Getting back into the hobby. Seeking input for 200 gal peacock/ hap tank

HI all!

I’m converting a 4.5 year old established 200 gal tank with some goldfish, common Pleco, tetras and what not into a Cichlid tank. Thinking haps and peacocks.

This is a tank at my work and employer gave me free reign.

I will be taking out the rock, adding black sand and from what I can tell the only filter is a sump under the tank. Possibly a submersible hidden within the tank behind some columns I have to get into. How much more filtration do ya’ll think if it’s just the sump?

Advice on the switch. How long should I wait to add the fish? Can I put the heaters in the sump?

Where are good online places to order these fish besides live aquaria or aquabid?

I will probably be adding questions as they come up ha.

 

How fun!

Just an FYI, Live Aquaria is now owned by Petsmart.

 

Post pics of the project tank. Keep the sump up & running during the transition.

 

Just an FYI, Live Aquaria is now owned by Petsmart.

I think it's actually petco

 

I have no clue what is going on with this setup or how well it’s filtering. What I thought could have been hiding another filter, is just hiding the tubes going down to that second tank.
I’ve previously only worked with canisters.
I will get a full view pic of the tank tomorrow.

 

HI all!

I’m converting a 4.5 year old established 200 gal tank with some goldfish, common Pleco, tetras and what not into a Cichlid tank. Thinking haps and peacocks.

This is a tank at my work and employer gave me free reign.

I will be taking out the rock, adding black sand and from what I can tell the only filter is a sump under the tank. Possibly a submersible hidden within the tank behind some columns I have to get into. How much more filtration do ya’ll think if it’s just the sump?

Advice on the switch. How long should I wait to add the fish? Can I put the heaters in the sump?

Where are good online places to order these fish besides live aquaria or aquabid?

I will probably be adding questions as they come up ha.

Here's a guy in Arizona with lots of Haps etc. that ships in North America:
Cichlid Lovers
Go to 'availability list'. Great, healthy fish! What are your water params? pH, KH, GH?

 

No experience with Sumps, Cichlids, or tanks over 55 gallons but following to see it all come together. I think 2 FX6's would run it like a champ...But like I said no experience with bigger tanks....Yet

 

The sump is probably going to be a good investment. Its basically like an oversized canister where you can hide equipment in (such as heaters).


Depending in how the sump is configured, it may have to be changed/modified to suit you're application a little better. So photos of inside the sump may be a good idea! ^_^

 

welcome to the forum drowningsound311 .

A 200 gallon Peacock/Hap tank will be spectacular! I just got into African cichlids back in July and I wish I would have made the jump sooner.

To answer some of your questions.....

Yes, heaters can go into the sump. Let us know how cold you think the room will ever get down to. Then take the target temp of the tank (probably 78-80f) and subtract the coldest ambient temp the room will get down to. This temp differential will help determine how large a heater(s) may be needed.

Depending on the media, sump arangement and the pump flow will determine the bio-load it can support. With Black Friday approaching, a Fluval FX6 can be had for $199 at PetSmart. This may be a good addition to the sump.

You mentioned "taking out the rock"... May I suggest taking a field trip to some local rock yards and nurseries and scout out the availability of limestone and flagstone. Not only will they make attractive scape in the tank, the cichlids will like them as well.

As for where to obtain the peacocks and haps, I would first try to map out how you want it stocked.

I would suggest obtaining all male peacocks and haps. Females will have drastically less color and the males will either kill the females or kill other males while trying to fight over them to breed.

You had asked which online sources were good for obtaining Peacocks and Haps. You mentioned Live Aquaria. My friend has made 2 orders from there over the summer and was very satisfied with what he received. From what I recall, the problem I found with the selection of African Cichlids from Live Aquaria is that they only sell un-sexed stock. Without the ability to choose Males, you may end up with a lot of females.

Both myself and the same friend I mentioned have made mulitple purchases of African cichlids from two sites: Imperial Tropicals (Florida) and Live Fish Direct (Utah). Both are breeders that sell online. None of the fish we have received from these places ever showed signs of illness.

Imperial Tropicals has a YouTube presence and other fish hobby channels have featured tours of their facility, Check them out and you can get a feel for their operation on YouTube.

Live Fish Direct will probably have a huge Black Friday sale, I would wager at a minimum of 25% off the entire online selection. They had this deal during the 4th of July, and this is when I made my initial all male African Mbuna purchase from them. My Mbuna have great color and have put on a lot of size since the summer. My buddy reports the same with his Africans from LFD.

Myself and my buddy have both agreed we would order African cichlids from either of these sites again in the future. Both places had their fish packaged extremely well and the fish received were as advertised.

Another online breeder I would suggest taking a look at is Quinn's Fins. Although I have never made a purchase from there, I probably will in the future. They appear to have a good selection of Peacocks and Haps and their prices for male 2-3 inch "medium" sized Africans are very very competitive. There are a lot of YouTube videos of people unboxing fish they receive from Quinn's and they seem to be always pleased.

My I suggest some YouTube fish hobby channels that may offer some education and guidance in keeping African cichlids and other related subjects.

 

Awesome, thanks for the resources

Here is the back of the current setup, haven’t been able to get a front view yet as I work at a busy Animal Hospital.
Nitrate 30
Nitritie 0-.5
GH 75
KK 300
Ph 8.4

 

Awesome, thanks for the resources

Here is the back of the current setup, haven’t been able to get a front view yet as I work at a busy Animal Hospital.
Nitrate 30
Nitritie 0-.5
GH 75
KK 300
Ph 8.4View attachment 633527

Do you mean your GH is 300 and your KH is 75? Those look backwards. You're not in So. Arizona are you? Those water parameters (pH, GH, KH) are almost identical to the water here in Tucson! Perfect for African Cichlids! (That Pleco looks HUGE!)

 

Do you mean your GH is 300 and your KH is 75? Those look backwards. You're not in So. Arizona are you? Those water parameters (pH, GH, KH) are almost identical to the water here in Tucson! Perfect for African Cichlids! (That Pleco looks HUGE!)

Oh whoops! Yep those are switched!

To answer some of the questions:
The building is never below 70 degrees, it’s usually at 72.

This is the sump, sorry it’s not better quality but it’s the best I could get. I’ve never worked with something like this before so I’m kinda at a loss of what I should do with it. Where should I put the heater? Should I had some of the rock I’m replacing? Can I add anything for water clarity?






Also a crappy pick

I will be replacing the rock with black and red sand. I have a ton of Cichlid caves from a Mbuna tank years ago. I’m also in South Dakota so there’s a ton of limestone around. I’m thinking about gathering some.
I also need to look at better lighting since there is no back drop on the tank.

 

So far this has been a disaster. Even after weeks of research, i’ve been reminded that often, it still isn’t enough!

Saturday I removed two 5 gallon buckets of the old media, which still left some in the tank and a 50% water change. Like an idiot I did not wash the new BLACK “pre-washed” sand, or Seachems Onyx, OR the red fine gravel which all equaled about 110 pounds.

The trickle filter/sump didn’t have anything in it so I put floss over the drip tray and a “sock” of the old media along with 3 packs of those ceramic rings and a pack of Seachems Matrix in the trickle filter box, topped with a filter pad. I put Seachems Matrix Carbon in the sump.
The water was so clouded I couldn’t see to arrange the aqua scaling.

I added Seachems Clarity and went back yesterday. I put in new filter floss, and attempted to remove the gray sludge that is now on top of the sand as I did another water change (25%). I added more clarity. Two hours later I did another 25% water change.

I still can’t see through the tank or well enough to be confident in my aquascaping.

Is there anything else I can do?

Also, I put a heater in the sump and another heater in one of the overflows to his from view. Will this work or is there a better placement?

 

So far this has been a disaster. Even after weeks of research, i’ve been reminded that often, it still isn’t enough!

Saturday I removed two 5 gallon buckets of the old media, which still left some in the tank and a 50% water change. Like an idiot I did not wash the new BLACK “pre-washed” sand, or Seachems Onyx, OR the red fine gravel which all equaled about 110 pounds.

The trickle filter/sump didn’t have anything in it so I put floss over the drip tray and 3 packs of those ceramic rings and a pack of Seachems Matrix in the trickle filter box, topped with a filter pad. I put Seachems Matrix Carbon in the sump.
The water was so clouded I couldn’t see to arrange the aqua scaling.

I added