New 45 gallon tank???

[yahooo4skool]

Well, let me first start out buy saying that the tank I purchased (45g 36x12x24) about 2 months ago was going to be for tropical freshwater fish but the pH at my house is around 8.2-8.5. So after trying everything to lower it a friend recommended african cichlids. I know my tank is small, but I just spent a good deal of money on the “Modern Series Stands” from all-glass and would like to keep it. But my problem is I have a really tall tank which I know is not good but I was wondering how I should decorate it? That type of rocks? I would like to stack them fairly high and do I need to glue them together? And when you clean them do you need to take them all out??? And if anyone has any suggestions about what type of cichlids to get, I would like to have something small and not so aggressive? Oh, and one more question if I use crushed coral or limestone rocks in my tank will it raise the pH even more??? (I don’t need that).:)

[yahooo4skool]

Please help ;)

[YourPalCM]

45g is small but it's not "too small". While it's true that the base dimension is more important than the overall volume for Cichlids, you'll be OK.

Type of rocks is generally just a personal preference. What is important is that you have lots of rock. Lace Rock is popular as is Blue Slate, Honeycomb Limestone and regular Limestone, but pretty much anything you can find will work just fine. Just be sure to clean it, boil it and be sure there are no metals in the rock.

If you are going to stack a lot of rocks on top of each other, be very sure whatever mountain you create will not topple and break your glass creating a complete nightmare. It wouldn't be a bad idea to glue the rocks together so they won't fall over. This is particular important since many Cichlids like to dig in the substrate, so what rock pile might be standing today could be underminded by your Cichlids and their digging.

As for your cleaning that is up to you. You will probably want to do a thorough cleaning every now and then which will require that you take rocks out. One easier way if you have a lot of rocks is to do sections of the tank every now and then. That way you don't have to do it all at once. It's also not a bad idea to rearrange every now and then and when you are cleaning is the time to do that.

Hope that helps.

[aharris]

Another way to ensure no toppling rocks is build your rock structure int he tank before you add your substrate. A third way is to go to a Home Depot and by an egg crate that goes in flourescent light fixtures. Rest the rocks on that and add substrate. The egg crate keeps the cichlids from undermining anything too much. I've also heard that it distributes the weight out evenly across the aquarium floor.

[Seedy]

If you are going to stack a lot of rocks on top of each other, be very sure whatever mountain you create will not topple and break your glass creating a complete nightmare. It wouldn't be a bad idea to glue the rocks together so they won't fall over. This is particular important since many Cichlids like to dig in the substrate, so what rock pile might be standing today could be underminded by your Cichlids and their digging.

BTW the only "glue" you should use would be aquarium ok (ie. not mold/mildew resistant) SILICONE

aharris
The egg crate keeps the cichlids from undermining anything too much. I've also heard that it distributes the weight out evenly across the aquarium floor.
This is why I still use an UGF with cichlids

[SGypsyMermaid]

Originally posted by yahooo4skool
I would like to stack them fairly high and do I need to glue them together? And when you clean them do you need to take them all out??? ... Oh, and one more question if I use crushed coral or limestone rocks in my tank will it raise the pH even more??? (I don’t need that).:)

if you build your rocktropolis on top of eggcrate, you can skip the substrate altogether. then you don't have to worry about taking out the rocks to clean it.:dance:

[Seedy]

Originally posted by SGypsyMermaid
if you build your rocktropolis on top of eggcrate, you can skip the substrate altogether. then you don't have to worry about taking out the rocks to clean it.:dance:

same thing goes if you are using an UGF w/power heads reversed....

(yes I know they dig...)

[thomas619]

convict or firemouth cichlids