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Questions 1.
Q. WHAT do I need to start ? and HOW do I `look after` the tank.
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A. It isn`t difficult if your given the direction and guidance from someone who has
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experienced some of the problems over the years. After all, this is where `know how`
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is gained. I hope that you will follow the advice to the letter initially, and then when
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you see how successful you are, your confidence grows and you will wonder what
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the worries were all about.
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First the tank. It should be as big as you can `house`, for a number of reasons. A
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good average size to start with is 48" long by 18" tall by 15" wide. A big tank (ie.a
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bigger volume of water) is more easily kept `chemically balanced` than a small
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tank. There are basically three main tank conditions which need to be `set` to
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maintain a healthy environment for Malawis and Tanganyikans. They are Water
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Hardness, Temperature and Water pH value. If all these are kept at the levels I am
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going to suggest now, the fish will eat well (always ready to eat) and show excellent
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growth rate. Malawis will adapt to almost any water condition within reason, but
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they will only survive ----- This way they will thrive !!!!
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Q. What Qualities should `Suitable Water` have.
A. From experience my recommended values are:-
Hardness (Gh) 18 / 22 Din (German Standard) or 324 / 396 ppm.(BS)
Temperature 80 / 82 F. (27 / 28 C)
pH (Alkalinity) 8.2 / 8.5
Q. How do I get the Water ready for fish.
A. To obtain these figures/values isn`t nearly as difficult as most people imagine.
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1. We`ll start with Hardness.
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Most tap water isn`t hard enough. It is best to buy a Gh test kit and be sure, but
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straight out of the tap, dependant upon where you live, will be between 1 /14Din.
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(1Din Gh and 8.9 pH are my `out- of- the- tap` values). To harden , add Magnesium
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Sulphate (which is Epsom Salts BP, human usage grade from the chemist) until, with
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testing,the value is 20. The amount required to take a tank of dimension 48#18#15ins.
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(approx. 45gals.200ls) from Gh 6 to Gh20, would be about 10/12 table spoons. If it is
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overdone (ie say 25 din) it isn`t going to harm the fish , (I have bred Nimbo.LINNI in
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55 Din). All you do is drain a little off, as though doing your water change and
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top up again with tap water, and recheck the value.
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2. The pH figure isn`t quite as easy to obtain, but I`ll run through the procedure.
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Assuming your water is `low` , in the region of 7/ 7.4 then with the addition of
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Bicarbonate of Soda` , (again can be obtained from the chemists), a value of 8.1pH
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can be obtained immediately. This large adjustment however should only be done
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on a tank without fish (new tank set-up), as it would shock/stress the fish if it were
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done at one application. This is because each pH point is 10 times higher up the
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pH scale. Therefore from pH7.4 to pH8.1 is 10million times more alkaline and would
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do the fish harm. The natural pH of `Bicarbonate of Soda` is approx. 8.1, increasing
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the value more, can be achieved by adding crushed cockle shell in any type of
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power filter, by replacing the charcoal,or some of the `ceramics` with cockle.It acts
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as both a mechanical filter, taking out larger particles of debris/detrious, and also
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more importantly as a pH increaser and also a pH buffer,preventing daily fluctuations
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in pH levels. Add cockle to smaller internal power filters by removing half of the filter
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sponge,and putting in the crushed cockle. The filter would need more attention as it
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would then be slightly less efficient at removing debris. I feel this is out-weighed by
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the pH advantages` as covered above.
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3. The temperature requirement is self explanetary, but should be maintained
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reasonably accurately.
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In both lakes the temperature doesn`t fluctuate much more than 3/4`C in 50m. of
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water.There is little thermocline, ( vertical water circulation ), due mainly to the fact
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that the geology of the region (volcanic) maintains the equilibrium in temperature.
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However, in the rainy season, mid November / mid February, with the influx of fresh
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water, however minute relatively, induces the fish to breed. This natural occurance
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has a parallel in our tanks. Water change is good for several reasons. In a small tank
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volume ammonia`s build up, and a good combination is correct filtration combined
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with regular changing of between 10% and 20% of tank volume weekly. If 10% is the
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chosen figure, then do it with COLD water,as it will only reduce the tank temperature
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by a few degrees, and you will see that the fish appreciate it,and if you havn`t tried it
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before, it could induce fish to breed, which may not have done so far.
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Q. What `filtration and decoration` can be used in a Malawi tank.
A. If an under gravel filter plate is to be used, then substrate such as gravel,or gravel
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and crushed cockle shell mixed, or just crushed cockle shell can be used. Basically,
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it depends on the colour you want to see in your tank.The thing to bear in mind is that
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the lighter colour the substrate, the sooner an algal growth appears. You probably
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know that this should be green, and in time will cover all surfaces. If the filtration is
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internal or external cannister, then the tank bottom only requires a covering of 12
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to 18mm. (1/2" to 3/4") of fine coral gravel, grain size 2/3mm. max. The fish, in their
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routine of feeding and grubbing, will move it around easily, thus dislodging debris
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which will then find its way to the filter unit. The substrate is purely to stop the fish
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seeing their reflection in the bottom glass. As previously mentioned, rockwork is best
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not leaned against the back glass, for the reasons stated. Tufa `PYRAMIDS` are
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constructed by assembling them in the form of a molecular model. That is my
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description. As the tufa is very soft, it can be gouged, drilled or bored out in the
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correct places to allow plastic `joining rods` to be positioned, and fixed with the aid
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of silicone glue. This allows for quite a sturdy tower to be built up, to almost any
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height. The `joining rods` are the two halves of a plastic clothes peg (with the spring
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removed) .You can let your imagination run riot, but remember two things, firstly, the
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finished structure has to go in through the narrowest part of the tanks strengthening
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bars at the tank top, and second, if tufa is dry it is relatively light, but if it needs to be
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moved out of the tank when wet, `lightweight` it is certainly not. Plastic plants are a
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bonus for Malawi keepers, given that only a couple of varieties of `natural` plants
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will grow in hard and alkaline water. Java Fern and Vallisneria were the best
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for me, but the fish love to nibble the latter, and the former is a very slow grower.
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A wide range of very realistic looking plants are on the market,and are available
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in 18" and 24" lengths, to plant up even the deepest tanks. A large clump of maybe
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three bunches, if supported from the top of your newly constructed tufa tower,
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would allow a brooding female to take some refuge if needed, as well as adding
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a focal point of green to the upper tank levels.
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