4ft Mbuna Tank

[Ben M]

Hi, I'm setting up a 4ft 210l mbuna tank over the summer and I thought you guys might like to see it.

I am using 3mm coral sand, sandstone and heather branches as my hardscape. I have been playing around with different layouts, but the main idea is as follows:

I have some big 'slices' of sandstone, which I will silicone to the rear of the aquarium, and I will fill the gaps with smaller slices. The idea is to make it look like a cliff face. I will then add my rocks, which will be stacked up similarly to the pics below. I will fit in a couple of bits of wood for the L144s (as in the last pic) and then the sand will go in.

I will put a piece of perspex on the base of the tank to stop the rocks damaging the glass.

I have researched loads of fish, and the species that I am thinking of are:

yellow labs
Cynotilapia afra 'jalo reef'
Pseudotropheus elongatus neon spot
Pseudotropheus ndumbi red top

I'm not totally sure on numbers yet or 100% sure that these will be the exact species that I get, as I am buying from a local breeder. He will help me choose when I get there so I'm going in with a rough idea.

I'm considering putting in some plants such as Limnophila sessiliflora, or vallis, but I'll have to see how it looks and if the fish demolish them.

Here are 3 layouts that I have made. I is a sort of progression from my fisrst idea (first pic) to my most recent idea (last pic). All will have the wood and the background of the last pic:

Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3


What do you think of my plans?

cheers,
Ben

 

[Alastair]

I like the last pic mate but the big square piece of sandstone at the back looks a little out of place for some reason :0/

 

[Ed Seeley]

If you google Lake Malawi underwater then you'll see some videos of the lake itself to give you an idea of a natural scape.

Here are a few,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZQriiD ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlH4oDCl ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1huTOv ... re=related

 

[Ben M]

Thanks guys.

I see what you mean about the big piece. I have decided to scrap the background idea, as I don't want any dead spots or stuck fish plus the fact that it'd be hard to remove it in the future.

I have re-done the rocks again after looking at those vids and some pics on a Malawi forum to try to make it look more natural. Here it is:

Here is the view from above, so you can see how much room is in the foreground (the gap in the gravel is where the front of the tank would be).

It has been suggested on a Malawi forum that I add some rocks to the foreground to break it up a bit, so I'll do that when it goes in the tank and show you some pics.

All I need now is the perspex to put on the bottom, then I can get the rocks in.

cheers,
Ben

 

[Alastair]

would look nice with some vallis poking out of some of the rocks too i reckon

 

[Ed Seeley]

Think it looks a lot better but could you get one or two larger, chunkier pieces of rock to break it upo a bit more? Think at the moment the pieces are too similar in size to get the random look you see in the lake vids.

 

[Ben M]

I would get some bigger pieces, but unfortunately it would mean an hour long car journey to get them, and my dad's really busy at work. I'll ask when he'll be less busy, but I don't know if I'll be able to get any bigger pieces.

cheers,
Ben

 

[Ben M]

I got the egg crate delivered today, so I've set up the tank. First I moved the fish (7 x l144) into a 20l tub with tank water. I then emptied out all of the decor and water. Then I put in the egg crate and rocks. And finally I washed the coral sand and put it in, followed by the water and then the fish.

This is how the tank looks now:

What do you think? I'm considering getting some more rocks to stack towards the top and around the pipes on the right.

cheers,
Ben

 

[Ben M]

I got the fish yesterday, and they are settling in well. I got:

7 acei,
4 ndumbi red tops,
4 labs,
4 Afra jalo reef,
4 mpanga,
4 neon spot.

The neon spots seem to be in charge at the minute, but nobody is getting bullied. Here are some pics:

Labs:

Ndumbi red top:

Jalo reef:

Mpanga:

Neon spot:

Full tank shot:

Sorry for the bad pic quality, but they are really fast lol.

cheers,
Ben :handgestures-thumbup:[/quote]