My 60 G african tank

So like the title suggests i have a 60 g african cichlid tank.
Back story, i started off with a 30 gallon with 3 blood parrots with the intention of upgrading.. but as many know, bills come first so i got rid of the bp cichlids. fast forward. got a nice chunk of change and got myself a 60 gallon. went to my lfs and was struck by the variety of colour and look of an african mixed tank. so im stocking it. i dont know all the names but i must say i have some incredibly good looking fish. i will post pics when i get a chance to figure out how. lol. im trying to get my 3 pieces of mopani driftwood to leach in my sink downstairs. (any tips on speeding up the process?) but for now i have three horribly tacky looking ceramic ornaments strewn across the bottom.

 

bump!!! any way to speed up leaching process?

 

I did a combo of bleaching in the sun and soaking - are you changing the water in the sink?

 

I heard good thinks about actually boiling the wood for hours... but if you have a big piece then that will be quite difficult lol. Probably soak it for quite a few days and then set it out in the heat of the sun to bleach it. That would be the best bet for a bigger piece of drift.

 

I have the pieces in the sink and i trun the water as hot as i can get it...which is quite hot. let it soak then change the water when it cools.ive been doing this for about a week. and the water is still brown.its not very sunny here in New Brunswick.

 

New Brunswick? Maybe you can freeze it. j/k
There is not any bark on this wood right?

 

its store bought mopani. and no there isnt

 

Change the water every chance you get and any agitation helps. Boiling can really smell up your house, if the wife does not mind do it, with the windows open. I personally like the "blackwater" look so I tend to only soak it for a few days. Most amazon fish like the black water too. If you run carbon aggressive it will help as well.

 

Congrats on starting a Cichlid tank. I'm once again setting my 110 up as a mixed male show tank. They are great looking, active, fish who are infinintely less sensitive than a reef tank. In case you haven't raised cichlids before, read on, otherwise...congrats.

It's your tank, not mine, but you might want to use something other than driftwood. Cichlids thrive in a high PH environment (typically 7.8-8.4) with hard (GH and KH) water. Any leftover tannins in the wood aren't going to help you maintain optimal water quality.

If you have any mbuna you may want to try picking up some rocks from the local landscaping supply company. If you are stocking mostly peacocks or haps you won't need as much structure.

Cicilids are highly territorial and you will need to overstock the tank to control the aggression. Also, regularly moving around the rocks and such will ensure nobody gets to claim a certain area.

If you end up with males and females of the same species you will want to remove the female if you have less than 3 per male. Otherwise, the males will probably shag the females to death...I'm serious.

There are some excellent cichlid buffer recipes, articles, and other things, on cichlid forum dot com.

 

yup. well after letting it soak in a utility sink in the basement for about a month changing the water pretty much 3-4 times a day it finally stop turning the colour. i put carbon in pantyhose in the back of my hob filter and my water is pristine. looks sooo much better than plastic f****** mountains lol