Aquarium On The Rocks - One Step Further
Written by Wednesday, 06 December 2000 01:00
Introduction by G. J. Reclos
When you write an article and either publish it or upload it you hope that people will find it interesting. The biggest reward to any author of such a "fishy" article is to get feedback from a reader or visitor who found your article useful. Jerry Duncan, a hobbyist from USA did exactly that. Here come his comments:
These are a few pictures of my tank and some of the mbuna in it. I followed your article in the January FAMA as best as I could. I collected the rocks from the local New River and I made sure there were no sharp edges. The sand is a Sahara Sand mix from CaribSea that has agramax mixed in to keep the ph up. I have 3 trios of different mbuna, 5 yellow labs, and two electric blue haps. Also, there is a Synodontis eupterus catfish and a large pleco. Your article inspired it, so what do you think?
The tank's measurements are 48x21x13 (122x53x33 cm), the lighting is provided by two 18 in. 50%actinic blue, 50% white light bulbs. The filtration I am using are two whisper power filters that circulate 280 gph each.
When setting up the tank, the biggest problem I had was finding the styrofoam to place at the bottom of the tank under the sand and the rocks. Then the rocks (which were collected from the New River here in Virginia, one of only two rivers in the world that flow north) were placed on the styrofoam, followed by the sand. After filling with water, the tank was then occupied for two weeks by a pleco and 5 tiger barbs.
Some of the mbuna inhabitants I already had in an existing tank, and some were purchased later. As of right now, the tank is fully stocked and it contains (all trios are 2 to 1 male to female ratio) 3 Ps. esthera (red zebra), 3 Ps. socolofi, 3 Melanochromis "electric blue" johanni, 5 (1 male, four females) Lab. caeruleus, and a male and female elecrtic blue ahli, along with a Synodontis eupterus catfish and a common pleco.
The past two months of putting this tank together and making all the cichlids happy has been very rewarding. A lot of work went into my tank, but looking at it now and seeing how much it pleases my family and me, it was all worth it.
All photos by the author.
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