New member need advice setup malawi tank

Discussion in 'New members' started by vinny, Aug 23, 2014.

  1. vinny

    vinny

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2014
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Durban
    Hi I'm Vinny from Durban. I'm quite new to fish keeping world. I want to setup a malawi tank.

    My current setup includes:

    6 foot tank 1.8x 600 x 600
    Filtration: Sump 4 foot , 4 chambers.
    Lighting: Odyssea T5 Quad 54w
    3D background
    Drift wood
    Presently searching for rocks to setup.
    Busy with the tank cabinet, using the N30 aquarium white cabinet design.


    I have been introduced by a member from MASA to join TASA. I have no clue where to start. Most of the stuff was given to me. Been to the pet store at Durban North , seen their malawi tank want to adopt the same setup. I need advice regarding the following areas:

    Drift wood its a large pierce
    Do i need powerhead for circulation?
    How many malawi fish can tank handle, pet shops are giving me mixed advice. Some say 60- 80 around 5cm.
    I want to mix all 3 lakes, saw setup 3 different stores, looks fantastic.
    What type and colour substrate?


    I need help :(:(, thanks guyz​





    N30tank6ftarowanatanksetwithsumpandcabinet151111.jpg

    IMG-20140807-WA0004.jpg

    IMG-20140720-WA0001.jpg

    20140814_061946.jpg

    20140808_143700.jpg
     
  2. Guest




  3. eugenevw

    eugenevw

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2014
    Messages:
    167
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Pretoria East, Olympus
    Hi Vinny, A warm Welcome.

    Looks like we are in the same boat:)...I'm also busy with my first Malawi 6ft setup. I'll help you out were possible.

    Must say your tank looks awesome!!

    1. the driftwood is perfect, put in a lot of rocks for hiding places
    2. I'm gonna install 2x powerheads for sirculation just for incase,
    3. quantity - 50 to 60 will be okay, done my homework on this one. Keep in mind that these fish make babies like crazy.
    4. mixing all cichlids is a hard one but it is possible - you just net to get the right sizes for each specie
    5. substrate is your choice - most people I've come accross with a Malawi setup uses Pool Filter Sand of the small pebbles you buy from the petshops. Agian in this case I'm going for play sand


    Hope our fellow members can give some more advise here
     
  4. dash

    dash

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    3,194
    Likes Received:
    18
    Location:
    Durban
    Hi mate and welcome to the forum. Nice to see KZN growing.

    Just line you, I also setup a Malawi tank not so long ago. There are a few things you need to know that will help you over the long term keeping these fish.

    1. Read up on the Mbuna and happs so that you have a good understanding of how these fish live in the lake.

    2. These fish appreciate lots of rock and a sandy substrate.

    3. These fish also do very well in a higher PH 7.5 8.0. Taking this on to account, drift wood is not such a good idea as it lowers PH. I have seen wood In Malawi tanks but, I would not use it.

    4. Filtration is very important as these fish are little pigs and eat and poop line know tomorrow. Glad you went for a sump.

    5. I would not mix fish from the different lakes just yet until you understand the particular fish requirements.

    6. People over stock tanks to limit the aggression amongst these guys. They are some of the prettiest fish but, can behave like monsters.


    Hope this helps for now. @HEIHACHI and @Chongkie are both from KZN and have slit more experience then my self and should be able to help.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  5. eugenevw

    eugenevw

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2014
    Messages:
    167
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Pretoria East, Olympus
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  6. Dolphin

    Dolphin

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    1,918
    Likes Received:
    142
    @vinny hello and welcome to TASA! You're making a good start with that size tank and filtration in a sump.Some good advice has already been given above. I just want to reiterate the need to research each species you intend keeping before adding to the tank. Remember that malawies, and other African rift lake cichlids get large so while a large number while small will partially help with aggression they will grow significantly, quickly.Regarding the driftwood, it's possible to varnish it with a non toxic varnish and thereby stop it from adding tannins to the water. It wood need to be weighted down to stop it from floating.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  7. Ryno

    Ryno Kenaal baber

    Joined:
    May 19, 2012
    Messages:
    4,022
    Likes Received:
    50
    Location:
    Pretoria
    Awesome tank. Love the white cabinet. You can also use Marco rock and even aragonite as substrate. Cool thing about these is they help to buffer the ph for malawi's and would look better than poolfilter sand.
     
  8. OP
    vinny

    vinny

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2014
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Durban
    Hello Dolphin
    Thanks for the advice. The drift wood is bit heavy but will arrange rocks. Do you know any non toxic varnish i can use, tried hardware, no product thats is marine safe. I get the impression that pet stores take advantage of my knowledge regarding stocking the tank. They all show me there display tanks and willing to sell me their stock provided i buy all my stock from them. You can understand my confusion. Will read up tonite thanks again for your advice will update my tank progress.
     
  9. OP
    vinny

    vinny

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2014
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Durban
    Hello Ryno

    Thanks
     
  10. Caudelia

    Caudelia

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2013
    Messages:
    789
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    durban
    Hi and welcome, awesome looking tank, have to agree wit @dash, sound advice to speak to @Chongkie and @HEIHACHI as well
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  11. francoisve

    francoisve Killinut

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2013
    Messages:
    1,234
    Likes Received:
    13
    Location:
    Moreletapark, Pretoria
    @vinny you csn not go wrong with Aragonite as a substrate it looks awesome and is the perfect size. Huge problem with mixing three lakes or even species from the same lake is diet... You do not want plant/algae eaters and carnivorous fish eating the wrong diet for extendd periods, someone is going to suffer in the long run...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  12. blueskipjack

    blueskipjack

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2012
    Messages:
    179
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Port Elizabeth
    Welcome. Crushed coral will help keeping your PH stable.I have a 2mx620x620 tank with two internal powerheads with an external canister filter and it work fine. I have plus minus fourty adult mabunas in my setup.It is best to stay with one type of Malawi cichlids.
     
  13. Dolphin

    Dolphin

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    1,918
    Likes Received:
    142
    @vinny you need to get marine grade varnish or it will be a mess. An alternative is the water proof sealers which are used in potable water applications. Go to a paint specialist or large hardware store that specializes in paints. Wood preparation before painting is critical to ensure all soft spots are removed. It must be completely sealed. If you have any doubt about how to do this please rather don't as doing it wrong will result in fish dying. For rocks try a landscaping place. Ask them for bone stone rock, it has holes and different shapes. It's cheap about R5 a kg. Crushed coral is great for the sump and will provide surface area for biological filtration while buffering the pH. If you use it in the display then get a fine grade, food and debris gets lodged in the bigger pieces.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  14. Chongkie

    Chongkie

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2013
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    Pietermaritzburg
    I think the best person to give advice is @Jack Stone

    1. You have an awesome sized tank there! the possibilities are endless!

    2. Substrate should be fine sand, aka pool filter sand or even finer, like Aragonite, that is if you have the budget for it. But you can't go wrong with PFS.

    3. African Cichlids really like Hard water, malawis have a range of Ph7.5 to 8.0, Tangs even higher. But generally we have hard water in SA (other than CT) so no real need to buffer too much. Take a look at this article that can help you with buffering the water. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

    Regarding the driftwood, as others have mentioned, it will drop you Ph in your tank, but if you really want it in your tank it is ok, as long as you keep a watch on the water parameters. Add crushed oyster shells to your sump to help with the buffering.

    4. Even though you have a big tank, you shouldn't mix the three lakes together. As others have said, all three require different water parameters and have different diets.

    5. One big thing you need to consider is choosing the right fish to be together. Even though they might be different species, but have the same patterns and colour, they will fight. Try choose three to 5 (max) different looking malawis. Have a look at this. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/

    6. Regarding scaping your tank, you could consider doing a biotope. Get lots of rocks to the one side of your tank and slope them and have an open water part for malawi haps. The rocky part can be for your malawi mbunas. Something like this...

    http://fish-etc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Rock-building-14-Biotope-Malawian-bliss.jpg

    2011 AGA Aquascaping Contest - Entry #41


    7. Stocking levels are based on how you want your tank to be. 60 to 80 sounds around right if you want to over stock, but rather go for the lower range. Remember that they will breed when they mature.
     
  15. Caudelia

    Caudelia

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2013
    Messages:
    789
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    durban
    I use crushed coral as my substrate, I have no PH problems, and my fish are fine, they move it around a lot though
     
  16. HEIHACHI

    HEIHACHI

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    durban
    At the end of the day Vinny its your tank, so take the brilliant info given above and customize it to your needs. Monitor your fish and if something is not working change it. For me personally I'm not a purist because a the conditions a purist believes in is only found in nature the minute you try and replicate nature in a tank you have failed. My 2 bob do what makes you happy start small and work towards an end goal.
     
  17. Goldfish101

    Goldfish101

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2014
    Messages:
    73
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal
    Welcome :) I definitely want a Malawi tank in the future, they are amazing fish.
     
  18. dash

    dash

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    3,194
    Likes Received:
    18
    Location:
    Durban
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016

Recent Posts

Loading...
Similar Threads - member need advice Forum Date
New member advise needed New members Aug 4, 2014
New member in need of help New members Jun 11, 2014
Need help from the betta forum members Labyrinth Fish May 11, 2012
Some help needed from johannesburg members General Off-Topic chat Sep 27, 2011
Urgent Help Needed from all you awesome TASA members! General Discussions Feb 15, 2011
Not a new member but nice to be back New members Jan 18, 2024
New Member New members Jan 3, 2024

Share This Page