First determine what size tank you can afford and/or fit in your home. Tank weight is also important if you do not plan on buying or making your own stand. My Tank and Gravel Calc will help you determine the weight of the tank when full of water (keep in mind that rocks are much heavier than water and the total weight will eventually be much higher).
Figure out which species you would like to keep. Your tank size might limit your choices, or even allow you to add more fish. My Stocking level section can give you a general idea of how many fish to plan on.
What to buy along with your tank.
Buy a tank of your choice.
Buy a stand of your choice
If your stand does not have a flat surface to place the tank upon, buy a wooden board cut to the measurements of the tank stand.
Buy a sheet of Styrofoam cut to the measurements of the tank and stand.
Filtration. Figure on you filtration to pump, in Gallons/Hour, at least 4 times the volume of the tank. So a 55 gallon tank should have filtration of at least 220 gallons per hour. Increasing this amount can only do you good, while decreasing will lead to more water changes, and a potentially dangerous situation. If possible have 2 filtration devices at least in case one breaks down you'll have one that works till you get a replacement. Avoid undergravel filters if you plan on planting your tank, and because cichlids dig in the substrate. Pick up 1-2 powerheads too in addition to the filters you have now.
Heating: By two heaters with a total wattage of at least 2-3 watts / Gallon of water in your tank. The reason for 2 heaters is also to have one working in the case of equipment failure in the other, and to spread the heat around the tank in a more efficient manner.
Tank Cover:
Glass Cover: I use glass covers even though I have plants in the tank. Many people do not advise that as glass filters out important particles of light. However if you will not keep plants a glass cover is fine.
Wooden cap: This is definitely the best option. If you can make you own even better. With a wooden cap you mount the type of lighting under the lid. This gives you many options for what type of lighting and amount of lighting to use.
The Standard Aquarium Hood: This is the type sold at most fish stores. This fine too. What many aquarists do is remove the clear glass part that will separate your lighting source from the water.
Lighting: African cichlids, themselves, do not care for much lighting, and if you will not keep plants or keep only low light plants, you do not have to worry about lighting. Otherwise at least 2 watts per gallon of water are needed.
Fixture: Hardware stores sell what are known as shop lights. You can purchase a nice double tube 4-foot fixture for $10. This is much more economical that the lighting fixtures sold at stores. If using a 'cap' then you can attach the fixture to the lid or attach the ballast directly to the hood.
Light: Any 'sunlight', daylight,' or 'aquarium,' bulbs do fine for your tank. You could even use generic lights but they don't provide appealing colors to the tank and may even enhance alga growth.
Gravel: You can use any fine grade gravel, or sand for your tank. Crushed coral has the advantage of buffering the pH and hardness at a beneficial level for african cichlids (NOTE: This buffering capacity last for approximately 4 months). I personally use crushed coral (75%) with crushed coral sand (25%). Anywhere from 1" to 4" of gravel is fine for your tank. Use the Tank and Gravel Calc to figure out how many pounds of gravel to buy.
Plants: You may want to add live plants to your tank. Of course you need to keep plants that can withstand hard alkaline water. Keep in mind that mbuna will more than likely try and tear down any plants you keep so only hardy plants should be considered. Haps will generally not eat your plants, but will tug at them. Plants, in general, are a bit of a challenge to keep in african cichlid tanks. Aquarist George Reklos has created a chart that shows the CO2 content of hard alkaline water. You will notice that for most cichlid tanks the CO2 level will be very low, that is why very resilient plants are to be kept.
Wood: You can use driftwood in your african cichlid tank contrary to popular belief. Simply do not use a lot of wood. Wood releases tannin, which is an agent that will soften and lower the pH of your tank. However, if you have crushed coral gravel in the tank, and use buffers to keep KH and pH high you don't have to worry about the woods properties. The effect wood has on the water is also time based, so after a while you will not have any problems with it releasing tannin in the water. You may want to let the wood soak in a bucket of water for a couple of days before putting in the tank. This way it will release much of the tannin and also water will seep through its pours making the wood easier to keep grounded in the tank.
Test Kits: Buy Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH test kits. Check the expiration date on them, as the readings might be off.
a. Test your tap waters pH. If its in the 7.5-9 range you are OK. If it isn't you will have to take some steps. You can purchase some Malawi or Tanganyika buffer to add to your water and you can also add baking soda at a ratio of 1 tablespoon full for each 40 gallons of water. This will "buffer your water at a pH of 8.1-8.5 depending on the starting pH of your tap water and the surface water movement" (G. Recklos).
Thermometer - For obvious reasons. A good trick to see if the thermometer you buy is working probably is to check it against all the other thermometers in the rack. If they all read 70 degrees don't buy the one that's reading 75 degrees J.
Putting it all together: Setting up a new tank is very exciting, but we must not let our over enthusiasm take control of us. That is how most mistakes are made. I have found that it is best to buy all the materials one day, and spend at least the rest of that day thinking about how I'll setup the new tank. I like to compare it to the way people sit for hours trimming a bonsai tree, they could just as easily simply trim it away real quick or leave it to grow, but instead enjoy the wait and the concentration needed to shape the tree. You will most likely never have to do these steps again for this tank, so enjoy it!
Place your tank:
Place the stand where you will enjoy it, avoid places where direct sunlight will hit it. This will be something you will regret when you start to see your tank full of algae one day.
Put the wooden board over the stand (if needed).
Put the Styrofoam sheet over the board. The purpose of the Styrofoam is to even out any un-level spots of the tank. The weight of the tank will level out the waterline.
Place the tank over the Styrofoam.
Wash the gravel well, I mean very well. Especially if you decided on crushed coral you must wash it and rinse it many times. I rinsed it 8 times and it was still made the water cloudy, just to give you an idea of the washing required. Once your done with that, add it into the tank.
Fill the tank to less than the halfway point.
Add the rocks, wood, heater, powerheads, and plants: There are many ways to setup your tank. This is where you can be creative. These are just some suggestions showing how you might want to go about setting it up.
IDEA #1:
Rinse and pile up rocks in the tank.
Add small ones first, then the medium and large.
You can silicone glue rock sections together. This will help in the future, as you can pick up each section and vacuum easily under it.
While you are placing your rocks and wood, tie any plants that require anchoring onto pieces of wood or rock.
Place the other plants into the gravel, and surround with rocks to deter the fish from attacking the roots or base of the plant.
Strategically place the powerheads in between the rocks, allowing for the output of the powerhead to stream between the rocks.
Place the heaters, you might want to hide them behind rocks to avoid their ugly appearance.
Fill the tank to the top with water.
IDEA #2
Same as above except for the rock placement
This method requires that you purchase flowerpots and thin rock slates with a width equal or less than the size of the pots. Over turn the pots and crack the sides open. You are basically making cave for the fish. Line up the flowerpots and silicone glue rocks to them. Place them in the tank and put the slate sheet on top. Repeat this with another row of pots with rocks. If you plant this carefully you can make a water highway between the pots and add a powerhead at one end and have it blow though all the pots.
IDEA #3
i. This idea belongs to Patricia Spinelli, an aquascaper and aquarium storeowner in Italy. This
Link will take you directly to her site, where she explains how to make a rock wall Italian Style. Make sure to look at all her incredible tanks.
Connect the other filtration devices; add the hood, lights and everything else.
CYCLING: You can go 2 ways with cycling - with fish or without fish.
If you choose the fishless method Tom Griffin provides a step by step method of doing it.
Otherwise you will have to put 1-4 fish depending on the size of your tank, and have them do the cycle for you. In general most haps and mbuna are pretty hardy fish and can cycle the tank for you. I must warn you though that fish might die during this process.
Test the water for ammonia every day. You will notice an increase in ammonia within the first week.When the ammonia starts rising start testing for nitrite as well.
You will slowly see the ammonia level drop and the nitrite level rise.
The ammonia level will drop to 0 and the nitrite level will follow. Once this happens, you tank is officially cycled.
The above procedure can take about a month to complete. Your patience might be wearing thin, but this is the ultimate trail of restraint. Use this time to set the decor of you tank if you don't like the way it currently is, and use this time to read through books, look at webpages and determine which species you want to keep. These can range from the normal to the bizzare When I first started out I bought fish on impulse, or bought them because I couldn't find the ones a I really wanted. I ended up finding the fish I want and returning the others. With some patience and scouting you should be able to find what you want.
What to do during the Cycle and other notes:
Change only small amounts of water in your tank. About 10% weekly is fine.
You can add filter media, gravel, and/or water from an established tank. Take some from a friend or beg your lfs for some. (If you spent all that money buying a tank from them, they should be nice enough to give you some).
The plants (if any) in your tank will assist in the cycle, as plants feed on such compounds like ammonia and nitrite.
The Fun Begins - Adding Inhabitants:
You have just spent the last month or so deciding on what you want to buy, go out and buy a couple of fish.
Do not buy many at once, you ammonia and nitrite levels will rise again a bit with each new addition. So close monitoring must be maintained. When ammonia levels drop to 0 again (if they go up at all) then buy a new group.
Try to buy young fish, this will increase you chances of having a peaceful tank, and, in my opinion, will be a nice experience to watch your fish grow.
Problems and Comments: You might run into several problems.
I've added plants, used filter media, used gravel and some fish but my tank isn't cycling: It may be that your tank IS cycled. The beneficial bacteria might be present in the tank. Try adding some more fish and continue your tests.
I should have only 1 male vs. 2+ female haps or mbuna in my tank. How will I know what sex they are when they are young? You won't know for sure. You can pick the largest fish from a group of youngsters and chances are it is a male. But that method and any other method are not 100%. Two solutions for this are to either buy a large group of whatever species you want and they will get along when they mature. A group of 3 males and 7 female Pseudotropheus Crabro will do well together. Your other choice is to wait till they reach an age that you can sex them and return all the males except for one.
