Fishkeeping

Written by Francesco Zezza Wednesday, 27 September 2000 01:00

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My first tank, when I was 13 years old, was a 35 lt. (9.5 US gals), and I still use it as a fry tank. At that time, even a 100 lt. tank (about 26 US gals), in my opinion, was a "slice of ocean". Many years have passed (I'm now 44!) and during all these years I have kept increasingly larger tanks.

Even when I happened to have no tank, I kept dreaming of bigger ones! The story ended about three years ago with a new 360 lt. tank (about 100 US gals). When this tank (which is still running) started to host my cichlids I thought to myself, "Well, that's a tank!". After three more years, and two trips to Lake Malawi, I was no longer so sure. So, during a rainy evening last November, about four weeks after being back from my second Lake Malawi trip, I said to Stefania (my better half), "We DO need a 1000 lt. (260 US Gals) tank for our growing Fossorochromis rostratus!" Amazingly enough, her answer was "Yes, dear!", followed by a shining smile!  I know that many of you are turning green with envy!  So I started to save some money and began to search for a used, good quality tank.  After a couple of months my search ended with the purchase of a 750 lt. (200 Us gals) tank, which we both considered BIG enough!!!  The purchase has been, until now, the only easy matter we've handled.  To move it, we "simply" used a truck and four porters.  Finally we managed to move it home.  Oh my, it's so huge!  Was buying it a good idea? Many more questions (which are easy to guess) came in our minds.  Once settled with the idea of having it, I began thinking of how to set it up.  This is what I intend to describe in this article in a step by step manner.  And I do hope I will be as clear as possible. The first problem has been, as said, getting accustomed to its size (cm 180/70/60 - in ft. Approximately 6/2.1/2!) and the fact that all my experience on technical supply regarding pump(s) power, heating power, aquascaping, and so on, didn't fit in this tank.  However, the number of quickly growing cichlids in the seven other tanks pushed us to go ahead ...

Then we decided to proceed step by step. The steps can be grouped as follows:

• Inserting the tank into its intended environment (Stefania’s living room):  At the beginning, a carpenter was contacted to “dress” it in natural wood (stand and cover) to match it to the color of the other pieces of furniture, but his price, in my humble opinion, was really too high!  So, I decided to do it myself.  Measurements of the length, height, and so on were taken, and wood pieces were cut accordingly by a "cash -n- carry" carpenter.  Then all pieces were assembled to fit the tank and stand size.  Finally, the construction was polished by sandpapering, and then the whole thing was painted, starting with a base paint and then the final coat.  It was a long and painstaking job … I'm a far worse carpenter than a fish keeper!  Anyway, the matter was over - the only pitfall is that the right side of the sliding doors I fitted is NOT working because of a slightly (well, not that slightly) non-flat floor - too bad!
• Lighting: Discussions started on the open/closed tank system which ended pretty quickly, since a closed unit was decided upon.  Then came the lamps: number of units, power of each one, kind of light, light temperature, color (i.e., whether or not to use blue lamps), lighting duration, and so on.
• Heating: Number and power (in W) of each heater in use, where to place them, and target temperature.
• Filtering: Type of filters (this has been a sort of half question since the tank is equipped with two internal, three sectioned, biological filters), number of pumps and their power (in terms of lt./hr. (gal) flow and height to reach). 
Filter media: quantity of each one, the layout inside each unit and so on. This point was ended quickly as an almost predefined layout drove the two of us to certain choices.
• Aquascaping: With Lake Malawi species as the target group of fish to house in this tank, you'd think this is not a point to discuss for long.  The main issues were: sand and its type, size, colour(s), thickness; rocks (how many, how big, where to put them); bogwoods or not, plants (Anubias and Cryptocorine from my seven established tanks, Vallisneria and Ceratophyllum from the Lake) or not.  The bogwood question was raised because I had decided to keep my two one foot  long pieces: two plecs larger than one foot each, one of which has been hosted in my tanks since 1985. This particular fish started it's story in the tiny tanks mentioned in the very beginning of this article and grew with the progression of my tanks size growth.
• Service needs: Will the home electrical circuits stand the extra load?  Will the electrical wiring stand all those added appliances?  Will other sockets be needed? Service plumbing facilities are in need (simply think of a water change relying on plastic buckets being moved back and forth ...).  Anything more?
• What else: This is the main concern, since this issue is the blind spot containing all the problems, if any, which we failed to forecast.

Please note that I will not review the last two points since they are, obviously, related to each particular system and environment.  Therefore, no suggestion of any kind can be offered as a general rule.  Always keep in mind the latter two points! After having finished that list, we decided to focus on each point separately and think about all possible choices.  We then tried to combine two of them into a bigger step and see if it could possibly work.  Then we added the third one, discussed the possibilities, and then added the fourth topic and so on until the end.  We then spent  a lot of time thinking of the whole matter as a single project and finally began to work. These same procedures will be followed in this article, so we will virtually build this tank together.  We will deal with every part of the project using text, drawings and pictures, then separate part of the projects if needed, examine them (why or why not) as carefully as possible and finally end up with the working tank.

Sections discussed will be (not necessarily in the same order - the list not being limiting): lamps (wattage, number, layout), heaters (wattage, number), filters (number, type of media, and their layout), aquascaping (even though this part is highly related to each person's taste and aesthetics) in terms of rocks, roots, sand, plants, service items and finally  ... fish, service fish (i.e.: plecos), and other animals (we are probably going to house some "non cichlids"  and even "non fish"animals from Lake Malawi - see below) in terms of number, size, sex ratios, mixing rules, tips (I will do the best possible), etc.  At the same time, one must always keep his eye open for the unexpected!  To be as clear as possible, here is the first drawing showing the general layout of the tank.  This should help you to understand our task and accept some of the choices made.

Now let's go a little into details, beginning with a review of single topics, one by one: filters (number, size), filter media, and sand.  This being the first time I have faced such a big tank to set up, I must admit I felt a bit lost in the beginning. Then I kept thinking, "A tank - no matter its size - is still a tank, PERIOD!". The tank was already equipped with a double biological filter along the whole back edge.  A bit of calculation showed the capacity of filter area to be 108 lt. (28 US Gals).  This should allow me to stay on the safe side, since many of my tanks have an overall lower filter capacity and have run perfectly for years.  Since the filter area was further divided into two separate parts, I decided to use two separate pumps, combination of filter media, pipe systems, and so on.  This should allow the whole system much more resistance to failures, since it is highly unlikely that both filters will have trouble with a serious loss of functionality at the same time.

From the front, right side (viewer standpoint), the filter has 6 inlet holes for water and two outlet (return to tank) holes, while the left unit has 7 inlet holes for water and one outlet (return to tank) hole.  For further security, on the right I decided to use two pumps (each water flow: 560 lt./hr. - about 150 US gals) while on the left side a single pump (1000 lt./hr. – about 270 US gals) was chosen.  Finally two quick “fast flowing” filters containing only sponges were added (each unit as a flow of 1000 lt/hr – about 270 US gals).  These were hung on the internal filter wall, thus soaked in the real environment.  To summarize, filtering is performed by: 

This, in the end, means: 4120 lt./hr. of total water flow.  Or if you prefer non metrical units, 1085 US gals/hr. of total flow.  I think this is ALMOST enough, even if we take into consideration that the fish to inhabit this tank will be a group of big sized buddies (Fossorochromis rostratus, Cyrtocara moori, and large plecs, only to name a few), and also the fact that a certain degree of efficiency loss regarding flow rate has to be expected. 

Fast filters are hung so that their flow will continuously move the water surface, allowing a good oxygen exchange rate, since noisy air pumps are NOT to be included in this tank.  Just in case, there's enough room for two (or even four!) more of these units.  See pics for details of the right internal filter (even if its a bit hidden by central connecting rods) and fast internal filters (one of which has been opened to show internal layout - see below).

The next step is to choose the filter media. After a long brainstorm between Stefania and myself, as well as George, who has been involved by means of long e-mails exchange, we decided to go the classic way.  Hence we selected:

• Synthetic wool
• Ceramic pipes of different sizes, since both were in my personal stock.
• Lava rock: whose actual size (provided it comes in grains) doesn't matter that much.
• Zeolite: (the green sand in the pic) to further remove floating colorants and pollutants.

As you clearly see, all are absolutely common items.  Since they work, there's no real reason to search for tricky stuff. 

Eventually a problem did come into sight.  The rear right part of biological filter proved itself, because of the size of the tank, to be out of reach and therefore almost unserviceable.  So, I then I decided to fill this unit with blue plastic balls. They act as ceramic pipes (they are carved inside to host nitrifying bacteria) but float, and are kept in place by mean of two sponges which are heavier than the balls and placed at the very top of the filter media area.  Once those sponges are removed, all the stuff located below comes to surface inside the filter, and then is reachable.  I also decided to use two pumps in this filter section to slightly slow the pace of maintenance needs in this part of the tank, which is possibly the dark spot of the whole matter (mostly because of where it's located in the room).  A final, quick note on sand: its colour(s), size of grains, and thickness is, in the end, totally up to you.  I suggest neither to thick nor too thin...I think I'll go from 5 to 7 cm - about 2 to 3 inches - in thickness.  Simply remember:  Avoiding too big (in size) sand is quite a must with Malawians, especially when housing, as I will do, fish used to digging, siphoning, and chewing the sand looking for food particles.  I plan to use at least 50 kg (about 110 pounds) of sand of different colours without completely mixing the colours.  I expect it, in the long run, to result as a more natural environment.  A final remark:  Please avoid too bright colours and stay on the natural side of the matter as fish come from a world of subdued colours and shade, not from a disco!

Another important point to focus on: heaters, power consumption and water temp. Malawians (trust me, I've been twice in the Lake, also to dive) thrive in lukewarm water.  On the other hand, here in Italy, despite were not that far north, we are likely to have temperatures below 0° C in the winter. Furthermore, “sharing” temp all along the tank is needed, unless you like to see your fish wandering around the heater and its surroundings trying to stay warmer.  Also, allowing the heat to spread all around the tank, without facing a large electricity bill, is a must (at least its one of my musts!). This, and other related topics, lead us to focus on some points:

• No, to a single heating point, as it is too difficult to reach the opposite side of the tank.
• No, again, to a single heating point, as heat will, for the main part, remain in the surroundings of the heater itself.
• No, once more, to a single heating point because, in case of failure, you're frozen.
• No, again and again, to a single heating point, as the peak consumption is likely to burn the wall-socket at the start up, considering a power of more than 300 W.

The solution is simple.  Use more than one heater.  This is the better way to go, and here come why, as well as where place the heaters:

• Yes, to two (or more) heaters.  This will avoid overheating in the case of failure (a unit may refuse to switch off, the other not!).  Years ago I lost an entire colony of my Tanganyikan shelldwellers (about 60 NL Brevis) because of a heater that refused to switch off!
• Yes, to two (or more) heaters, as this will prevent your water temp from going too low in the case of failure one unit which does not switch on. The other will carry on the job.  The result, most likely, will only be a few degrees lost.
• Yes, to two (or more) heaters, as this will spread their warm wave more easily all around the tank.  This will also prevent you from being a key-client of your electricity supplier!
• Yes, to two (or more) heaters, as this will reduce the stress of your socket upon switch on, enabling a safer environment.

A further note on safety: Get heater(s) specifically designed for aquarium use, and do not, for any reason, attempt to service their power cable, switch, or plugs.  You're only allowed to use the trigger-switch to point your own target temperature.  Generally speaking, this should be something between 24°-26° C for all Rift Valley Cichlids.  Water and electricity do NOT get on well, be conservative!

This speech is, or should be, perfectly clear. Now, the real point is: how many watts do I need to heat such a tank? From a general point of view it's almost impossible to make suggestions, since this value is strictly related to the environment where the tank is situated.  Imagine that given tank situated in your basement, living room, bedroom and so on.  Since huge bodies of water are hard to get warm and hard to cool, it's possible to save a bit of power (in term of installed wattage).

After this clever, long, speech, my choice was: two heaters (200 W each) placed on opposite sides of the tank, inside biological filters (in the water intake section: number 1 & 6 in the previously shown layout).  This will result in less stress on the sockets and easy release of warmth to the entire body of water with no risk of total overheating /freezening, or contact of fish (think about plecs!) on heating glass tubes (avoiding possible burns).

My target temperature, as usual, is 23° - 25° C, since fish kept in warmer water will be hyperactive and hyperaggressive, and the higher metabolic activity will shorten their lifespan.  Another point to consider is that higher temp will boost spawning activity and fry's growth rate, but always at cost of a possibly shorter life.  At this point things begin to be (I hope!) a bit less complicated.  Starting from bare glass, we've chosen filters and discussed how they will work, as well as how heat will move along the water stream all around the tank.  We're, more or less, half way there. The remaining points to review are lighting the tank (no light = no life. Or better; bad quality of light = bad quality of life), and aquascaping if provided.  You can live in a bare room but, for sure, you'll thrive if that room is fitted with comfortable furniture. The final point is choosing the right tankmates.  On that matter, have a look to George's article on fish compatibility to avoid harassment, fights, and stress, but instead, have in your living room a cool, interesting, peaceful (from a cichlidiot's point of view), and colorful Malawi drop to look at.

When referring to Malawi tanks, lightning is NOT that important (simply think of a planted tank and you'll understand). Unless, of course, you're running a planted M’buna tank like the one George has (but that is not that common!).  Anyway, light is the final touch to add.  If your tank has been set up in a wrong mode (no matter the reason), lightning will not fix the problem, while if your job has been done correctly, a suitable lightning will dramatically increase the final result.  In trying to explain how I light a tank, I have to refer to my experience in cichlid keeping in tank(s) during the last ten years and what I've seen while diving tin he Lake (1997 & 1999).

First things first:

My only experience in keeping cichlids in a "open air" tank, many years ago, resulted in loosing a pair of Ophtalmotilapia ventralis that jumped outside that same night I put them in the tank!  And, then, I had the same result while hosting (among others) a pair of Schiaenochromis fryeri.  So I switched, and I firmly suggest you fully cover your tank.  As a consequence, my experience includes only the use of different kinds of tube lights.  From my experience in diving the Lake, I noticed that most cichlids act more normally, breed more frequently, and show better colours in partially shaded lights.  This is true mostly in the southern part of Lake Malawi, such as the Cape MacLear and surrounding areas.  Starting from the above statements, these are my choices for this tank:

• I've chosen rock and sand of a pale clear colour (I, furthermore, try to avoid too bright of a contrast between the two items).  I also avoid whitish sand that appears glittering.  This will result in an unnatural environment, with light coming from the bottom, that fishes will not like at all!
• I've decided to use plants.  If you decide to do so also, go for plants preferring subdued light.  Despite the fact that in wild you'll dive in a sort of bare "moonlike" environment, I often add a bit of green "stains", mostly in the corners, to help fry released in main tank(s), to survive.

Finally arriving to lamps themselves:

• I avoid "cool white" lamp (the one used for home lightning) because it will result in unnatural colours shown by the fish and these lamps have a short lifespan.
• I avoid, also, lamps too "plant growing oriented".  That will result in an uncontrollable algae growth.

What I use are "daylight" lamps that will last over one and a half year with almost no fading and (one or more depending on tank size) blue lights. Despite the fact they cost a lot, I encourage you all to use blue actinic lamps which are commonly used for marine invertebrates.  This will boost the blue hue common to most Malawi haps.  I have chosen such a set up, displaying them in alternate positions to get a more naturally diffused lightning, for my tank (refer also to the tank lightning diagram to get a better idea):

This is, in all, 120 watt of installed wattage, and should be, in my experience, enough, considering those lamps have a fair amount of light radiation (beside the blue effect).  Fish thrive, plants grow, while the algae are under control using a couple of good algae eaters.

Advanced / delayed switching (on/off) of blue lamps allow less stress when the tank gets, daily, to "life" and turns to dark.  This also allows catfish such as plecs and synos to act more normally and to feel the need to hide less, since they are only partially aware of blue light.  I kept the right back corner as the most "secretive" area of the tank, but the layout of the lamps allow me to add at least one more lamp (blue or daylight according to need/taste):

Now we're done, and ready to aquascape and populate.  The tank has been correctly set up. The filters and pumps are ready, filled with the needed medias, and is correctly plumbed.  The heaters are located in their own place and targeted to the right temperature.  The lamps, as well as all electrical wires and timers, are located. Here comes the real fun...aquascaping your new environment, and, after a cycling period populating it.  Never forget this golden rule: the bigger the tank the longer the cycling period, unless you're very conservative in adding live animals in the beginning.  At this point, your idea on what to put inside the tank to "swim" should be absolutely clear, since according to your fish's needs, differences can occur in aquascaping.  General guidelines are, of course, always the same, and I assume they are perfectly clear to the Malawi cichlid enthusiast and do not review them very much: Alkaline water, sand at bottom and many, many rocks.

Here is, in detail, how I worked. BEWARE: A tank is a living thing.  Get ready to perform major/minor changes according to how the tank reacts:

Many various sized (do not forget the BIG ones) stones, rocks and so on.  I got mine at the beach according to my and Stefania's tastes.  Have a look at the pic for an idea of their sizes/colour.  By the way, I again assume that everyone knows what to do before putting objects collected in nature in a tank.  In my tank, these objects are concentrated along the back, and the right side of the tank as those sides are facing the walls.  This will provide for the needs of rock related fish, despite the fact I plan to keep almost only haps and synos/plecs.  One or more plastic "bubbled" sheet (of the kind used to pack a computer or breakable item before moving them) is a good suggestion to avoid direct contact between rocks and glass at bottom.  My aim is to simply avoid sharp points coming in contact with the glass, resulting in possible cracks, so I preferred non coloured sheets.

Once everything has been satisfactorily positioned, I added pale grey/brownish sand (small sized, of different kinds, size, and colour) on the bottom to a thickness of 5/7cm (about 2-3 inches).  I add the washed sand after the rocks are in place to be sure that my rock pile (I use to call it the "Castle") will stay in place even when facing the most enthusiastic of diggers.  Digging is not that uncommon among Malawians.  This way the sand is not used by the rocks for balance and is placed in sight, mostly in the front, and left side, of the tank. This will fit the need of sand diggers and provide a better "family feeling" to the tank.

Not totally related to the Malawi aquatic environment (but, all the same, likely to happen in wild in the form of torn branches) is bogwood(s) at the bottom to give plecs some wood to bite.  They love it, and a single root, even a large one, will not affect pH of such a tank.

Totally NOT related to the Malawi aquatic environment are the plants that I use sparingly in the corners to add some "escape spots" for fry released in the main tank and to also fight algae growth beyond water changes.  Not that natural, but useful.  My suggestions on the matter are: Anubias (by far the one I prefer), Microsorium pteropus (possibly known as java fern), and Cryptocorinae sp.  If you happen to have Vallisneria sp.(possibly aethiopica) and Ceratophyllum sp. coming from the Lake, as I do, feel free to use as much as possible of it.  I'm actually using only the latter.

Finally - JUST ADD WATER!!!  It's easier to say it than actually finishing the job! Now filters are ... filtering, heaters are ... heating, lights are ... lighting, and you're ready!!! Fishes are on their way (again, do not forget to correctly cycle the tank!). These are my choices for this last step:

• Fossorochromis rostratus: 6 juvenile specimens (collected at the Lake in 1999) These are supposed to get 35 cm, or if you prefer, one foot, for the males.  They are active sand sifters.
• Cyrtocara moori: 2 juvenile specimens (out of 4 donated by George). In the wild they share the same environment with Fossies (Fossorochromis rostratus).
• Aulonocara stuargranti "Cobue": 2 pairs (collected from the lake in 1999) These have already spawned and should thrive among the rocks and dark spots in the rear part of the tank.
• Copadichromis borley: 5 growing juveniles (collected from the Lake in 1999).
• Lethrinops intermedius: 3 growing juveniles (collected from the Lake in 1999).
• Plecs: The "scavenger team" (2 different specimens: H. plecostomus and G. multipunctaus) are secretive fishes. Lazy fellows who like to stay hidden, coming out at night to patrol the tank looking for food (sometimes also eggs and fry).
• Others: Finally I decided not to host there some other fellows who returned from Malawi with me in 1999: a Tilapia sp. (it's a cichlid!), a Malawi crab, a slug and two clams.

I know many of you will consider such a setup a bit "deserted", but please consider, at least, the following points:

1. At least 8 of my fishes (F. rostratus and C. moori) will reach, in the long run, a remarkable size.
2. I'm not in a hurry and feel that slowly developing the tank is preferable. You'll more completely enjoy any further additions, even if getting adult specimens of some fish may not be that easy.
3. Filter (nitrifying bacteria, it's wise, every now and then, refresh our mind about their existence) will grow, more easily, to full functionality.

Then possible future steps:

1. Additions could be a pair of Victorians (but H. nyererei)
2. A few other Malawi haps among which I like are Placidochromis electra, and I literally drool over the "ferocious" Dimidiochromis compressiceps.

So far so good.¦ My job is, at last, over.  Now I can sit, relax, and dream of the Lake, where I hope to return sooner or later.  I do hope you, right now, are facing the need to set up your own "monster".  It's not - as we've seen step by step - that difficult.  And it will provide you with satisfaction beyond your wildest imagination in terms of your fish thriving and showing their natural colour, feeding, fighting, and breeding habits, which is very difficult to obtain in smaller tanks.  A suggestion, to finish: go ahead, go for a n even bigger one!!!

Here are some more photos of the tank focusing on details that could well make the difference. In the photo below you can see the glass rods that connect the opposite glasses of the tank for more durability. The water outlets of the two pumps from the filter compartment are also visible at the left side of the picture. The water enters the filter compartment through 7 holes drilled in the back of the glass separating the main tank from the filter (visible at the center / bottom of the picture next to the joint).

The tank is based on a metal stand which has enough strength to keep the tank filled with water, rocks and sand. The metal base is painted in order to protect the metal from corrosion. Special care should be taken with tank stands as usually the tank weight is far greater than initially anticipated.

The empty tank laying on the stand. Please notice the separator between the tank and and the stand on which the tank is standing. The bottom of the tank is covered with the plastic "air bubble" plastic used for packing on which the gravel is added. This is to protect the bottom glass from any sharp edges of the rocks.

Finally you are ready to enjoy your tank... And always remember that bigger is better.

 

 

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