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Try putting egg crate (lighting diffuser) underneath the rocks. This helps to distribute the weight across the whole bottom of the aquarium. I used feather rock in my aquarium so I didn't worry about it too much but I know that a lot of people use it. I've been told you can find it at Home Depot or similar stores in the lighting department. Have you checked out www.cichlid-forum.com? They have a lot of good info regarding stocking the tank and setting it up.

I used tempered steel 3.5inch screws that I can't even bend.

The stand's strength was not the question; I know the stand is sturdy enough because I got up on it and jumped on each brace before I trusted it.

The question was if the glass could hold a 27lb rock.

Thanks anyway though.

Not that I can offer much on the cichlis. But the tank stand I know about.

It doesn't look like the joints are anything fancy (like a half-lap) so keep in mind its really those 4 screws that are hold the tank up. Make sure they are no the basic "drywall" type. Those black one work great for holding things together but lack sheer strength. You can snap them with your hands.

Also to keep the whole thing from moving side to side you need some extra braces. You could also simple wrap it in some good 1/2" plywood - the back and 2 sides would work. This will add a lot to the strength and stability.

Does all that make sense? If not ask more questions now - before you have 500 pounds in there

Thanks just beginning

Do you think a 27lb rock will be ok in that tank? The stand supports the "trim" of the tank and has a board that goes through the middle that supports the brace in the middle of a tank, that board is connected to the two 2x4s that run vertically in the middle of the stand.

Welcome to the world of mbuna!

3 species is fine for a 50 gallon tank, though 2 would be better. You could probably go up to about 15 fish, that would be overstocking of course but as you probably know it is a common method of reducing aggression in these fish, and you seem prepared to do the extra maintenance. So you could do 5 of each of the three species you mentioned, with 1 male and 4 females in each (remember they will be extremely hard to sex as juvis, particularly the electric yellows, who you may not ever reliably be able to sex unless they breed. It's not a huge issue with them though as they are quite peaceful. But be prepared to swap and change later on anyway).

I'm not sure about the buffering, personally I wouldn't be too concerned with a ph of 7.8-8.0 anyway. But extra always helps. I can't really give you an answer on how long though.

Special precautions, no, not really. The basics are, of course, feeding mostly vegetable based food (spirulina is great), keeping in colonies, having plenty of caves, good filtration, etc. The species you are choosing are not particularly aggressive so you shouldn't have many problems in that regard. One thing you need to be prepared for is breeding. If you are keeping the correct number of females to males breeding is pretty much unavoidable. So you will need to have tanks ready to raise many fry.

HTH! Really nice tank by the way, and awesome rocks!

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde