CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dale and Im getting everything together to start my first aquarium. My plan is to put together a 55 gallon Cichlid tank. I use to keep Koi, but we've moved back into an apartment so instead of going fishless, This is the road Ive decided to take. I hope to learn a lot from this board (Ive already takin a few pointers from some threads) and have my tank up and running within the next few weeks.

Hey Dale!! Sorry we are not here, winter is coming and so much to do before it really gets cold.. I missed this post a few days ago!

great on the 55gal But what are U going to keep? American or African cichlids?? In a 55gal U would really do better with a African cichlid tank.. Sand bottom is best, 3 bags for a 55 gal. lots of rock, a rock yard is best but keep it small rocks 8 lbs or less but safely stackable. The bottom of the tank is GLASS so space them out to distribute the weight.. African's stay small most under 5" and are colorful, yellows, blues, striped, reds.. BUT U need to know what species U are getting before U get them.. Any Zebra is prone to bloat, the Red Zebra is an excellent one for that! so keep the food under 38% protein, and Spirulina flakes are a must with them daily.

AND your water Ph. WHAT is it?? A little help here:

American cichlids like it Low Ph= 6.6 to 7.4 and really SOFT water = General hardness= 0 to 140ppm.
African cichlids like it HIGH Ph= 7.6 to 8.4 and some higher.. Hard water= GH= General hardness needs to be 140ppm to 530ppm.

So U need to find out what your TAP water is like. MOST LFS can help U test it FREE.. do how ever, right down on a pad to let them WRITE down what your water is like. They use strips which in my book is worthless for testing water.. list:
Ph
GH
KH (may not apply)

And U need to cycle the tank!! VERY important to do!! U can kil your fish within a week if U do NOT cycle the tank first or use a cycle agent to help it along. Advisable.. Cylce is the best to use.. Follow directions..

All fish in LFS are mostly in RO water. weird but true, lilke every home has a RO!! Pet smart and others uses a ONE set-up for all their tanks. So one fish tank gets ICH they all get it.. shame.. so be careful and it is best to get your fish from NOT a chain store.. Independent fish store are the best to get some nice cichlids from..

IT is easier to increase your Ph and hardness with buffers than decrease it.. Say U want African cichlids but U have solft water say, 70-140ppm and a 7-7.4 Ph. U can do a buffer to increase the hardness to safely increase it so the Ph comes up with it.. Easy but a hassel and expensive depending on how much U need to buffer the water..

IF U want a Tropical tank to keeping American cichlids, and your water is high Ph above say 8.0 and harder GH= 210 and up, then U need a Reverse Osmois to take all the hardness out, which in turn, brings your Ph down too.. EXPENSIVE $300.+ one time installing a unit and In an apartment, U need a closet or bath tube/kitchen sink fauset and a container to store the water in. BIG hassel indeed once a week, but doable.. U only need about 15-20 gal a week.. I use a toughy trash can that can be stored in the closet..

Just to let U know what to expect on keeping cichlids to Tropicals if that is what U want.. NOW mine are in 7.6 and really hard water. I have american's blue eyed cutteri cichlids/convict cousins to convicts and they are just fine.. I dont' Not have my RO here with me, so they are ajusted but if I had it I would have them in RO water and not this hard KH water..

So get your water tested to see where U are at and go from their. Barb