New 44g tank, some recommendations?

[XxlOaF]

The other day I was browsing though some fish stores and happened to notice this very nice looking 44g pentagon shaped tank,22x22x24, according to an online shop.( decent picture I found ) Asking how much it was I find out it has a small piece of chipped glass on one of the seems and has a very tiny leak there. Anyways I end up buying the tank for 20 bucks(new they are close to 130$!) + some silicon sealant . Good deal if you ask me! (the stupid hood is going to cost me close 50 bucks )

Now I am still quite a newbie to the fish hobby. I have one other tank, one of those 29 gallon kit walmart specials.. I now know I could have done better, but it was my first stop in the fish keeping experience. Ive been keeping that tank for a few months now with pretty good sucess, only a few deaths, though the tank is probably a tiny bit over crowded.

So to really get to my questions. I want to set this tank up right. I want to get the proper equipment for the tank this time. Seeing as Im starting from scratch, no kit I figured I should ask for some advice and start pieceing togeather something nice.

I was thinking of setting up a cichlid tank with lots of driftwood and some plants. But I really dont know how difficult this is and if I ready for it. Looking around online I havent really been able to find any good tutorials for setting up a cichlid tank..

(edit)
Befor my post was asking for quite a bit. What I would really like are maybe some cichlid FAQs, or some good websites with good informaiton on cichlid tanks. I can find lots of general information cichlid sites but nothings like I have been looking for.

Dont think that I havent done any research myself, because I have done quite a bit, just I alwasy enjoy hearing it directly from a person.

Hope Im not trying to ask too much here...anyways back to researching.

--Sean

 

[Swimfins]

A good price. I'm not personally a fan of those hexagonal tanks but it was a bargain. Since you say your 29g is overstocked I'd consider building the new tank around something you'd like removed from the 29g and maybe make a theme tank based on a geographical area or species type. Let's say you remove a pleco, add a few angelfish or 2 schools of tetras for example with some corydoras.
I don't know much about cichlids, but from what I've seen, they are best in long tanks with alot of filtration. (excluding small shell dwellers, I suppose)
For filtration, it depends on what you eventually plant to keep. I'm a fan of canister filters. But I really like aqua clear hang on back filters for my 2 x 25g's that don't have large fish loads.
I'd really rule out the cichlids if I were you and unload a few from the 29g and build around what you remove.

 

[XxlOaF]

First off Id like to apologize for my first post I was in a hurry and just was trying to post fast. I asked way too much. Ill give it an edit in a bit.

Well I already had the idea of moving a fish from the 29 gallon to the 44. I mistakenly bought a "parrot" fish a few weeks ago without really knowing what it was(I know, I should smack myself in the head), I now know this is a type a cichlid and will probably get too large for the 29 gallon. Right now the fish is the size of a quarter and is acually quite fun to watch. I still cant decern if this is a regualr parrot cichlid or a blood parrot cichlid. So that parrot cichlid was going to be the first fish to go in the tank.

Ill still have to think about if I really want a cichlid tank. Ive alwasy been interested by them and like the themes of tanks you can go with for them.

Anyways thanks for the suggestions, Ill take them into consideration.

--Sean

 

[Swimfins]

A couple parrots would be nice. I'm not sure about what other species they are compatible with, but they are cichlids and need special care that they might not get in a community tank. I think the issue is feeding because of the 'parrot' mouth. Soo0000, you could do a species tank with those and some bottom feeders for example. This way target feeding the parrots won't be so much of an issue.