90 GALLON LAKE MALAWI
Here is my 90 gal Lake Malawi Tank A.K.A. (mbuna) tank, This tank houses 27 Lake Malawi Cichlids, two chinese algae eaters, and one giant Loricariids ("Pleco"). It has been up and running for about 3 months and I have had nothing but great success so far. I am filtering this baby with a MAGNUM 350 canister filter with a pro 60 bio wheel 350gph, Two Fluval #4 Internal Cartridge Filters 260 gph a piece and one Aquamaster 600 which pumps 600gph that is a total of 1,470gph my tanks turn over is 16.5 times an hour that is 90 gallons of water every 3.5 mins. There is one 250-watt heater , 75 pounds of white flint #2 and about 27 white large rocks. Aquascaping for a Lake Malawi tank should be mostly rock work , Try to create as many caves as possible the more caves you make the more your fish will enjoy their tank. And I will say it again it is their tank, As much money you spend on it or as much time you put in it, It is always THEIR TANK. Anyway I also keep my p.h. @ 8.2 at all times if you own any cichlids your p.h. should be above 7.9. This makes the fish more comfortable and brings out the beautiful colors that cichlids are known for. If you do not know what your tanks p.h. should be please e-mail me and I will let you know or ask someone. I see to many fish suffer because their owners have not a clue. I do a nitrate test once a week and I love a persons reaction when I tell them that I do not test for ammonia, Why would I when my p.h. is always 8.2? If your P.H. is above 6.9 you do not have ammonia, anything below 6.7 I would start to panic unless you have a beta which loves a low P.H. I do a 20% water change every other week, some may recommend every week but it all depends on what kind of filtration you have and how many fish you house. My MAGNUM 350 comes with a micron cartridge, which is perfect for polishing your water, I usually use this the night before my water changes. The Magnum also allows me to clean my gravel by using it's Power Kleen which attaches to the filter and since I am not siphoning the water like most of your gravel cleaners I can take my time. Yes having this type of tank can be very time consuming and costly but I think a Lake Malawi tank is one of the most beautiful tanks I have ever seen. So why don't you kick back and daze into a gorgeous (mbuna) tank and let your thoughts drift away!!!
Lets Go FLYERS!!!
