PonderEthereal

Previously : New Cichlid Tank 1) Choosing the Occupants and Tankmates

Once you’ve picked out who will be in your tank, you should have an idea of what kind of stuff you will need to take care of your cichlids appropriately.

Here is a list of things you will need along with considerations for each.

• The Tank - The aquarium you choose should be suitable for the fish you choose. For instance, choose a taller tank for fish that need depth or lots of ‘middle’ water and a bigger tank for fish that grow to very large sizes. The shape of the aquarium is up to you. Some prefer bow front or hexagon aquariums, some prefer standard shaped tanks.
• Cabinet or Stand - An aquariums should not be left on the ground for a million reasons. You will need an aquarium stand for the tank but this can be something off the shelf or a repurposed piece of furniture rather than something specifically designed for aquariums. It must, however, be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the full aquarium.
• Bacteria - Yes… contrary to the rest of your hours, in your tank, you need bacteria. Getting bacteria established is called cycling the tank. There are as many methods out there as there are people. Essentially, you need to get good bacteria into your filtration system because it’s the good bacteria that breaks down the toxins in the tank. There are a few ways to get bacteria into your tank and depending upon which route you go, it takes differing amounts of time.
  • Bacteria from an established tank - Score a scoop of gravel from an established tank and put it into your tank. No one is likely to give up their biowheel (JUST the wheel filter part, not the assembly). But on the off chance that you can land one, just plunk it into your tank (literally, let it float in the tank)and start your filter.
  • Drop a pinch of flake food in every day. Overfeed your empty tank.
  • Get a ’starter fish’ to live in the tank for a couple of weeks, give off bacteria and die. it will probably do the dying on it’s own because the tank levels haven’t been cycled yet.
• Filter and Filter Media : With cichlids, there are often in depth arguments over what type of filter is best. My experience is that a canister filter or a biowheel filter are best. Both allow for healthy bacteria to remain in the filtration system after you clean the gunk out of the filter. Personally, I use biowheel, ‘trickle’ filtration. A biowheel filter system has a regular filter to filter out gunk and a biowheel that touches the water before it goes back into the tank. The biowheel harbors the ‘good bacteria’ and when the water goes through the wheel, ammonia is ‘eaten’ by the good bacteria. A biowheel filter will SAY biowheel on the box. A filter with a screen/carbon type filter and nothing else is not recommended for cichlids. Most cichlids like to dig, making an under gravel filter a poor choice.
• Powerhead : A powerhead, used with or without an under gravel filter, it adds a current to the water, which some cichlids need.
• Cover and Light Fixture - An aquarium hood is relatively easy to select. The cover and the light fixture can be purchased together as one unit or separately. Choose it based upon your tank size and the type of light you will need. Another option is to purchase a glass aquarium canopy. instructions for diy glass canopy
• Bulbs - Choose the right type of light for the type of fish that will be inhabiting the aquarium and for the light fixture you select.
• Gravel Vacuum Cleaner - This contraption looks like a very long plastic tube with a fatter tube at the end. The way it works is via suction. You start suction out of the tank and then stir up gunk in the gravel by poking the fatter end of the tube down into the gravel. The gravel is too heavy to get sucked up and the gunk gets sucked out with the dirty water.
• Light Timer - Just a regular light timer. You’ll want the tank lights to be on and off for predictable periods of time to mimic the wild.
• Water Test Kit - For cichlids, your water test kit should include nitrite, nitrate, hardness (kh and gh), ammonia and ph. I recommend getting the more expensive liquid and test tube types rather than the strips. When the liquid runs out, it’s inexpensive to replace just the bottle that ran out.
• Meds : Be prepared for common illnesses in your chosen species of cichlid by researching and start acquiring meds and remedies as soon as you’re able. A fish is immersed in it’s environment and thus, it’s toxin. If it gets sick, it could be a matter of hours or days before symptoms become irreversible. Fish that are new to the aquarium will be more susceptible to disease and illness. For cichlids, look into Hole in the Head Disease (Hexamita) and Malawi Bloat as well as general fish and aquarium diseases.
• Water Conditioning Agents : Gather a supply of salt, baking soda, epsom salt and aquarium salt to adjust ph and hardness of the water. You can also use off the shelf cichlid buffer products but I recommend using products made specifically for cichlids. I will include a diy cichlid salt recipe later.
• Water Heater : You will want either one heater that heats the entire tank or more depending upon the size of the tank. Make sure your aquarium heater(s) are rated to heat the amount of water you are expecting it to heat. Tank heaters will turn on and off automatically based upon their internal thermostat. Positioning one or more heaters appropriately can allow for warmer and cooler areas of the tank, giving you more enclosure variation and giving you the option of having a fish that need different climates. This would obviously be more possible in larger tanks and would require that habitat be set up appropriately.
• Substrate : 80/20 mix of pea gravel and river pebbles and/or pool filter sand (a silicate that is non toxic, doesn’t muck the water up and doesn’t get dirty
• Caves : Think about your environment goal. Large rocks, plastic faux rocks and caves, tunnels or custom built caves work great. natural, great looking caves from gravel and flower pots
• Aquarium safe adhesive : Any diy projects or repairs that you do for your cichlid tank will require aquarium adhesive. Aquarium adhesive is adhesive that is water proof as well as non toxic and safe for fish.
• Thermometer : You want thermometers that are made for aquariums. You can find in-tank thermometers that are submerged in the water or you can get outside the tank, stick on thermometers. If your tank is larger than 20 gallons, I recommend at least two thermometers. One in the top, back, left/right corner and one on the bottom, front, left/right corner. This gives you the full range of temperature in your tank.
• Aquarium Background - The sky is the limit when it comes to what your aquarium background can look like. However, cichlids do require a feeling of safety and privacy and so a background of some kind is important.

Expensive proposition? Read on! Next : New Cichlid Tank 3) How to get Fish Tank Stuff Free or Cheap