empty 55 gal -water question...

[A.Reiser]

I have an empty 55 gal i want to set up as an african cichlid tank but i have some questions...

First, will 55gal be a sufficient size for these fish??

Second, our well water is very high in hardness and alkalinity but here is the problem... it is also high in nitrates. Now we have an r/o system we can use but i hate the idea of taking all the minerals out to put them back in again, so is there anything i can do to treat the water just for the nitrates?? or is the r/o my best bet?

thanks!
Anna

 

[blue2fyre]

A 55 gallon is a great size for most rift lake cichlids What exactly are you looking at to stock it with? "African cichlids" is a very broad range of species.

How high are the nitrates in your water? You may be fine. The hard water and high Ph are not a problem since rift lake species prefer it.

 

[Hebily]

It is very hard for nitrAtes to get toxic. We use them as a meter to know when we need to do water changes, but not because of the nitrAtes. What are you tap nitrAte levels? You can probably just keep your tank water 20-40 ppm nitrAtes above that and be fine.

 

[A.Reiser]

nitrates are at around 10ppm.

I was thinking Tanganyican(sp) species, but i wasn't sure really i love all the colors and don't know where to start!!!

I'm so glad to hear about the water, It'll be so much easier to run it straight from the tap!! (it'll keep me doing my water changes regularly! lol)

I would like a pretty dense community so i suppose no seriously aggresive cichlids, I have a book all on the different species, i need to go consult it and come up with a more concrete plan! I was waiting till i found out about our water.

Also, in this tank i can use all that limestone rock i have lying around can't I?

Oh, and is it ok to set the tank in the path of more sunlight than usual to encourage algae growth for the fish?

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[Hebily]

If you want to encourage algae growth, than your tap nitrates definately won't be a problem... The only problem will be the algae. It will take over quickly... be careful. It's good for the fish, not a problem... we just don't like looking at it...

 

[A.Reiser]

ok i see! thanks I was just wanting to create for them a more natural habitat. Can i substitute for that by feeding those spirulina(sp) flakes then??

I'm getting too excited, i think this tank is going up in the next two weeks! lol

 

[Fishfiles1]

well im seting up a 55 gal tang tank too just check out my threed for stocking

 

[A.Reiser]

thanks that helps alot! i hadn't opened that thread yet, glad you suggested it. It gives me some good ideas

 

[bradlgt21]

Nitrates of 10ppm isn't bad at all. above 20 is considered dirty. Actually planted tanks are dosed to stay above 10 ppm because the plants need it. So it wouldn't even be stressful on the fish, you don't have to worry about that.

 

[jpappy789]

I very much disagree with the statement that nitrates above 20 ppm is considered "dirty"....