gravel or sand

DSwofford · March 10th, 2009

I just bought a 135 gallon tank off of craigslist and I am turning it into an African Cichlid tank. Specifically for the "Lake Malawi" cichlids. All the articles I have read commonly refer to them in a 55 gallon tank and they say not to mix mbuna with some of the other Malawi inhabitants. In a 135 gallon tank, does anyone see a problem with a male and two female electric blues? I am really excited about putting this tank together and want the perfect environment for my cichlids.

Is it pretty much a 50-50 split on substrate? I hear some people say gravel and others say sand. At this point I am leaning toward sand. Penny for your thoughts.....

Angela_96 · March 10th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSwofford

I just bought a 135 gallon tank off of craigslist and I am turning it into an African Cichlid tank. Specifically for the "Lake Malawi" cichlids. All the articles I have read commonly refer to them in a 55 gallon tank and they say not to mix Mbuna with some of the other Malawi inhabitants. In a 135 gallon tank, does anyone see a problem with a male and two female electric blues? I am really excited about putting this tank together and want the perfect environment for my cichlids.

Is it pretty much a 50-50 split on substrate? I hear some people say gravel and others say sand. At this point I am leaning toward sand. Penny for your thoughts.....

I use a 50/50 with crushed coral and sand mix. Its great for buffering the water to a high pH, and great for them to dig in.

That is a wonderful size tank for a bunch of malawis! I wish I had one myself. Electric blues do great in a larger tank like that... Great start on picking species!

DSwofford · March 11th, 2009

So you think a male and two female electric blues will do ok and won't terrorize the mbunas in a 135 gallon tank?

What type of sand did you use? The cheap part of me says to use pool filter sand while the eccentric part says to use black sand :-)

Angela_96 · March 11th, 2009

I used the agronite sand (even more buffering that way).. I did use black sand in one of my tanks. Pool filter sand is fine.

Yea the electric blues will be fine. They aren't that aggressive.

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