new cichlid tank set up advice

[flowergirl]

Hello, looking for advice on setting up a 65 g tall tank for cichlids. I have never housed these fish and looking for all the advice possible. I use to have a saltwater tank 10 years ago and now coming back to the hobby.

1) What best substrate? i have researched that aragonite substrate is most recommended. opinions or other options? I used to use playsand..possible for this tank set up as well or will be difficult to keep proper parameters?

2) Is lava rock ok to display and help with parameters?

any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

[Dustin07]

That's interesting, are you planning on running salt? I run a 35g tall hex cichlid tank many years ago with just basic gravel substrate and wood I think I had scavenged locally. Back then...I had also added fish I found in a ditch locally and fed them guppy fry lol. my tank was freshwater.

 

[griss]

While I've never kept Cichlids, I've always heard that crushed coral or aragonite is best as it helps to buff the pH. Since this is going to be a freshwater tank, I don't see any reason you could not use lava rock if that's what you like the look of.

 

[Reefing102]

I agree with the above. Although aragonite and crushed coral is preferred, I’ve seen plenty of tanks that use standard gravel or even larger river rock.

My wife used to have cichlids and we used planted tank substrate as she made it a planted cichlid tank instead of the rock cave look.

One thing for us is it seemed to work better overstocking the tank. My wife’s was a 40 breeder and we had close to 20 cichlids (all 3”+). For the most part, aggression was minimal though we did have to remove a few that grew significantly faster and became active aggressors.

 

[flowergirl]

That's interesting, are you planning on running salt? I run a 35g tall hex cichlid tank many years ago with just basic gravel substrate and wood I think I had scavenged locally. Back then...I had also added fish I found in a ditch locally and fed them guppy fry lol. my tank was freshwater.

No I am setting up a fresh water tank

 

[flowergirl]

I agree with the above. Although aragonite and crushed coral is preferred, I’ve seen plenty of tanks that use standard gravel or even larger river rock.

My wife used to have cichlids and we used planted tank substrate as she made it a planted cichlid tank instead of the rock cave look.

One thing for us is it seemed to work better overstocking the tank. My wife’s was a 40 breeder and we had close to 20 cichlids (all 3”+). For the most part, aggression was minimal though we did have to remove a few that grew significantly faster and became active aggressors.

OK, thank you. I haven’t looked into how many fish I can have yet in this tank size.

 

[T Diddy]

I agree with the above. Although aragonite and crushed coral is preferred, I’ve seen plenty of tanks that use standard gravel or even larger river rock.

My wife used to have cichlids and we used planted tank substrate as she made it a planted cichlid tank instead of the rock cave look.

One thing for us is it seemed to work better overstocking the tank. My wife’s was a 40 breeder and we had close to 20 cichlids (all 3”+). For the most part, aggression was minimal though we did have to remove a few that grew significantly faster and became active aggressors.

I second this…overstocking is almost a requirement for cichlids. I’m assuming you mean African cichlids. If that’s the case, then you definitely want something to help with ph buffering. They like to move and build “nests” with the substrate, so sand is not the best option here.
If you’re going with South American cichlids, the ph buffering isn’t quite as important. In fact, they can tolerate and actually prefer a slightly acidic ph. In either case, overstocking will help to quell the aggression…just don’t add all of the fish at once (obviously), and it’s a good idea to rearrange your rock work/decorations when adding a new batch of fish. It helps to reduce territorial disputes.

 

[Dustin07]

No I am setting up a fresh water tank

that's what I figured but didn't want to assume, I came across discussion of people making salt or brackish cichlid tanks. I didn't even know that was a thing until your post lol.

I loved my cichlids though. probably my favorite freshwater fish to keep- looking forward to seeing your tank!

 

[flowergirl]

Thanks everyone. What about filters? I have an old rena fulstar xp2 that still work great and plan to use that. I have also seen sponge filters in tanks online. Is that a good addition?

 

[Reefing102]

I used some off brand canister filter with a built in UV light on our 40. The filter was designed for I think a 125 gallon, just to handle the overstocking.