Looking at a cichlid tank this summer

[moganman]

Do canister and HOB. Or wet/dry and canister, or wet/dry and HOB, or just a powerful wet/dry. Lots of people on here will make your filtration seem like it's not adequate enough, but this game is addictive and most of us never stop at what's deemed necessary. We go WAY beyond!!!

[Chris.d514]

I don't really know what a wet-dry is I have read alittle on them but it was fairly confusing.

[moganman]

They aren't that confusing. Hardest part is getting it started. Gotta use a flexible tube to get water flowing through the U Tube. It's a highly efficient filter. Water gets pumped from th sump which holds the return pump in there. Goes to the tank, circulates and aerates the water. It goes from the tank back into the overflow boxes and goes back into the sump. It first hits a sponge type filter, then it goes through the media which is most of the time, bio balls. It then goes into the sump area where the pump is. This is where the oxygenating takes place. Reason why people run both wet dry and canister is because each one is good for biological and mechanical filtration, respectively.

[eklikewhoa]

They aren't that confusing. Hardest part is getting it started. Gotta use a flexible tube to get water flowing through the U Tube. It's a highly efficient filter. Water gets pumped from th sump which holds the return pump in there. Goes to the tank, circulates and aerates the water. It goes from the tank back into the overflow boxes and goes back into the sump. It first hits a sponge type filter, then it goes through the media which is most of the time, bio balls. It then goes into the sump area where the pump is. This is where the oxygenating takes place. Reason why people run both wet dry and canister is because each one is good for biological and mechanical filtration, respectively.

I've been using a wet/dry for over 15yrs now and you just confused the hell out of me.

[ssrprelude]

Chris I would get a decent sized canister and an extra AC 110 if you can. That should be good till you move and upgrade your setup then its wet/dry time. Anyone here can show you how to set it up.

[fishman1]

my wet dry just goes through the overflow drains down through them then down through the bioballs which really aerates the water then in the sorta sump region it goes through the heater and purigen and other carbon stuff then goes through pump and pumped back into tank.

[moganman]

my wet dry just goes through the overflow drains down through them then down through the bioballs which really aerates the water then in the sorta sump region it goes through the heater and purigen and other carbon stuff then goes through pump and pumped back into tank.

There you go. I was just trying to explain how good they are by the steps involved in the water cyling.

[Chris.d514]

Cool so you need extreme filtration with tropheus' from what I'm getting. Do they like planted or unplanted tanks and should I look at adding bottom feeders like plecos as well?

[ssrprelude]

Most Tang tear up plants with exception to anubias and thicker leaved plants. I would do just hard scape and keep it simple. Plecos are fine and so are bottom dwelling Tangs like brevis and other shell dwellers.

[eklikewhoa]

Depending on the temperament of the colony really.

My trophs would shred most fancy plecos, loaches, ocats, etc.
Plants is hit and miss too, I put tanganyikan vals in the old tank and they shredded it, the new tank they didn't even bother.

I agree with ssrprelude, just hardscape and leave it at that.

[Chris.d514]

Would a t5 setup or LED be better? Or does it even matter if there are no live plants?

[mnemenoi]

Without a plant requirement, lighting is completely up to your personal tastes. LED's can deliver a very cool shimmer effect and T5's are great all around lights with many spectrums available for your personal taste.

[moganman]

I might sell my 50g oceanic with stand and glass lids soon if you decide to buy.

[Chris.d514]

I just started looking at prices and it may take long than I thought to get this tank going depending on if I am able to work at the college or not next semester. I was surprised when I started to add everything up 100-150 for filtration, 200-250 for 20 fish, 50-100 for the tank, and 150ish for misc.(substrate,heater,rock, background). Looking like we may end up just going with a heavily planted 30long with a few inverts, and buying the cichlid pieces one at a time as we can. I'm sure I could make something run for less money but i want to make sure I have good quality pieces to help with tank conditions and death rate.

[moganman]

I just started looking at prices and it may take long than I thought to get this tank going depending on if I am able to work at the college or not next semester. I was surprised when I started to add everything up 100-150 for filtration, 200-250 for 20 fish, 50-100 for the tank, and 150ish for misc.(substrate,heater,rock, background). Looking like we may end up just going with a heavily planted 30long with a few inverts, and buying the cichlid pieces one at a time as we can. I'm sure I could make something run for less money but i want to make sure I have good quality pieces to help with tank conditions and death rate.

You're in the ballpark, but 200-250 for 20 fish is a bit high unless you wanna start with adults. You can get troph fry for less than that. 150 for substrate and rocks is way off unless you wanna get some fossil rock. Nepco and Alamo stone have some great selections for 15-20 cents a pound and you'll only need about 100 pounds at most. You can get Leslie's Pool Filter sand for about 10 bucks for 50lbs. Spray paint whatever color you want for less than 5 bucks. Heaters are no more than 20, so for all that you mentioned, you can do that for 50-60 bucks. You can start with a wet/dry system and a mag 5 pump. That will run 100-150 used, maybe cheaper if you find a good deal. I think you overestimated the cost by a couple hundred bucks.