# 90 Gal Mbuna tank (first mbuna tank)



## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Just set this up last night!

Equipment:

Tank:
48x18x24" standard footprint tank
Placed on an iron stand covered in wood w/ homemade hood [I didn't make this myself]

Filtration:
Aquaclear 70 
Fusion 700 w/ size 4 hydro pro sponge
Hopefully getting an FX5 when the wallet can afford it

Power heads:
2x Koralia 4

Heater: 
250W Jager ebo

Decor:
46x16" eggcrate
aragonite sugar sand with crushed coral (about 1" bed)
~400 lbs of Basalt
Java fern wedged into the rock

Stocking: [edited as of 28-DEC-2013]
4x Pseudotropheus Acei "Yellow Tail"
10x Synodontis Petricola
10x Metriaclima sp. "Msobo" Magunga
4x Metriaclima Estherae "Cherry Red"
3x Pseudotropheus Flavus Chinyankwazi
6x Metriaclima sp. "Elongatus Chewere"
1x Long-fin Silvertip Bristlenose Pleco
?x Acei fry


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Looking good Steve. That's a ton of rock in there. The Mbunas should feel right at home


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

looks good. Some serious flow there. arent those power heads rated at 1200gph each? How do your fish like that much current? I was thinking of running a similar setup in my 135g but many said it was to much.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

It is a lot of flow and I've only had fish in there for a day but the idea behind it is they expend their energy swimming instead of attacking each other. There's also a few slower spots to sleep in due to all the rockwork. Honestly no idea how itll work out over time though.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

very nice!!! maybe I should consider switching from apistos tank to african tank  it is so hard to find good/rare apistos


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

It's hard to find good africans in BC too =P but there's a group order going on in the group order classified section if you're seriously interested!


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Your mbuna should be happy with all that rock just make sure it's all really stable.


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

yes i like it too. i worry about the one small rock on top bridging the others. there isnt much area holding it on to the left and although your sand looks all spiffy now, when u get it stocked more the males will dig and spit it out from under the rock work and it may fall and crack the glass or fall on a fish. looks great tho.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

The rocks are actually lying on eggcrate and not sand so they shouldn't shift from digging. The bottom 4 rocks that most of the rockwork is sitting on are actually cut pieces of rock so they lie flat on the eggcrate and when buried by a bit of sand look like they are deeply burried. I do worry about that one piece on the top though so I may move it soon!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

The piece that you are worried about doesn't fit IMO anyways. Try removing it or placing it somewhere else. Its going to fall for sure.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

lol Hmm I have been thinking about African cichlids as my wife wants to see some nice african cichlids in my 90G instead of tons of SA dwarf cichlids . For now, I gotta stick with my SA dwarf cichlids.. I LOVE them.. Maybe I should convince my wife to have ANOTHER tank for African lol.



Steve said:


> It's hard to find good africans in BC too =P but there's a group order going on in the group order classified section if you're seriously interested!


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Some pic updates!

...as you can see I am not a photographer LOL


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Steve said:


> Some pic updates!
> 
> ...as you can see I am not a photographer LOL
> 
> ...


WOW! very nice fishes! are they the fishes that you got from the group buy?? really nice! good work!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Looking good Steve. There's going to be lots of color in your tank when those fish grow.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

jhj0112 said:


> WOW! very nice fishes! are they the fishes that you got from the group buy?? really nice! good work!


Yeah I put in 34 new fish from the group buy into this tank


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

jbyoung00008 said:


> Looking good Steve. There's going to be lots of color in your tank when those fish grow.


I hope so! Already a few of the bigger guys are starting to build their territories  Probably going to take quite a few months before most of my guys colour up properly though.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Got a video and another picture.. both terrible but it's the best I could do. These fish HATE the camera!


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Video didn't work for me but with the pics things are looking good


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

still being processed, probably still uploading =)


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## Dark Knight (Nov 11, 2012)

Looks fantastic Steve. That is the exact rock I'm looking for to use in my 55gal. Did you buy it locally?


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

I did get some locally (it's basalt). I have 4 pieces for sale in this thread here http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-equipment-classifieds-27/fs-lava-rock-66449/ for $10 if you're interested. The rock is from a quarry in squamish. The video is still uploading.. takes forever lol

Edit: video uploaded!


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## Dark Knight (Nov 11, 2012)

Steve, i sent you a PM.


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## Adam (Dec 17, 2012)

The tank looks awesome, glad it went to good use look forward to seeing it in the future.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Down 4x Estherae to bloat (lessened my feeding and added NLS to the mix), and one other fish (either a chewere or flavus) due to aggression.. it was floating and in half =P Howeverrrr! I have seen 1 fry in my tank that I shall assume is from my yellow-tailed acei since they're the only fish that seem to be of breeding size. I'm quite confident it won't make it though! Too many hungry fishies.


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

where did you acquire the acei from. Been looking for some locally but can't seem to find any smaller ones... Just adults in a mixed african tank lol.

Tank looks good... how much were you feeding your fish that is caused bloat. I never had to deal with it and I think I might be feeding to much personally. Rather tapper it down then deal with bloat.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

I got them from another member on the site. I was feeding them like 2-4x per day but have now dropped to twice per day and changed up their diet. No problems since then!


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Was that a little demasoni I saw in the shadows? Tank looks good too, is your stock list in first post current?


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

No demasoni - those are juvenile Chewere's. They'll get some more yellow on them in a bit. That stock list isn't quite current. I'll update it now =P


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Just a little text update.. a few of my chewere's are starting to show some sweet colour and look awesome! Two of them had a fight and both have white noses now where their teeth tore off some flesh but they are both still quite healthy. I'm working on making a new hood and getting a new light which will hopefully make everything look better and then I'll try to get some pictures up. My yellow fin acei were both holding but now just one is.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

New pics! Plants are starting to do a bit better since I started dosing some flourish






























Fish wise, each fish ranges between about 2.5 inches to 4.5 inches (not including tails) and my estherae and acei are currently breeding.


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## Sidius (Mar 25, 2012)

Looking good!! Is Flourish all you're dosing?


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Yup just flourish.. about 1 to 1 & 1/4 capfull per week


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

pic of my dominant acei. Has a tiny bit of fin damage from a couple days ago but is still looking pretty good. He's about 4.5"


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Picture updates! 






















From the top we can see a full tank shot with a holding acei
Second pic shows my subdom chewere
Last pic shows a female msobo magunga... still have no males that have coloured up but with 10 msobo's I assume 1 must be a male..


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## Sidius (Mar 25, 2012)

Looking good Steve! That dominant acei is a a beauty..


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

What ever fish is in the bottom centre of the second pic is a beauty


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

That's my subdominant pseudotropheus chewere. Those fish are definitely my favourite species in the tank and the dominant one looks even better. I can't wait until they get bigger. They're both around 3" or so right now.


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