kind of white/tan color rocks or I could accept black lava. But I have had the pots, the river rock, and slates and I just don't like it. I am probably being selfish, I know, but is there anything I can do to create this look but still end with the results that you suggested?

 

[nanu156]

no, your south americans cant really do what you are looking to do... they need free space, they will only really use the bottom 1/3 of that tank... Honestly you could just stick with the 55 as the 90 has no benefit for your stock. The 90 for all intents and purposes is the same size.

The rock scape you are talking about will end up being harmful to your fish, it will do the following; stunt body growth (btw internal organs continue to grow when this happens the fish dies a painful and slow death) produce injuries from getting smacked into the rock, and likely mess with the balance of your tank.

Yeah, my set up (as pictured) won't work for your stocking plan either, I was just showing you how you can mix media to create cool looks (if you notice that is the same tank laid out two different ways)

In the end keep the 90 or don't keep it you shouldn't do what you are thinking with the fish you have. It's cruel and inhumane.