I am getting a 125g this weekend, and once set up, some of it's residents will be my first foray into Cichlids. The main population will be Dwarf Flag Cichlids, accented by Boeseman's Rainbowfish and a pair of mature Opaline Gouramis. I will be starting the tank with starter water and media from my established 55g tank. It will have a sand bottom, with a little colored gravel for accents, natural rocks and wood, for lots of hidey-holes and territory for them.
I go into this knowing Cichlids are more delicate than a lot of the other fish I've kept before, AND that our city has ludicrously low pH (I have to do every other daily tests to keep from crashing below 6.0 in a planted tank with rocks)
Aside from watching pH like a hawk, and keeping "pH Up" on hand, what can I do proactively, while setting the tank up and with it's initial cycle, to help it start off optimized for them? Is there anything other than what I do with any other freshwater community tank?
I go into this knowing Cichlids are more delicate than a lot of the other fish I've kept before, AND that our city has ludicrously low pH (I have to do every other daily tests to keep from crashing below 6.0 in a planted tank with rocks)
Aside from watching pH like a hawk, and keeping "pH Up" on hand, what can I do proactively, while setting the tank up and with it's initial cycle, to help it start off optimized for them? Is there anything other than what I do with any other freshwater community tank?