Fish room finally in sight.

I normally add more than i should but like you say the filters need to be able to handle them thats the trick.

 

I watched a YouTube video, before I bought these 4, of a guy who has a bunch of malawis in a tank and he says it's best to keep a big amount of them together, apparently it helps with their aggressiveness but there enough hiding spaces between the rocks. I see at the moment only the light blue one, you identified it as the cobalt blue one, that's interested in the rock. He is mostly moving between the crevices and holes. He comes out when I feed them and standing right against the tank.

 

The biggest problem you have is aggression and filtration. As you said the more you have the forget which one they picked on then move to the next.

But adding filtration to keep up with the bio load is the key.
I have an 700l with about 50-60 in I think the sump filter adds up to 200l of the volume and packed with media.

When are you coming to Jhb I have a few available to fill you up?

 

For now I will keep the 4 I have and add slowly as time goes on. I won't just add a bunch in and hope nothing goes wrong. If I do add, once the other 7 fish are out, Ill add 4 more of the same size and keep an eye on the NH4 and NO2. This will also indicate whether the filter is up for the job yet or not.

 

They gorgeous @TetraJacques
Haha.. I always land up with 30 photos to get one decent one!!

 

Guys small update... Added another 4 malawis today so please ID if you guys can. The other one added today was another cobalt so just these 3 please


Also, second 3 foot was set up today to house the tetras and shark from the malawi tank for now... I feel I might stock this tank differently...
Tank was kept very simple with easy plants... Went with inert substrate capped with play sand again for incase I decide to add other plants at a later stage

I will have to sort out the lighting tomorrow as the wood is blocking light from reaching the Hygro on the right...
Plants are as follows
Valies
Java fern
Bucephalandra
Giant hygro
Anubias
I might cover the wood with java moss at a later stage...

 

Venustus, auratus, and lombardoi male.

 

@Barry Roux, thanks.. I will go read up on them a bit..
@Whoknows, this tank might change entirely. I'll see how this one goes...

The malawi tank will also be rebooted today... I get better rocks so that's the plan for today.

 

No no the log stays here find your own....
I am actually busy with this tank and not the malawi tank... That's for during the week... The tetras are a concern at the moment so I need to get this tank running

 

That one was for free, good thing to live in the bush so to say... This piece of wood is rock hard and I have another huge stump waiting to be cut up...

When more money shows up I need to get the racks built first... And I'm going through some things but will get there in the end, I'm sure!

 

Quick update...

Bought the wood today for the 3 foot rack and all the other small bits I need.. Obviously I'm not a guy who does a lot of wood work so I had to invest in some new tools, etc. to build the rack...

Also the new 3 footer has been rescaped a couple of times and has no water in at the moment. It will now have to move when the rack is done so I can feel another scape is gonna happen before I'm satisfied.

Photos to follow soon!!!

 

Update:

Obviously my week didn't go as planned and had to work today after I put in leave.. Just finished with the 3 foot rack...

Next step will be the black paint and the lighting system... Then the dreadful move of the planted tank from the dining room to the rack..

 

What are you going to use to seal the wood against moisture?

 

Woodoc and fired earth both make good exterior wood sealer. Apparently you can use linseed oil as well which might be the cheaper option.. I'll make sure to get the right stuff before spraying it...

 

I am no woodworker, but know that linseed oil is a time consuming and almost daily exercise in reapplying the oil, until the wood has soaked up all the oil and is saturated.
Woodoc may be a better option.
Just ensure that ALL the wood is well sealed, as the smallest part not sealed can be the starting place of nightmares.

 

I use gripseal it works great.