Malawi Tank Decor

Hi Folks,

I am in need of some assistance with regards to setting up a malawi tank. Seeing as there are loads of fundi's on TASA I thought that this is possibly the best place to ask my questions.

1) I currently have an internal power filter in my tank, just to create water movemant as I have a sump filter for filtration purposes, do I need to remove this? My logic tells me that they originate from a lake, thus they might not like fast flowing water?

2) Have any of you guys(or girls?) ever bought your rocks from nurseries? I am looking for limestone and I know that if a nursery stock it, they definitly will be cheaper than the LFS...

3) With regards to question 2, I would like limestone in my tank, does this mean I have to buy certain malawians that will prefer limestone? Or will they all be fine with limestone?

Thank you for your time

 

Malawis like oxygen,so leave your internal power filter + the Lake is so huge that there is actualy currents and small waves there,they wont mind the current...

As for your 2nd Q - Limestone would be great,if you can find it - the harvesting of limestone in SA is heavily regulated and therefore difficult to find... Maybe look at getting some Coral sand for the base - this will do as good a job in boosting your pH level - leaving you to get cool,cheap rocks from a nursery to pack your back wall with..

3rd question sorta answered above - you need to buffer the water with something calciferous to keep the pH above 8 - all Malawis need this,so yes...
However - not all Malawis have the same habitat equirements... Easiest to do is just pack a nice back wall with lots of nooks and crannies for harresed fish to escape into and not worry too much!

Enjoy your new Tank dude!!!

 

CharleyFXST

I am no fundi but my tank is going along quite nicely.
I also have an internal filter (breaking the surface for oxygenating more than filtration) and a canister filter (no space for a sump). I think it will depend on how strong your filter is. Mine turns the tank one and half times per hour.

My rocks (mostly limestone) I picked up where I could find them at a good price but none from a nursery yet. I had them in the tank for more than a month before I added any fish.

Not sure about the type as I have mostly Mbunas, but someone else will be able to assist here. I try and keep these only.

 

Thank you for the quick response! I will see if i can find limestone at the pet stores close by me. @azurekoi Did Pet Stop have when you were still there?

And another thing, if I can't find limestone, is there something else that will resemble that look that is easy to come by? Perhaps the question should be cheaper to come by?

 

Nope - not when i was still there.... You can try looking for Bone Stone - a very hard form of limestone that looks realy cool.... Will PM you of a place I know for this....

 

Thank you again @azurekoi! I will upload pics as soon as the tank is completed... I think if I can get the tank as I want it to be, I would cry myself to sleep everynight

 

Picked up some tiles cut from this at a tileshop somewhere in PTA east.
They do look nice,especially if you look at them closely.You'll see creatures from aeons ago in there.

 

@Reedfish I have removed the internal filter last night, because I built a spraybar at the inlet of my tank. I must admit, I am truly surprised at how well that works, the amount of oxygen in my tank basically doubled compared to what it was with the internal filter. My only concern currently is the current(no pun intended), I will have to check whether it is not too strong.

Now having mentioned the oxygen levels, what influence does that have on algea. Do algea grow faster in more oxygenated water? Or is the other way around?

 

I wouldnt... I think airstones make even the best looking tanks cheap and childish! When ever I see bubbles in a tank I just picture a few plastic novelties like the classic bubble wind mill or scuba diver. Bubbles look so unatural.

 

Mbuna species will actually eat the algea.
I just clean the front and sides of the glass and when it REALLY gets bad I will just do a quick clean on the rear glass.

 

Alas! Then Mbuna is the way to go!

 

Matter of opinion, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to judge Some people may even like scuba divers.

 

Hi to all that have commented. My suggestion is that you always need more than enough filtration for Malawis. Therefore if adding in any internal filter make it works for you. What is the use in circulating water? If doing this then let the energy, paying for it, work for you. Always use an internal with some sort of filtration attached. Let the algae grow as your fish will eat it. Colouring will be much better. Good healthy natural food! I have found that your Hailea HLBT 700/1000 to be probably the best internal filters. price excellent, on the market. Sell a huge amount myself and use them wherever I can. Extremely efficient. Remove the charcoal box and insert a larger piece of sponge. If you have airbubbles then put them through a sponge filter! Let them work for the power used to generate the air! Remember there is never a situation of having too much filtration, only too little!

 

Lol, those things are like wearing crocs. Never ever be caught with a plastic ornaments with bubbles! NEVER! Dont even go the ship wreck route, thats like wearing a popped collar. Lets not even start with plastic or silk plants.

No matter how much filtration you have, there will only be as much bacteria as there is food for them. So yes, you wont get any negative effects from having 10 filters in one tank(Depending on the species of course, some fish dont appreciate allot of water movement or flow) but it probably wont benefit the tank much at all. When Nitrite,ammonia and bacteria reach a sustainable equilibrium any other filtration will be biologically obsolete. The trick is to have enough filtration to reach that equilibrium.

From a flow point of view,I usually aim for about 3 or 4 times the tanks volume. It's a little more tricky to calculate the amount of media you need. I use to know where a nifty calculator was on the net but I cant find it. Maybe another member knows where it is hiding.

A easier way is to just keep a eye on nitrites and ammonia. If they in check, your filtration is A okay.

 

My oldest son has a plastic "military tank" and some soldiers (plastic) in his tank

Now that is "every one for his own" ... and I think it looks good, sure fits in with his personality :bigsmile:...not that I would do it though:sick:

 

I suggest you listen to all the members that have posted here. I also I going to set up an malawi tank sooner than later(hopefully). And this is a great thread filled with great advice. I am thinking of getting an internal power filter/ those jebo filters that take water too the top of the tank with filter floss(not sure of the name please tell me). is that "enough" filteration. And do I really need to be concserend about PH? Please and thank you.