If you recall my post a few days ago on the excitement of cichlid spawning behavior, it included the above photo of my recently set up 33g long tank. In that tank are six ‘Lamprologus’ ocellatus and three Julidochromis dickfeldi.
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I have posted several times about my tank maintenance set-up. There are multiple advantages to using this process, which you can read at the end of that post.
Two of the advantages are money savings. One, of course, is that I don’t waste any source water in the effort, which is normal for Python-type vacuum systems. The other is that I recycle my sand. Yep, you can reuse the sand that you vacuumed out of the tank during your regular tank cleanings. How? It’s a bit work intensive, but you will save some money in the long run.
If you’re looking for a good all purpose sand for your cichlids, I recommend Mystic White II. This is a pool filter sand that you can pick up at your local pool supply store. You can also purchase it at Walmart and several online stores. My pool supply store sells this for WAY less than I can get it online or even at Walmart. Nonetheless, what makes this sand so good?
I have posted a few times about how I do water changes. All of my cichlid tanks, except my quarantine and hospital tanks, contain sand substrates. As a result, I use a system I created using Python water changers that easily minimizes loss of source water, cichlid fry, and sand. My process utilizes two Python brand water changing hoses and a few other components.
How do you remove a sand substrate from a tank, which contains fish, without stirring things up? One of the simplest ways is to use a gravity siphon.
