September '03 - Steve Gunn's 160 L Malawi Tank. (England)

This is a medium sized and very well executed 'traditional style' Malawi tank, i.e., lots of rockwork (preferably dark) piled all the way up to the water surface, and an assortment of colorful Mbunas actively swimming in and out of the multitude of caves and passages. Excellent use of a rocky backdrop poster...it blends right in with the decoration. Steve is a veteran British aquarist whose Tanganyika tank has been featured here in the past, and who owns a great website with lots of photos and detailed descriptions of his setups. Be sure to check it out!

Owner:	Steve Gunn, 40, from Buckinghamshire (England)
Website:	Steve's Fishy Website
Setup:	August 1999
Tank:	All glass by ClearSeal, 92x38x46 cm
Volume:	160 L (nominal), 130 L (effective)
Filtration:	Eheim 2213 Plus
Lighting:	1x25 W Arcadia "Freshwater" daylight fluorescent tube
Heating:	Tetra 200 Watts.
Substrate:	3-5 cm of coarse silica sand
Decoration:	Granite and limestone rock, cobbles, cluster of large marine barnacle shells, hollow fake log, dead branch coral
Water:	I use standard tap water which, in my area, seems to be hard enough for rift lake cichlids. Temp 25-26°C, pH 8.0-8.5
Fauna:	See website
Comments:	See website

If you'd like to submit an aquarium for Tank of the Month, just contact me.

Male Labidochromis sp. 'hongi red top'

Photos taken by Steve Gunn and displayed here with his permission.