Well I think I might take the plunge and start up a Lake Tanganyika tank. I'm going to need alot of help because I know jack about African cichlids and Lakes so I'm turning to you all for help.

First let me tell you what I do know. Lake Tanganyika is the Seccond largest lake in the world next to Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. It has an average surface temperature of 77°F and a pH averaging 8.4. It also has a max depth of 4700 feet and contains no oxygen below 350' in the north and 770' in the south. There are also 4 countries that surround the lake, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and the Congo (aka Zaire).

The temperature range for a Lake Tanganyika aquarium is 75°-82°
The pH range is 8.6-9.5
The Carbonate hardness is 16-19 dKH.
This is were my knowledge stops.

Heres the list of equipment that I have to use:
55g
1 ac110
stealth heater
marineland powerhead
Lustar Hydro-Sponge V Filter

Future stocking list will consist of
Tropheus moorii Ndole Bay
Tropheus moorii Bulu Point
Tropheus moorii Chipimbi
Ratio of 1:3

I would like some help with substrate, decor setup, water chemistry (how to keep the pH, GH and KH level), Filtration setup, what to feed the fish and any bits of knowledge you would like to share with me. I think of myself like a sponge sucking up all of the info I can to make me a well educated hobbist .

Here is a link to a bunch of good articles.

Tropheus Corner

Mark

I would start with a sandy substrate. Use lots of rocks to make caves and crevices to create hiding spots and territories. Mark off on your tank 25% and 50% marks this will aid in making sure you add the correct amount of salts/baking soda at water changes. Next to keep the water hard and a high pH you can use baking soda. Here is what I do.....

My Ph is 7.0-7.2 out the tap with > 1.5 dH I use 1 tsp of baking soda to 5 gallons of water. The final result is 8.0-8.1 pH and a hardness of 12 dH. Now you may have to experiment with the amount of baking soda...I started with a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon and added every hour till I got the desired hardness. I checked over the next couple days to ensure steadyness, everything was all good. This is where your tank marks com in handy at W/C time. I add the amount of baking soda back to the tank at each W/C ex. if I do a 50% w/c on a 120g I add 1 tsp per 5g of water per the amount I take out. In this example I removed 60 gal so 1 tsp. per gallon is 12 tsp of baking soda for the 60g I took out.

Now I would not recommend for a noob to do this but I have done it with much success and I have done lots of water pH, kH and gH tests and have measures steady results with my7 method. It sounds very complicated but it is very easy.

Next. The amount of filtration you mentioned sounds adequate...Make sure to have plenty of Mechanical filtration and Bio filtration...Set the heater at 80 and you are good to go. Be careful not to over feed they are pigs and will beg like a dog for food esp live food.

I would suggest using Caribsea Ecocomplete Cichlid Sand for the substrate. I use it in all of my African and Central American tanks. Its an aragonite sand and will keep the pH and hardness in the desired range, and it looks good too. Its not cheap, but your talking about some valuable and touchy fish there. Another benefit is, it has established colonies of nitrifying bacteria, and cuts the cycling time down to almost nothing.

Mark

Yeah what Mark said...I guess I am old fashioned.

Those fish are harder to keep out of the tangs.A strict diet is needed for the tropheus.of spirulina andother veggie matter along with a balanced flake .They get bloat very easy and are one of the more pricey fish in the tang hobby.

Wow I have spent the last 4 hours reading through all of those articles (I was also doing w/c at the same time) and I never knew that they were that sensitive! I'm still up for keeping them though, I do keep discus and they are the most sensitive fish I know.

From the reading I have learned that they will X breed with other T. moorii and its a good idea to keep a colony of one type, Bloat is common and is to be expected, if breeding for money its a good idea to have a wild colony and sell the F1 juvies because thats what people want, they do a better job of eating alge than plecos and should be kept in high light to promote alge growth (which shouldnt be a problem since I keep my lights on for more than 8 hours.), feed them a diet high in spirulina.

I have a lot of slate I can make caves and rock piles. Thank you for the water treatment tip MC I'll try it out before I add the fish.

Mark I dont mind spending the extra $ for a product that will work better than the everyday run of the mill sand.

Thank you both for all the info.

Your welcome!

For a 55g how much sand will I need?

40-50 lbs

So about 2.5 bags then

if they are 22.5 lbs apeice then yes

they are 20# each.

I would start with two...I think 40 lbs will be enough personally.

ok good to know!

Especially when they start digging.

Is there a way to prevent that?

Prevent them from digging? Not likely my friend!

There not like Oscars who would strip the bottom of the tank are they?