I am an experienced hand and I understand the difficulties of having a planted tank with aggressive cichlids.
That said I'm putting a 150 online and I've made a lot of modifications to give a small amount of plants a chance to survive in specific areas. There will only be 6-8 6" cichlids in this tank. I have 3 full length strands of flex RGBW with almost infinite spectrum for light
I have a 150 with sand bottom, I started by adding an inch of organic potting soil in areas that will have live plants. I then added 3" of quartz sand. I made provisions so the fish CANNOT dig into my subsoil especially in areas above the subsoil..
Most of the plants will actually be in an area directly at the back wall and will be in an 18" wide area between tall rocks. I have made provisions so that the fish CANNOT touch the sand in front of plants and CANNOT touch the bottom 4" of plants (rock ledge) In front of the planted area I have a large 17" tall piece of complex Staghorn making it difficult for swim by attacks. The plants will be rooted through 1-2 inches of sand directly into the large are of subsoil. I have also added a 3/8" plastic tubing down into the subsoil to occasionally add nutrients.
All that said, my point is that I understand that cichlids and plants don't mix but I have made an experienced effort to try. My hope is that forum members will help me try instead of lecturing me about either the futility of my efforts or about my fish choices.
That said I'm putting a 150 online and I've made a lot of modifications to give a small amount of plants a chance to survive in specific areas. There will only be 6-8 6" cichlids in this tank. I have 3 full length strands of flex RGBW with almost infinite spectrum for light
I have a 150 with sand bottom, I started by adding an inch of organic potting soil in areas that will have live plants. I then added 3" of quartz sand. I made provisions so the fish CANNOT dig into my subsoil especially in areas above the subsoil..
Most of the plants will actually be in an area directly at the back wall and will be in an 18" wide area between tall rocks. I have made provisions so that the fish CANNOT touch the sand in front of plants and CANNOT touch the bottom 4" of plants (rock ledge) In front of the planted area I have a large 17" tall piece of complex Staghorn making it difficult for swim by attacks. The plants will be rooted through 1-2 inches of sand directly into the large are of subsoil. I have also added a 3/8" plastic tubing down into the subsoil to occasionally add nutrients.
All that said, my point is that I understand that cichlids and plants don't mix but I have made an experienced effort to try. My hope is that forum members will help me try instead of lecturing me about either the futility of my efforts or about my fish choices.