L. Caeruleus Species tank

[Nokinja]

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a bit of criticism or advice.

The tank i'm running in my living room is a 75 Gallon (48x12x18).
Equipment:

Fluval 204
Fluval 404
Light-Glo Dual 40w Canopy
Sea-Storm HOB Fludized bed filter
200w Hagen Tronic Heater
Crushed Coral Substrate


Stock:
11 Labidochromis caeruleus
2 Port Hoplo Cats

My two main concerns ate that it's A) Cluttered ...

I've got a stand being built as I type, and i've got a sump in the works, so that should be helpful in getting rid of the clutter. I plan to have the tank drilled for a bit of security versus a siphon overflow.
Will Fluvals work on a sump system? I was under the impression that they were dependent on the siphon effect draining from the tank to fill them and the impeller only sends water back to the tank. In my mind, that would make it impossible to run them on a sump as it will be under the tank, with no height difference between the sump and the canisters.

B) that the tank is Plain looking.

Are any plants capable of survivng with Labs? Amazon sword mayhaps? I want to get some color in there...

Anyway, enough rantings. Here's a pic of it.

[biogirl361]

i havn't tried this personally but i have heard that anubias species plants are usually left alone (plus they are very attractive!). also, i think java moss and java fern would not be eaten. you might also try some jungle val, people have mixed results with that. lab caeruleus are omnivores, not hardcore herbivores like pseudotropheus, so i think you should have good luck with plants if you choose them wisely. all of the above mentioned plants have the additional advantage of being able to stand relatively low light and hard water. try to shoot for 2 wpg for good results.

[jonah]

The tank i'm running in my living room is a 75 Gallon (48x12x18).


That's a 55g, not a 75g. I have both sizes and 48x12x18 matches my 55g tanks exactly.

Anubias, java fern and java moss should all be fine with Labs. They'll take care of any snails that show up too. 2 wpg would be plenty for any of those plants.

[valerie]

The plants should be ok with Labs. Be prepared that they may get eaten though. Java ferns and anubias are usually safe as they have thicker leaves and "supposedly" tasta bad to fish. But that doesn't mean in all tanks they won't get eaten. In my tank, any plants get eaten down to stems in a few days. I"ve tried java ferns, anubias, vals, swords and crypts with no luck. I dont' even have any vegetarian fish(i keep haps and Lab. perlmutt). SO it really depends on the individual fish whether you will be able to keep plants. Find some cheap ones and test it out.