Yellow lab cichlids and sand digging

[Mr.K]

So I am planning on building a 75 gallon yellow lab cichlid tank and I have seen online about their sand digging tendencies. This behavior is my most favorite thing I can see a fish do and it brings me a lot of joy. How can I encourage this behavior as much as possible? 

[Fish Folk]

If you can afford it, I highly recommend Caribsea Eco-Complete Cichlid Substrate to start up a new Mbuna tank. Problem is . . . you'll be hundreds of dollars in before it will be enough to get your desired affect...

Edited July 31 by Fish Folk

[Mr.K]

So I read that this substrate is good for raising GH/KH and PH. I have hard water straight out of the tap at 13 GH, 5KH and 8.0 Ph. I also have a RODI system aswell as the salts that I need for it. Is this substrate made in a way that it’s more appealing to the fish or is it more natural? I plan to use pool filter sand from ACE hardware store. This could save me some money for sure. 

[madmark285]

On 7/30/2023 at 10:35 PM, Mr.K said:

 How can I encourage this behavior as much as possible? 

I have a very complex plan for  my 75 gallon Mbuna tank once I get the tank resealed.  What i plan on doing, cut small pieces of PVC pipe (1.5" or 1.25") and glue them to the bottom of the tank using silicone. I will place large rocks on top of the PVC pipe. The Mbunas (labs in your case) can safely dig under the rocks with the pipe holding the rocks in place. You could also use 3 pieces of 1/2" PVC pipe to hold up the rocks.

This will drastically reduce the number of rocks in the tank as you eliminate the first layer of rocks. Watch this video, My Honest Review of Shell Dwellers (and How They Ruined My Aquascape). She first put the rocks on top of the substrate and of course, the fish dug out the sand supporting the rocks. Next she put the rocks on the bottom of the tank but now the cichlids cannot dig under the rocks. I really like Girl Talks Fish (Irene) but as an engineer, she gets a 'F' on this project. Come on Irene, think like engineer 🙂 

Note: There is some debate if fully cured (1 week cure time) Gorilla polyurethane glue is safe for aquariums but.... What I want to do, cover the pipe  with glue and pack moist sand/gravel around it. The glue will foam up while curing and is quite effective in coating objects with gravel. This should help hide the pipes if they get exposed. 

Part B of my plan will use 3# density polyurethane foam and balloons, it gets a bit complex 🙂 

Note: Home depot sells PVC pipe cutters ($13)

Edited July 31 by madmark285

[madmark285]

On 7/30/2023 at 11:33 PM, Fish Folk said:

If you can afford it, I highly recommend Caribsea Eco-Complete Cichlid Substrate to start up a new Mbuna tank. Problem is . . . you'll be hundreds of dollars in before it will be enough to get your desired affect...

 

PetCo has CaribSea Eco-Complete African Cichlid White Sand Substrate, 20 lbs. on sale for $16.91, free shipping on orders above $35. 

Edit: I was planning on using pool sand with crushed coral in the sump but might have a change in plans. I want white sand with the black rocks I collected. I believe you will need 4 bags of this for a 75 gallon tank.

Edited July 31 by madmark285

[Mr.K]

On 7/31/2023 at 1:18 AM, madmark285 said:

PetCo has CaribSea Eco-Complete African Cichlid White Sand Substrate, 20 lbs. on sale for $16.91, free shipping on orders above $35. 

Edit: I was planning on using pool sand with crushed coral in the sump but might have a change in plans. I want white sand with the black rocks I collected. I believe you will need 4 bags of this for a 75 gallon tank.

That’s only 1 inch of sand though Shouldn’t I have at least 2 inches of substrate? What if I glued all of the rocks together with cyanoacrelate gorilla glue? I’m thinking that this may be better as one rock wouldn’t fall over and hurt the fish. I see with the pvc pipe that the rocks would have something to stand on though.

[madmark285]

On 7/31/2023 at 10:35 AM, Mr.K said:

That’s only 1 inch of sand though Shouldn’t I have at least 2 inches of substrate? 

From CaribSea web site, the white sand is 73 pounds per cubic foot. So 80 pounds will give you ~2 inches of substrate. Assuming my math is correct 🙂

On 7/31/2023 at 10:35 AM, Mr.K said:

 What if I glued all of the rocks together with cyanoacrelate gorilla glue? I’m thinking that this may be better as one rock wouldn’t fall over and hurt the fish. 

If a rock is sitting on top of other rocks, why glue them together? 

[Mr.K]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:26 AM, madmark285 said:

From CaribSea web site, the white sand is 73 pounds per cubic foot. So 80 pounds will give you ~2 inches of substrate. Assuming my math is correct 🙂

If a rock is sitting on top of other rocks, why glue them together? 

I’m not very good at math lol. What if I already have hard water and a KH of 6-7. With that kind of KH my ph wouldn’t swing at all. My GH is also 13 out of the tap. I ment making my rock formation and then clueing it together so that it would be a lot harder to topple over. I will consider the pvc pipes though.