Time Sensitive Question… Please Help…

fishrule

fishrule

Member
Help... Crash Course in African Cichlids…
So I have started a small side business cleaning mostly Salt Water tanks and my newest client has a Fresh Water tank with African Cichlids.
I don’t know much about African Cichlids other than they are territorial so I need some advice before I attempt to take care of this clients tank. The client has been complaining about his fish dieing and wants me to restock the tank for him. (I think the fish are killing each other.)
Stats:
The tank is a 75 Gallon Acrylic Hex that is 48”x16”x24.
Tank is currently running an Under Gravel setup and a Hang on Back Filter with 2x150gph blowers.
Tank currently has about 7 African Cichlids, 3 are 1”, 2 are 2” and 2 are 3”-4”.
Contents: Fake Plants, Lava Rock, and Pebble/Rock Gravel.
Questions:
My client wants me to move his tank because it is currently positioned in front of a huge window, thus the tank is an algae farm. Since we are moving the tank, my client has asked us to replace any equipment that may keep the tank from staying clean and keep the fish happy.
My plan is to remove the Under Gravel Filter and replace the hang on back filter with a better hang on back filter or canister filter.
- I haven’t used a canister filter before, so I don’t know much about them. Are they better than H.O.B.Filters? Are they harder to maintain?
- Also, do I want to keep the Under Gravel Filter going since this is fresh water, or can I chuck it like planned?
- What would you use on your African Cichlid tank?
Power Heads:
- Should I upgrade these Power Heads with 2x300gph instead of the 150’s currently being used?
- Should I have anything else helping with water flow??? Bubbler???
Gravel:
- Should I replace the Gravel with anything else, or is Gravel the best substrate for fresh water tanks and African Cichlids???
I use RO water on all of my salt water tanks.
- Is RO still safe for African Cichlids???
- Is there anything I should add to the water for African Cichlids???
Fish Questions:
- How many African Cichlids can I safely place in both a 55 Gallon tank and a 75 Gallon tank?
- I think I read somewhere that African Cichlids are very territorial, so do I only place the same sized fish in the tank? Do I need a lot of Cichlids to keep them from fighting???
- Is there anything special I need to know about African Cichlids like a diet plan (Feed once a day, every other day?), hiding places needed, etc.???
Any information you can give is welcome. I have to move this client’s tank on Saturday morning, so I need to get all the information I can by Tomorrow Night…
Thanks,
Marc
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
Thanks, This will help a little...
Still need some Crash Course feedback from the trusty fellow SWF.com crowd...
 
ginarox

ginarox

Active Member
will i had a 75 gallon fish water aquarium, i had a blue south african chichlid beautiful, i had him in there with about 4 parrot fish, a green severon, sorry cant spell.... some bottom feeders... i am not sure why he is dieing, i would diffenetly move him from the window...they have to have a certain tempature too...i had no underground filter, i just ran two filters behind the aquarium i would add sea salt to the aquarium when i did water changes... i will send a picture of it where you can see it,,,i had my south chilchlid for 2 years...i had my fresh water for 3 years, but i just sold it to where i can start a saltwater aquarium.. i didnt want to take care of two aquariums.....i dont know if this helps or not,,
, good luck,,,to you....have a great day....

 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
Originally Posted by ginarox
will i had a 75 gallon fish water aquarium, i had a blue south african chichlid beautiful, i had him in there with about 4 parrot fish, a green severon, sorry cant spell.... some bottom feeders... i am not sure why he is dieing, i would diffenetly move him from the window...they have to have a certain tempature too...i had no underground filter, i just ran two filters behind the aquarium i would add sea salt to the aquarium when i did water changes... i will send a picture of it where you can see it,,,i had my south chilchlid for 2 years...i had my fresh water for 3 years, but i just sold it to where i can start a saltwater aquarium.. i didnt want to take care of two aquariums.....i dont know if this helps or not,,
, good luck,,,to you....have a great day....

Sea Salt???
What do I have to keep the salt levels at???
What is a good brand of Sea Salt?
What temperature do I need to keep the tank at?
 
ginarox

ginarox

Active Member
sorry i meant aquarium salt,,you can buy at walmart pet supplies or your lfs, and far as the tempature i would keep it between 75 to 85, its not like saltwater aquariums have to keep it between 77 maybe to 82 or everything starts dieing off..... there is not salt levels... when i had my fresh water aquarium i would add that to the aquarium , i was told that it helped with keeping disease down, helps there gils,,etc.etc.... i hope this helps.....have a great day....
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
Originally Posted by ginarox
sorry i meant aquarium salt,,you can buy at walmart pet supplies or your lfs, and far as the tempature i would keep it between 75 to 85, its not like saltwater aquariums have to keep it between 77 maybe to 82 or everything starts dieing off..... there is not salt levels... when i had my fresh water aquarium i would add that to the aquarium , i was told that it helped with keeping disease down, helps there gils,,etc.etc.... i hope this helps.....have a great day....
How much salt would I add though??? 1 cup, teaspoon, throw it over my left shoulder?
 
whitey_028

whitey_028

Member
Originally Posted by FishRule
How much salt would I add though??? 1 cup, teaspoon, throw it over my left shoulder?

Over the shoulder and pray for the best lol actually if you go to the lfs they will have a little bottle of freshwater salt and the dirstions will be listed on the container...dont use ro water for freshwater tanks because there isnt enough mineral in the water to keep the fish alive.enjoy!!
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
I actually found my answer for how much salt to add and I have found that I'm to add "No Salt"

I'm glad that is over... I was like, salt? It's supposed to be fresh water right? Not Brackish?
On to my other questions as asked way above... Still need some answered... :help:
(I should add, I only need a quick lesson in African Cichlids so I can start this tank move. I will learn everything else after, but I need to concentrate on replacing old equipment and moving water/making water changes and testing the water correctly to sustain the life of the African Cichlids...)
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
Originally Posted by whitey_028
Over the shoulder and pray for the best lol actually if you go to the lfs they will have a little bottle of freshwater salt and the dirstions will be listed on the container...dont use ro water for freshwater tanks because there isnt enough mineral in the water to keep the fish alive.enjoy!!
What water should I use then??? I don't trust our city water, as it is full of chlorine (Mega Chlorine Levels)and other chemicals... Can't I just use RO and add additives or something like that???
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
76 to 82 degrees, ph 8-9, hard water. Buy "Cichlid salt,PS the word salt doesn't nessasarily mean NACL" which has different trace elements than "aquarium salt". The box will tell you. Buy African Cichlid food only, they seem to like the stick type best. It is common, and generally successful practice to add all the fish at once as comparably sized juvis. You can usually get "asst. Africans" at LFS. This wont be the best LFS to find somebody who knows them though. Don't get the beat up one or the one beating him (DUH, sorry, dont want to leave out a detail). Believe it or not, if you have enough litte caves and crevices, getting 20 fish would be a good amount. If any gett beat, yank him out. My best friend breeds them and uses crush coral gravel to keep the water suitable. Also major stacks of tufa rock, like this much

Thats not tufa, but good amount and structure. Most people get the drilled or holey tufa and stack it flat. That part is REAL important. When you set it up. cover the tank walls with thick plastic drop cloth or something first. Acrylic scratches easily, you'd never be able to stack all that rock without wrecking the cutomers tank.
Don't worry, IMO they're real easy to care for, as you may have noticed from the wide parameter ranges.
 
hardcrab67

hardcrab67

Member
R/O water, then add trace elements to that water. I like Electro-Rite. African Cichlids like the water w/ a more acidic reading of 6.8, There is a buffer I use to use by Seachem, just treat the whole tank after water change. If you ever run into Discus(Amazon Cichlids) They like their pH at 6.3 and temp no less than 86 degrees. It is common to mismatch cichlids, one lake/river region will not tolerate another in most cases.
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Hopefully thats not "common" amoung aquria professionals. Uh oh, it's time to feed the seahorses at the dentists office, hope the bale of hay doesnt cloud up the water again :notsure:
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Originally Posted by hardcrab67
R/O water, then add trace elements to that water. I like Electro-Rite. African Cichlids like the water w/ a more acidic reading of 6.8, There is a buffer I use to use by Seachem, just treat the whole tank after water change. If you ever run into Discus(Amazon Cichlids) They like their pH at 6.3 and temp no less than 86 degrees. It is common to mismatch cichlids, one lake/river region will not tolerate another in most cases.
Where did you hear they like acidic water? That is wrong. Not even close.
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
Originally Posted by xDave
Where did you hear they like acidic water? That is wrong. Not even close.
Thanks for all the feedback guys... :cheer:
So, um, do I do this?
Originally Posted by hardcrab67
I like Electro-Rite
xDave, can I use my RO with addition of nutrients or something like that?
Also, how much and how often for water changes? I was going to change about 15 Gallons of the clients tank water every other week. I have seen debates of 50% weekly water changes. Is that necessary???
 
kronnk7

kronnk7

Member
HI, With chiclids you don't really need salt or any of that kind of stuff. For a 75 gal. I would go with a fluval 405, it's one of the best canister filters on the market. Clean it about once a month and replace the carbon and you won't have any trouble with it. I would go with a sand bottom for the tank, because sand doesn't hold nitrates like gravel. And as far as decor goes I would do slate rock and some freshwater plants. Chiclids are very cool fish I play with them at work all day. I plan on setting up a 55 gal. with oscars and chiclids in a month or so. But good luck

Oh yeah, if you do use ro water just put a mineral pyramid in the tank it should help it.
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Yep. R/O and there are tons of different African additives out there. Even the cheaper brands like Hagen and Tetra are fine. Africans need a lot less tank cleaning than you'd think, if you strictly feed food made specifically for them. The thing is, they have a very slow digestive system. They absorb way more of what they take in than most fish, resulting in less waste. there diet is strictly veggie too so that also helps. You will most likely get away with changing whatever ammount of water you loose by siphoning the debris.
My buddy does 25% every 3 months :scared: and he makes enough off of the babies from that tank (4 different species breeding in 1 tank) to support 5 75's of everything you could imagine.
 
fishrule

fishrule

Member
You Guys Rock...
So, should I use Electro-Rite in the RO or just use misc African additives?
Should I upgrade the Blowers from 150gph each to 300gph each???
 
ginarox

ginarox

Active Member
you dont have to add aquarium salt if you dont want to,,, i used it ... and it works really well,,,, i suggested it due to the fact that you were asking how to keep them alive,,, i just know that it works for me,,,and when you buy the aquarium salt it well tell you how many teaspoons per gallon.... it is just like garlic extreme for your saltwater fish,,,everyone believes it helps the fish.....thats the same with aquarium salt for fresh water fish,.....have a great night.....
 
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