African Cichlid Tank Beginners Guide

This article is still in process ... 

            Following is a guide based on my experience in setting up my first African Cichlid tank.  I will cover the tank and my choice of fish and why.  Since I chose to populate my tank with Mbuna, this guide will focus on them.  There are many other great choices of Cichlids from this region of the world and if you visit some of the sites listed in the Favorites you can get a fantastic amount of information on the other species.

 Tank Size & Setup

Choosing a Tank

    Since the African Cichlid is aggressive by nature and water quality is extremely important for them to thrive, tank size is one of the most important considerations.  A 55 gallon tank is generally considered the smallest tank to successfully keep these fish.  Believe it or not, this is one of those times where bigger is better.  Having enough room on the floor of the tank for extensive rockwork will provide each fish with the opportunity to establish an area they can retreat to and call their own.  Having adequate water volume will provide a buffer against drastic water chemistry changes.  I will get into both more extensively later in this article.

     There are two types of materials that tanks are constructed of, Acrylic and Glass.  Both have advantages and disadvantages.

     Another consideration in choosing a tank would be the accommodation of filtration.  Many tanks have built in overflow systems to facilitate external wet/dry or sump systems.  This is an excellent way to increase the water volume and therefore the ability of the system to buffer water quality changes.

    For African Cichlids, tank shape is also important.  The most important dimension of the tank would be the width.  Your goal is to create a long substrate surface area to accommodate much as real estate as possible.  The height and depth of the tank are therefore secondary in consideration.

    Most tanks are available with matching stands and hoods with lighting.  While it can be fun and rewarding to build your own stand and hoods, if this is your first endeavor into the hobby, I would suggest getting those accessories designed for your specific tank choice.  Trust me, you will be consumed enough with the other aspects of your first setup.

Filtration

    This subject could easily fill a large book.  For every type of filtration available, there are a hundred opinions on their use and effectiveness.  There are three basic forms of filtration, mechanical, biological, and chemical.  Mechanical  provides the means to physically remove particles and containments from the water.  It works much the same way as a filter in a vacuum cleaner or furnace.  Biological  filtration provides surface area conducive to the growth of bacteria cultures necessary to convert fish waste, uneaten food and fish respiration into less harmful gasses. (much more on this later)  Chemical is a method of inducing specific materials into the filtration systems to condition the water.  Forms of this media would be charcoal, ammo-chips, etc.  Many of the filters available today provide for all three types of filtration.

    Before I get into the specific filters available, I should cover some basic rules of filtration.  

First is how much filtration should you have for a specific tank.  Most all active filters are rated in gallons per hour.  Because of the necessity to provide pristine water conditions for your cichlids, you will want in the area of 8 to 10 times your tank size filtered per hour.  In the case of a 55 gallon tank, this would equate to 8x55=440gph to 10x55=550gph or 440 to 550 gallons per hour.

Next would be redundancy.  This is often an overlooked aspect of filtration.  I have read numerous posts on forums about someone coming home from work to find their filter had failed and all fish were either dead or darn close to it (it doesn't take a long time for ammonia and nitrite to build to dangerous levels if a system fails).  With all the monetary, emotional and time invested, it just stands to reason to build the filtering system with redundancy in mind.  Using our previous example of a 55 gallon tank,  you could build your filtration system around 2 filters with 250gph capacity each for a total of 500gph, well within the desired gph range.  This redundancy also facilitates servicing the filters in such a way as to minimize the impact on the bacterial colonies created.  The mechanical and chemical medias require replacement on a regular basis.  When you remove the old and replace with new, you are destroying portions of your bacterial colonies.  With 2 filters, you can stagger this maintenance between them keeping half of your colonies in tact and thereby minimizing the overall impact to your bio-system.

One common form of filtration that I won't get into deeply would be under-gravel filters.  While this method is widely accepted in the hobby, it is not recommended for an African Cichlid tank.  This filter works by drawing water down through the substrate via a plastic grid under the gravel and back through tubes into the aquarium.  Waste and uneaten food is trapped in the gravel, bacteria breaks down this debris and converts it to less harmful gasses.  African Cichlids are notorious for digging up the substrate and if a portion of the grid is exposed, it will greatly deplete its effectiveness making it dangerous to the fish.

    Common types of filtration; (there are other types but these 3 encompass 90% of what's used) 

Lighting  

    Lighting is an important component of a tank to fully appreciate the color of these fish and the tank decorations.  Like the filtering, there are many opinions as to what type and quantity of light is appropriate.  This rapidly becomes a point of personal preference.  The one exception to this would be if you were to introduce live plants to the equation.  Since I have never been one to pursue live plants, I will defer you to someone else for those recommendations.  Given that, I will return to what I previously stated and that is to purchase the hood designed for your choice of  tank and you will most likely have adequate fixtures for a pleasing tank.

    The choice of bulbs is every bit as much a personal preference.  Florescent bulbs are the most common and the ones I will cover.  They come in 2 basic versions, full spectrum or daylight and narrow spectrum or specific color ranges.  The standard output bulbs that are readily available in home improvement stores are typically too yellow in color to be pleasing for the aquarium and therefore I strongly suggest the purchase of bulbs from your Local Fish Store (LFS).  There you will find both types previously mentioned and some that are hybrids of the two.  One of my favorites is the 50/50 which is a combination of 50% daylight and 50% blue actinic.  This provides a nice balance of blues, reds and greens in the tank. 

Substrates

    The substrate is the material used to cover the bottom of the tank.  If you visit your LFS, you will notice that most, if not all tanks, have gravel as the substrate.  This is impart due to the wide use of the previously mentioned under-gravel filter systems which are the most cost effective for the store.

    Because more and more African Cichlid enthusiast no longer use under-gravel filters,  it has become common place to use sand in the African Cichlid tank.  Sand provides for a natural, clean look and the fish absolutely love it.  My fish spend half of the day grazing for food and the other re-arranging the substrate.  Because of the density of the sand, debris tends to collect on the surface making it very easy to clean.  Sand, like gravel, is available in many different colors.  I've seen everything from pure white, to gold, tan, brown and even black.  You can even supplement the sand with crushed coral or shells to improve the look and PH buffering ability.

    Sources of sand varies from the LFS to home improvement stores and landscaping suppliers.  There are 2 basic compositions available, Aragonite and Silica.  Aragonite has the added advantage of buffering your PH ... another subject covered in the chemistry portion of this article.  I have read several times in the forums that Silica based sand tends to harbor algae growth but have not found that to be the case.

    If you choose to use sand there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind.  First of all be sure that the grains are fairly uniform in size and not too fine.  Secondly, if your tap water is low in PH, it may be worth it to find Aragonite based sand to aid in buffering the desired higher ph that your cichlids require.  And perhaps the most important advise I can give you,  clean it extremely well prior to placing it in the tank and when your sure you have it clean, clean it again.  The method I used was to fill a 5 gallon bucket about 1/3 full with the sand.  Using a garden hose, I filled the bucket with water and let it overflow while agitating the sand with my hand.  I would then dump the excess water and do it again until the water remained clear no mater how much it stirred things up.  You repeat this until you have enough sand for your tank.

    OK ... how much is the right amount of sand?  To have a uniform 2-3 inches of sand, you will require about 1 pound of sand per gallon of tank capacity.  A little more or less depending on the shape of your tank.

Decorations  

        Now we're getting to one of the fun parts of constructing the tank.  Decorations can be rocks, plants, wood, or just about anything else aquarium safe that fits your style.  There are some considerations though when dealing with African Cichlids.  

    Rockwork

    First and foremost, Mbuna require fairly extensive rockwork to thrive.  As previously mentioned, these fish are territorial and aggressive by nature.  Well conceived rockwork will lessen aggression and make for happier fish.  This rockwork can exist in many different forms, but in all cases, caves and tunnels are required.  Before we explore this subject  in detail, the foundation of the rockwork must be discussed.  

    The general health of your fish and tank will be determined by how the rockwork is placed in the tank.  You do not want to just stack rocks on the sand.  The fish have a way of digging around and undermining the rocks making them unstable and capable of crushing the fish and/or crashing against the tank surface scratching the glass/acrylic.  There are two methods to prevent this.  One is to use a bed of flat rocks to distribute the weight evenly, backfilling with sand providing a solid base to build on.  Another very clever way to build a foundation is to use what is called "Egg Crate" on the bottom of the tank prior to putting in the substrate.  Egg Crate is the grid used for florescent lighting fixtures in drop ceilings.  It can be purchased at most home improvement stores and cut to fit the tank footprint.  Then you add the sand to fill the Egg Crate, place your base rocks, add the rest of the sand and build your formations.

    One direction that has been popular is a form of sandstone called Texas Holy Rock.  These are usually large chunks of sandstone with intricate caves and passage ways throughout.  They can look quite stunning in an African tank.  THR is available through most of the better online aquarium supply retailers.  They can however be pretty expensive.  If your like me, building your own formations is the most cost effective approach.

    The rockwork can be anything from slate, to sandstone, river rock, lava rock, etc.  Just be sure to clean well, sterilization is always recommended.  Be sure that there are no trace metals that can leach into the water and be harmful to the fish.  Softer, porous rocks like sandstone and lava rock are also beneficial in buffering PH and can add additional bio area for the bacteria.  It's always a good idea to avoid rocks with sharp edges to protect the fish during the inevitable chases that will occur.  

    It is imperative  to be sure that the formations are "rock" solid for the same reasons mentioned above.  This is either done by working with them over and over until you are confident with the way they are stacked or you can use silicone sealant to secure them.  As with everything else there are pluses and minuses to both ways.  If you secure them with sealant, you are pretty much stuck with the formation as is.  This can be a real disadvantage if you add fish at a later date.  When introducing new fish to an established tank, it is suggested that you move the formations around to disorient the existing habitants to give the new fish an equal  chance to establish territories.  Of course, unsecured formations are just that ... unsecured and that can also be a big problem.  I have done a little of both with my tank ... securing only where needed.

    Plants

    In the 40 plus years I've been in the hobby, I'd never really studied or used live plants.  I, however, do like the look of them in a tank.  African Cichlids, like most cichlids, can be hard on live plants.  There are a few that will do well in a cichlid tank and I will list them shortly.  I have chosen silk plants for my tank because of the natural look and low maintenance.  The better quality silk plants have good weighting, come in a variety of colors and forms and will be a nice addition to any tank.

    Driftwood

    It is generally not recommended to add wood to African Cichlid tanks because it tends to lower the PH.  I do have a small piece in mine that has been boiled to both sanitize and water log it for easy placement.  Like any porous material you put in your tank, especially if you select it from the outdoors, can harbor all kinds of organisms and parasites.  It is strongly advised to boil these materials long enough to get hot all the way to the core of the material.  If you also choose to use wood in your tank, don't over do it and watch your PH closely to see what the effects will be.