Substrate for new Malawi Tank

GirlieGirl8521 said:
I agree. I have the salt and pepper sand (Eco Complete African Cichlid sand to be exact) and I'd rather have all black. The pictures I've seen with black sand and black background really make the colors of the fish pop. :) Whenever I upgrade my Malawians, they'll have black sand :)
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I just checked out your 55 malawi tank which looks fantastic; I gotta agree though that that style tank with a black background, your slate work and black sand would look awesome.

I would consider changing mine over but I figure I will try and learn me some more about these here fishies before focusing on the soft furnishings :)
 
I have never used sand. When I started my cichlid tank the LFS recommended large pebbles. So much debris gets caught in the crevices that it's a pain. Can you vaccuum sand? It seems like it would get sucked up.
 
Yes if you stick it down in the sand it sucks up some..but if you lift it a little it comes back out. I do not stick down in the sand like I did with rocks....I just skim over the top to get the crud up. I love my sand, can't wait till the day I can switch to black though...I really like that.
 
I recommend against using Home Depot play sand for two reasons...

1) You will go insane trying to clean it. It's the worst, and I actually gave up on it.

2) If you run a magnet through it, you will pick up little grains of metal, or at least I did.

There are better alternatives like silica sand if you like the white/beige-look (blasting sand at car part stores or filter sand at pool stores) or sand from a nice, clean creek, river, or lakeshore, if you like the natural look.

I paid the big bucks and got Carib Sea cichlid sand, which really wasn't necessary, but I did it out of convenience, and also the buffering capacity is nice. This summer I'm going up to a large, pristine lake and will probably replace it with some of that, just for the sake of being more natural.
 
If there's a local small chain or independent hardware store in your area, check them out to see if they carry locally quarried sand. That's how I've always gotten the sand I use in other tanks. I usually really prefer a more natural look - I only did the black Tahitian Moon in my mbuna tank to show off their colours more. The sand I use in every other tank is locally quarried. The company's based in St. Paul, but the gravel pits are further south, in Apple Valley. It has a very good texture, a really nice mottled brown colour, and it's $1.25 for a 40 pound bag.
 
bookmayer said:
My LFS (chain) recommended the large pebbles - was that bad advice for cichlids?
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Well if we're talking about e.g. the malawis it wasn't great. They like to dig around a little bit. I think this applies in respect of a lot of cichlids in general; what are you keeping/thinking of keeping ?

How larger are the pebbles ? You get waste falling between the larger grain; pain in the neck to keep clean.
 
I am popping into my LFS today to check out a substrate for cichlids that probably is'nt new but it is a new product for them to carry. As soon as I can get more info. off of the bag I will post it and see if this product is anything anyone is currently using. That way I can either add it to my "maybe" list or just dismiss it all together.
I checked 2 big chain pet stores yesterday and neither of them had the T. moon sand for me to check out. Going down to Southern Maine today and will check a couple of stores there.
I have to say though discussing the topic, typing and changing my mind here is a lot easier and way less expensive then changing my mind 3/4 of the way through my set up!!!
 
Coler said:
Well if we're talking about e.g. the malawis it wasn't great. They like to dig around a little bit. I think this applies in respect of a lot of cichlids in general; what are you keeping/thinking of keeping ?

How larger are the pebbles ? You get waste falling between the larger grain; pain in the neck to keep clean.
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I have a 23 gallon tank with "assorted" Africans - meaning the fish store tank was labeled "assorted African cichlids". Three of them were different shades of yellow/orange and one was blue with black vertical stripes. I also have a synodontis and pleco in there. I recently took out my pagoda rocks and put in lace rocks for more cave spaces. I lost two fish after the change, so I'm thinking about changing the substrate before I restock.
 
Maybe start a thread for advice on stocking. 23 gallons would need careful planning. Also be aware that changing the substrate affects the biological filter badly so you may get a mini cycle. Some people change half, wait a week or two, change the other half.
 
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