Starting up a new 30g freshwater, suggestions?

[qwiksilvertrav]

Well going to start up my 30 gallon here. It's currently established and lightly planted with one hob filter. Very simple setup and I'm tired of it. The main problem I hate right now is how dirty the substrate is. When I vacuum each week it pulls up BLACK and there's waste floating in the tank constantly. Most of this is due to the half foot long pleco of course (they put out a lot of waste lol) but still.

Anyways so obviously I want a nice filteration system that will keep a very clean substrate. I plan on planting the tank as well.

So whats the best filtration that will lead me to these results? I've read UGF are terrible, but maybe a reverse flow? Overall i just dont' want horribly dirty substrate with stuff floating around. :)
I also am going to go with a new substrate of some kind instead of boring rocks and I"m kinda of iffy on sand. Maybe some links to alternatives would help.

I also want a cichlid tank this time around. Very cool fish...but I know they're very aggressive. Any sugguestions on the right path to a peacefull cichlid tank? I've dealt with angels already and they where horrible. Among the cichlids I'll need some type of algae eater....one that won't grow to a full size of over a foot and wont' produce mass amounts of waste. My pleco is like a garbage factory and constantly uproots plants lol.

So any advice, links, suggestions, or pics of your setup would be great!!!

[jbeining75]

afican cichlid tank with african cats, otos????? Use an aquacear 70 or 110 even better on the 30......... cichlids need alot of filtration..... Keep doing water changes and vacuum everyday until the gravel is cleared out... I'd test your water also..... if your waste is that high your bound to have ammonia or nitrites lingering in the tank.... also rams are a good tank, like german blue rams, or apistos maybe.... or bolivian rams, alot of color!!!!! biggest thing though is to get the tank clean and properly filtered before adding anything else.... get rid of that algae eater, a 7 inch algae eater in a 30 gallon is a problem.... thats the bioloadproblem you're having there.....................

[qwiksilvertrav]

I'm definitely getting rid of the algae eater.

But yes an afican cichlid tank with some otos sounds like a good combo to me.
As far as the current setup goes...the tank is getting completely emptied and cleaned and restarted basically. I'll recycle the tank and then stock it.

Rams are also another possiblity but I've heard they're much harder to keep alive.

Anymore advice on the other issues I brought up?

[Lady Hobbs]

A 30 gallon is 36 inches long and 16 high, correct? I would run either two AC 70 or a smaller canister and one HOTB for the opposite end. I'd get sand, plant it with plants that will do well in sand and stock it with dwarf cichlids.

I would definately stay away from the larger cichlids due to aggression issues.

[toddnbecka]

African cichlids + oto's = african cichlids. Aside from the water conditions being completely unsuitable for oto's, african cichlids are too aggressive. A BN pleco is a much better choice of algae eater for an african cichlid tank.
A 30 gallon tank is a bit small for most africans, but you could stock a pair or trio of L. multifasciatus and some J. transcriptus. They're relatively peaceful fish, and wouldn't eat your plants. As far as that goes, your best bet would be some Val's and java fern. Not too much else will tolerate the water chemistry.

[jbeining75]

yeah I'd go afr cats........ africans if crowded arent to bady...... my brothers got peppered corys in his african tank they never get touched....... hes got it crowded though..... they become less aggressive...... I'd say the rams though........ I am setting a ram tank soon can't wait......