im thinking about seting up an african cichlid tank or a saltwater nano reef, i cant have a sump sooo any suggestions?? also i want to know what i will need to do to set up each, ranging from what will be needed to fish info b/c ive never kept african cichlids or a saltwater tank (yes i realize its small for salt) but its the biggest i can get for now -thanksalso i have two other tanks set up one an american cichlid commuinity,(55) and the other a predator (180)
when you consider which you opt on that many fish i might recommend you purchase fish that want swimming in colleges, identity recommend the neon tetras, or a team of fancy guppies , various those fish are stable in bunches and additionally are very extraordinarily
The most commonly kept African Cichilds are the Mbuna. These fish need much more space than a 20 gallon tank can offer, both because of their size and their territorial behavior. If you'd like African Cichlids, your best bet would be Tanganyikan shell dwellers. These are awesome to watch on a daily basis, simply because of the intricacy of their behaviors. The equipment needed isn't different than any other tropical freshwater tank-- heater and filter. These fish need a fairly fine sand (preferably aragonite, crushed coral, or dolomite) to allow them to dig, and a number of shells to take up residence in (start with 2-3 shells per fish, then remove a few that aren't in use). It would also be a good idea to use Rift Lake salts to buffer the pH into their preferred range--around 8.0--and provide essential minerals in the water--calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc. A nano reef would also be a nice choice, but realize that it will cost considerably more. Equipment would include quality lighting (T-5, compact fluorescents, metal halides, etc. I have used normal output fluorescent tubes, but these are VERY limiting), filtration (preferably a protein skimmer, though I've gotten by without), a heater (just for stability purposes), hydrometer, etc. The equipment cost will be the major difference between the two, but you also have to factor in the cost of marine salt (which isn't as cheap as you'd expect) and livestock (corals alone can cost a fortune). If money plays a big role in this decision, definitely go with the shell dwellers. If you want to witness truly unusual behavior, I'd again recommend the shellies. The only time the reef might actually be preferable is if you want something with gaudy colors that you can really show off to people, whether or not they appreciate the hobby.
