African cichlid scape

So I am obtaining a 180 gallon tank from the girlfriends brother that has 2 fluval fx6's....yes 2....for $300. I know I'm a lucky sob. It includes stand, lights....everything...
Anyway.
I'm trying to plan out a build for this tank. I know I want it to be my masterpiece. I want it to be absolutely gorgeous.
It will be stocked with several breeding african cichlids and their babies, some of which are currently 4 inches. I have many thoughts on how to do this tank but I know a couple things.
I want the tank to be fish only (obviously). I want the lighting to be "shadowy" IE highlight the cichlids and not the tank. and I want all "natural" features.
By natural I mean I don't want to add in junky decor like cichlid caves off of amazon.
I had the original idea of creating a scape using foam and cement. But after many hours of research it seems that my scape idea wouldnt be ideal using foam. I want to create a mountain feel and if I used cement and foam id have to silicone the entire bottom and pray it didnt get loose and eject my entire tank at 50mph.
Next idea was to use black diamond blasting sand to create a 4-5 inch deep sand bed and run over to my local home supply store and get slate. I would postion/break the slate to form the structures I wanted.
Attached is a super junky drawing of a basic of what I want to make. suggestions are highly sought.

 

So the picture doesn't really do your thought process much justice here. hahaha Since you are saving over $1000 on hardware, let's go all out on this scape!!!! If you are looking for a background that you don't need to silicone or look cheap check these out from 'jungle bobs aquatics', they sink and are easy! I will attach photos below. They also have these very realistic polyresin rock caves as you see in the second picture. Good hiding spots for fish and they have rocks that match their backgrounds. Makes for a really clean set up and lightens the weight capacity of your already very very heavy tank. Are you putting this on a safe floor?

Now when you saw African Cichlids are you referring to peacocks/haps or mbuna etc?

 

I'm not exactly sure but I think they're Melachromis, Zebra mbunis, And maingano.
I do love those backgrounds...I know I'm saving so much money on the equipment but I'm still somewhat of a cheapskate. Hence why I wanted to go the diy route. Paying 2-4 hundred for a background is ehhh for me.
Also I really wanted to scape the bottom of the tank rather then the rear wall. This is just for a depth/realism aspect.

 

If you can find some green slate I personally think it looks great, I find it in the creeks on my parents property and I don't look very hard. The only problem is that I didn't get enough so next time I head that way I plan on getting more so I don't have any red rock left. I like that it doesn't look ugly even if there's some algae on it, if you spend time organizing it to your style, you can make a killer looking scape and always be able to move it around when you get bored of the same scene.

 

I just pick up slate, sandstone, limestone etc on trips and use that in my tanks. Mine is still evolving, it's too ugly right now. I didn't do the foam thing (too much work to find non-toxic stuff to paint, seal and glue stuff together for my taste). If you want your breeding pairs to actually produce fry that survive, youl need caves, flat rock/sand areas for spawning and tight hidey-holes/cracks for fry to hide in.

 

Wow you truly hit the trifecta of evil mbuna... Melanochromis are nasty fish, especially the golden auratus male. They truly are the evilest mbuna I have ever owned. They will gladly take anything on double its size just to prove a point. Zebras have been a hit or miss for me, cobalt blues seem to be okay, where the red zebras are 50/50. Mainganos are d***s too! Provide a lot of hiding spaces, once they reach sexual maturation they are going for blood.

 

So the picture doesn't really do your thought process much justice here. hahaha Since you are saving over $1000 on hardware, let's go all out on this scape!!!! If you are looking for a background that you don't need to silicone or look cheap check these out from 'jungle bobs aquatics', they sink and are easy! I will attach photos below. They also have these very realistic polyresin rock caves as you see in the second picture. Good hiding spots for fish and they have rocks that match their backgrounds. Makes for a really clean set up and lightens the weight capacity of your already very very heavy tank. Are you putting this on a safe floor?

Now when you saw African Cichlids are you referring to peacocks/haps or mbuna etc?

Jungle Bob? Big fan!

 

When I was a teenage I did black sand with black/grey slate tiles and it looked amazing. I always loved it. That tank was 20 years ago and I still remember it. Looked great with the cichlids colors and they dig around in the sand. I added a few plants some they would eat and some they didn’t.

 

I'll respond to everyone after I eat my dinner but just for reference. This is the look I wanted but with more mountains. Id cover them with moss and leave the bottom unplanted. I don't know how well slate would work for this application and hence why originally I wanted to build a foam/cement bottom.

 

If you plan on keeping Mbuna, anything green will be eaten. Might be a good idea just to accumulate interesting random rocks & make a rock pile hardscape. Also use "Quikrete all purpose river gravel" as substrate. Your Africans will love it and you will save a lot of money.

 

OKay so I'll respond to everything now.
I already keep all the cichlids, I think 6 of them? Varying from 2 inch to 5 inches. Its a tank transfer thing not a new fishy situation. I have 2 breeding pairs that produce viable offspring with no intervention from me. I'd say 5-8 new fish every month, which I sell/give away after they reach about an inch in size They have java moss and riccia in their tank which has done pretty great for the past 8 months or so. Ive kept them for over a year now. Obtained from a friend who didnt want them anymore.

The issue I'm having with slate is I really want it to be a "dark" shadowy looking tank. Like an ominous feel almost? I don't wanna do the stacking. The slate would have to be sticking up to form the mountainous structures I'm looking for.



This is the best example of the Shadowy feeling I'm after.


I basically want this tank hahaha. See why I run into problems using slate...I doubt I could arrange it to get this type of look. And buying that much rock would be no cheap task. Plus the added weight I'm sure would be insane.

I'll check out the quickrite...If I can find it in black I just might use it.
Really appreciate all the suggestions though guys!

 

With darker lighting and black sand I would deffaintly think some slate or big rocks would do the trick, or at least until you get your concrete cured to full stability which will take about a year I've heard. You might be able to find a more stable concrete that doesn't affect ph as much or leach any type of chemicals into the water. And concrete die is cheap and easy, you can do all sorts of crazy things with it that would look awesome. You literally add it just like food coloring to the mix and you'll get black or whatever color you want. I've always wanted to do high contrast concrete set up just like but never actually put the effort into since I get all the slate I want for free.


Also since you have a mix of nasty mbuna your going to need lots of tangled cavework. If they even see each others territory from across it will be war. I had one little 2 inch mbuna and one day he managed to push everyone In my tank out of the rocks and into the corner. Even my OB peacock who claimed his turf pretty well was in the corner. With haps or peacocks you don't need to worry about this as much because they aren't nearly as territorial.

This is what it looks like with only one 55watt 6500k bulb on, I generally run 2 because it makes the venustus's yellow head the center of attention. I've never used bulbs on the different part of the color spectrum so maby that's something worth looking into as well

 

Sounds like you need to shop for big & tall flat bottom rocks from your local rockyard or landcsape company. Rocks usually aren't very expensive at those businesses. Here's a pic of two really big rocks in my main tank, which I bought from my local rockyard. No stacking.

 

Sounds like you need to shop for big & tall flat bottom rocks from your local rockyard or landcsape company. Rocks usually aren't very expensive at those businesses. Here's a pic of two really big rocks in my main tank, which I bought from my local rockyard. No stacking.View attachment 631840

This right here! Thank you! Exactly what I needed. Did you just vinegar test em and send it?

 

They are Honeycomb Limestone aka: Texas Holey rocks. I bought them for 12 cents - 25 cents per lb. At my local rockyard. The pictured rocks weigh approx. 30 - 35 lbs. a piece. There are bigger ones in the tank not pictured.

 

That tank picture you showed does not scream dark and shadowy to me at all.
I agree cichlids like hiding places and will decimate most plants. Some they will not eat.
I agree With black sand and stacking rocks. Concrete won’t be much lighter than rocks and could even be heavier. Also takes 30 days to cure.
You can take out and move rocks concrete will be much harder to change around. I’d personally stay away from concrete.

 

I did the same with my 75g. Went to my local rock yard and paid 35 cents/pound for some beautiful black and white granite chunks.


The rock is hard to see in this pic but it weighs about 20 lbs and the driftwood is resting on it.

 

Went browsing at the local landscaping company and they did not have anything that suited my needs....but there's plenty of mines around here...I will find the rocks of my dreams....haha.

That tank picture you showed does not scream dark and shadowy to me at all.
I agree cichlids like hiding places and will decimate most plants. Some they will not eat.
I agree With black sand and stacking rocks. Concrete won’t be much lighter than rocks and could even be heavier. Also takes 30 days to cure.
You can take out and move rocks concrete will be much harder to change around. I’d personally stay away from concrete.

Compared to the normal tank which is lit by a standard led strip and has light casting all throughout it is what I do not want. That tank highlights the fish while not highlighting areas outside the focal point of the light. That was the idea.

 

I really like some of the rockwork in the photos here. My Cichlids keep knocking over mine or burying them.

Stacking rocks is like learning an art to me haha

 

Can’t wait to see how the tank ends up! Some great scapes here.
I’m planning my cichlid tank atm and am stumped as I’m used to heavily planted tanks.

I may have to go down the path of 3D background - no Jungle Bob here thoufh hahaha

Please post pics of your tank when it’s done!

 

I would recommend going and getting darker blue bulb as well after you get your rocks. I just put in a blue Actinic bulb and a 10000k daylight bulb and it gave the tank a much more darker and different feel and made the fish stand out. I think a 18000k bulb would work in place of the Actinic bulb. I also added a black peice of vynl to the back of the tank which helped hide the ugly white wall. Without even touching the inside of tank It looks much better. The pictures I attached are completely unedited from my phone to show how the Actinic bulb gives color. And ignore the ugly white filter pipe, that is getting replaced with a black one when I get some more free time.