Hello from nova

[Goonie]

So , um, Hi. I am jumping back into the fish thing with both feet so to speak. I grew up keeping live bearers and native game fish for years, spent a decade bouncing around the world before settling in Nova. Now that life as calmed down, I am getting back into the hobby. A little about me, I am 35, an ops manager, and decided to get back into fish because I just don't have the time I would need to socialize and train a dog, I went back and forth on that a lot but all of the breeds I enjoy are 100lb cuddlebugs with separation anxiety so it just is not practical for me or fair for the dog. I remember watching our tanks for hours when I was young and how much personality fish can actually have so I started digging and that's how I ended up here.

I have never done cichlids before and now here I am jumping into an all male tank(Hap and Peacock) I keep hearing mixed things as to what I can and cant mix so any guidance I am 100% open to.
A bit about my set up, what I know, I will be running an acrylic TRUVU 185 gallon (60x24x30) I have a few large pieces of petrified wood soaking now as well as a large piece of driftwood I am trying to get to leach out its tannins before the tank arrives. I plan on a few more large rocks ( I wanted to do a 3d background but I could never get it in the tank with the two 20x10 openings in the top.

Filtration will be two FX6s

Heaters I am still trying to figure out the most practical way to go, 3 300W 2 500, in tank rigging up a splitter on the FX6 to run inline, so many options on this one it kind of melts my brain to be honest.
I know I want to go with sand, preferably a light brownish red I am open to suggestions on this as I have heard mixed things about playsand, blasting sand, and poolfilter sand.

Are their any good sources for unique rocks in the area (I like the look of most of the layers rocks and driftwood?

On a 5 foot tank should I run a single 4 foot light bar or something more substantial, I am going to try to get anubius to survive the cichlids if it dies it dies.

For tank mates I will be going 5-7 Cuckoos and a couple bristlnosed plecs (open to other types of plecs with lengths under 12 in)

These at 13 I am leaning towards The only Two must haves for me are the Starsaphire and Red Emp So I am open to change, does any one see any thing I should strike from the list or does anything jump out that I need to add I know I need to overcrowd to curb aggression and I don't think this is enough to do that. Also are their any other tank makes any one would recommend ?

Red Top Lawanda
Blue neon
Azureus
White Knight
Star Saphire
Flavescent
Red Empress
Taiwan Reef
Dragon Blood
Intermedius
Yellow Tail Acei
Aulonocara Maleri chipoka
Turkis Peacock

 

[Reed]

I keep and breed just about all the fish on your list. They should work together in a 185 but you can never tell.

 

[Goonie]

Are there any others you could recommend ?

 

[FishEggs]

Having a 30" tall tank myself I would advise not going that tall. Makes aquascaping and maintenance a lot harder.
If you're just doing anubis and you're hanging the light you could get away with a 48" light.
Depending on how warm you keep the house you might be able to get away with not using a heater. Though it is good to have for some illness treatments.
Those are just my thoughts, yours and others may vary.

 

[Goonie]

Ty much, tank is already in production This one was designed to fill a space so the dimensions were kind of dictated for me, me next will be a more basic size, likely a frontosa tank. Sadly my basement can get a bit chilly so I think a heater is a must. Anubis is all I think would survive with the Africans. Since I will have the vertical space, and you have some experience with taller tanks, do you have any ideas on how to best use that space?

We had a 5 foot tall hex growing up it was a bear to clean.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Just consider you'll likely be full arm deep in the tank when you're reaching near the bottom. Not a criticism, as I know you said the tank is on the way, just an FYI to be careful of clothing choice when doing tank maintenance. Sounds like you might be fully aware though if you had a taller tank in the past.

Java fern/moss and/or vallisneria could work, but lighting for plants is also really tough on a tall tank, unless it's anchored to rocks that sit higher in the tank.

Stacking the rocks and/or driftwood is one way to utilize the space, but be careful when stacking. Not as much an issue in an acrylic tank, but you still don't want to scratch the acrylic. You can glue rocks together to prevent future collapsing, but you're locked into the arrangement unless you pull everything out and take apart. You could also silicone synthetic rocks/decor to the back of the tank if you're careful. You could also either build a 3-d background, or piece one together, might be hard to tell its in pieces if done properly, or using the right design. Some backgrounds can be flexible to a point also.

 

[Goonie]

The driftwood has a hole in it I want to try to get the Anubis to make a home of and I'll be doing some stacking and some stuff from universal rocks, the making a back a background looks daunting on tank this size

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

The driftwood has a hole in it I want to try to get the Anubis to make a home of and I'll be doing some stacking and some stuff from universal rocks, the making a back a background looks daunting on tank this size

If you search there are some threads from people who've made DIY backgrounds. It definitely seems labor intensive, but maybe not daunting. Could be worth a try for the cost difference though, I think the cost of materials was fairly small if you don't like the result. It's definitely a lot more difficult getting a background in after the tank has been up and running though.

 

[Gcohen]

I keep and breed just about all the fish on your list. They should work together in a 185 but you can never tell.

Are you local to DC area?