125g Malawi tank

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davidtcb1

AC Members
Aug 20, 2004
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Nashville TN area
I am in the process of purchasing and setting up a 125 gallon Malawi tank. Have a few questions/clarifications and am seeking opinions.

1. Filters: Am considering an Eheim 2028 Pro Canister filter. Would think I'd need a couple of them. What do you think of the Eheims and would you think 2 would be necessary?

2. Substrate: Have been doing a lot of reading in the past couple days about the whole sand, gravel, mixture debate. Would love to do the sand thing for looks sake and to also recreate the natural habitat of the fish. Is the sand as hard on the filter(s) as some say? Also, I use a Python for water changes, does this disrupt the sand too much or do you find it pull too much sand through the tube (i.e. out of the tank and down the drain)?

3. Of course I am torn between Mbunas and the others. I want to do alot of rocks that the Mbunas but also like the looks of the haps/peacocks, etc. Any success with mixing them at all? I am reading it's something you shouldn't try - some say it can work with enough hiding places, etc - but want real feedback from real aquarists not trying to sell product. Also, would love a Frontosa or two but am finding this to be a big no no as well.

4. The pH in my other two tanks stays around 7.5 naturally so my levels shouldn't be a problem once I get cycled. Should I but cichlids to cycle the tank or can I cycle them with anything, then move them out?

5. Any other comments, especially compatability related, and questions welcomed.

Thanks!
 
I can really help you out with the filters as i dont have any tanks that big. However, i do have a Malwi 75 gal setup.

I have white silica sand in it. i dont have too much trouble cleaning it with a Pyhton, just run the pythong about 1/2 inch about the sand and it picks up most of the stuff, but his can depend on your water pressure where you live. On a side note - before you put and sand or rock work in, put a layer of egg crate on the bottom of the tank. When your cichlids dig, rocks can fall and if they have dug down to the bottom of the tank (my mbuna do this a lot) you can have some major problems.

As far as the Mbuna/Peaock/Hap discussion - here is my experience. I had all 3 in my tank and all were getting along pretty good. 1 day after work, i noticed 1 of the peacocks was dead and he was fine last time i saw him. The next day was a repeat with the other Peacock. My Mbunas and Haps get along and really dont pay much attention to each other, but my Haps are larger than the Mbunas. So in my opinion, Haps and Mbuna are Ok together in general. Some haps and peacocks will be Ok ,but some haps may be to aggressive for peacocks

As far as what kind of fish to cycle your tank with - it doesnt really matter but you can also try using Bio-Spira, it has worked pretty good for me.
 
Thanks...Mbunas and Haps are more along the lines of what I'm looking at stocking it with, so that is good to hear.

As for the egg crate, I've also heard that a layer of styrofoam is something good to put under the sand. Do you have an info or experience with this? Seems like it would break down and be potentially hazardous over time. When you say egg crate, are you talking about the stuff they use for some mattresses, etc.?

Thanks!
 
Hi dave,
No, he is not talking about the foam used on top of mattresses. He is talking about the eggcrate that is used as a light diffuser in drop cielings. You can find it at home depot, lowes, etc. in the drop cieling section. It is a 4'by 2' piece of small plastic squares, and comes in silver and white (white is cheaper). I highly recomend this stuff, put it in first then stack your rocks on top of it, then put in your substrate. this way the rocks are on the bottum thus can not be undermined, but are not resting on the glass, as well as there weight is better distributed.
as far as foam goes, it will not degrade in you tank, it takes centeries to degrade, but I don't like the fact that it is not solid. just my opinion, I would recomend the eggcrate diffuser.
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as far as mixing mbuna and haps goes, it can be done if you choose your fish wisely. I have done it and have seen it done. You should get the haps bigger than the mbuna, and get less aggressive mbuna such as yellow labs, rusties, and zebras. you could also do m. maingano, but they are borderline on aggression. My tank has one red empress (hap), m. maingano, yellow labs, and a rusty. you can see pics at my thread in the cichlid forum "showing off my 85 gallon" sorry, no pic of the red empress.
As far as sand goes, I love it! as long as you rinse it really really well, you shouldn't have any problems with your filters, also, if you turn off your filters until the sand has settled. I get bagged 30 grit from home depot, lowes, etc. it is a little less dirty than play sand, but still needs a good rinsing. to clean, just hover your syphon above the sand to suck up the debris but not the sand, it might take a little practice but soon you will get the distance right so you donn't suck up so much sand.
the african cichlids really love to sift through the sand, so I would recomend it, plus it's cheaper.​
Hope this helps, good luck!
 
I would get about 2 inches of sand to avoid a DSB. I wouldn't go with CC or gravel just bc those can accumulate detritus and waste. Overtime it turns into a nitrate factory.
 
I just added 4 OB Peacocks to about 15 Mbuna and they're all getting along fine....Also do some research, some Haps/Peacocks get to be about the same size as Mbuna, keep an eye out for them and you shouldn't have to worry about the size differencial...BTW, aren't Peacocks part of the Hap group??
 
OB peacocks are a hybrid cross of a peacock and OB mbuna. In a mixed tank, they hold up a little better than pure peacocks but are still not the best choice. Peacocks are a hap but do not have the personality to hold their own with mbunas.
 
Thanks all. I had since found out about the eggcrate and will certainly to that as well as the sand idea.

Thanks again!
 
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