135 mbuna build.

[gambs]

Wanted to try and create a malawai biotope and make it as natural looking as possible. Pics show progress of the tank. It's about 2 months into it. Mixed leslies pfs and quickrete all purpose sand. I think the gravel gives it a natural look. Took 2 days to clear.

[gambs]

Cleared up and I was happy with rock work. Lots of caves, nooks and crannies for fish to establish territory.

[gambs]

Ended up adding a dual jebao wp 25 wave maker. Puts out serious flow and keep alot of debris off the rock. Also added a 72 current usa 12 bulb t5 to encourage algae.

[gambs]

Noticed algae growth within the first 2 weeks. Mbuna were happy to graze.

[gambs]

Finally found some flavus, F2. Male and female were large enough to add to tank. Other male and 2 females still in grow out tank. Large male hasn't colored up.

[gambs]

After a month or so I wanted to really try to increase the algae growth so I tried adding miracle grow fertilizer in a bucket and added water and rocks. Needless to say I was happy with the results. After 5 days of soaking I added to the tank.

[gambs]

[Victorp]

nice trick with growing algae how long did it take and how much fertilizer did you use?

[SunnyHouTX]

Nice tank gambs.

Victorp, just put your rocks in a white bucket in a single layer with a lid on and leave it out in the sun for a few days.

[ptran]

Gamb. Very nice tank. If you want some adult Mbuna 4"-6" to fill your tank, I have a bunch for sale.

[Fishcrazy1]

Tank looks really nice. I love all of the rocks in a mbuna tank.

[gambs]

nice trick with growing algae how long did it take and how much fertilizer did you use?

Victor, I put water in a 6 qt bucket and added 3 sprays of miracle grow indoor plant food foam. Left bucket outside. Did that for 5 days and the rocks were covered in the bright green algae. My lights are strong enough to keep the algae going even while they graze.

[gambs]

Nice tank gambs.

Victorp, just put your rocks in a white bucket in a single layer with a lid on and leave it out in the sun for a few days.

Thanks sunny it was coming together nicely. Just redid all my rock work because I wasn't happy with the layout.

[gambs]

Update. Algae has spread to all rocks and I have cut feeding down to once a day. All the fish graze on rocks. Decided to change the layout as I had no height on the left side and lots of dead spots due to stacking rock.

Before

After.

[gambs]

Grazing pics.