By a "Natural Envrinment" what I am aiming at is a 75g tank with no
artificial filtration. The only thing I intend to add that is not 100%
natural is something I came across called undergravel jets, but this
provides more water movement than any realfiltration. With this in mind I
need something to perform water cycling (trying to avoid setting up a
sump).
I have had great difficulty finding any info regarding the Lake Malawi
biosphere. It is looking more and more like I may not get what I have
envisioned, but the quest continues 
no filtration? Good luck.... fish poop... it needs to be cleaned..
filtered... whatever.... it's possible to have a non-filtered tank... but
you can't put many fish in it... 5 maybe for a 75g....
and if I remember correctly, an UG jets, is where the pump just blows the
stuff around... keeping it in the water column... so how's this stuff
supposed to be broken down? I have seen this system, but it was a filtered
reef system... and it did have filtration, by sump....
I realize they like to dig and was hoping to choose fish less prone to
digging if at all possible. To relieve or lessen aggression I have found
many articles that indicate it would be good to have a male to female
ratio
of 1:3 or 4 as well as plenty of rockwork. I don't see a big problem there
as I plan to have a fairly small number of fish in the hope that the large
choice of territory coupled with no plants close to where they may
consider
spawning may lessen the digging. working on a 1:3 ratio as mentioned
previously I was initially thinking 3 types of fish and a scavenger or 2
for
a total of 14 fish, this leaves plenty of room for staking terretorial
caims, and should not create a huge nitrate problem (hopefully)
1. cichlids dig, uproot, scrape against and hide in plants... when
available..
2 when I read your .... should not..... and (hopefully), it makes me think
you need to read some of
www.thekrib.com and then get back to us...
3. you realize that it's just the males that have color, right? Most females
are a drab gray/brown earthy tone color... but you're right about the
aggression... 1 male to 3 females will cut down on aggression... but even
having a female in the tank will spur aggression.... 2 males, from different
families, won't fight as much as a male and female of the same family... An
alternative would be to put 5 males of different families, and no females...
that arrangement will only have a pecking order fight, maybe once, or
twice... and after it's established, no more fights...
4. the reason you don't find much about "natural environment tanks" is
because they just aren't the best way to do it... you'll probably end up
with green soup if you don't have a filter... and yes, that's just an
educated opinion from what I've read, and seen here in the last 2 years of
my own research...
Now, back to the issue of plants . . .
There are undoubtedly more than just a handful of plants in Lake Malawi,
or
some other means of keeping the environment habitable for cichlids.
This is my primary goal. To create, as best I can, this envirnment as it
occurs naturally.
There are as many different aquariums as there are fish... Do what you're
planning and keep in touch... we'd like to hear about your experiment... I
mean, experience...
OK, I think I have rambled on long enough
If your original suggestion still stands, thanks for the suggestions
otherwise . . .
feed me more!
btw, Leigh is probably the foremost authority on plants around here... 99x
out of 100, if she says it, you can put your money on it...
Cheers
You can also use water sprite as a floating plant. It will help absorb
nitrate. (Nitrate is often a problem in Malawi tanks. They must be
kept
densely stocked to reduce aggression, and that means nitrate builds up
fast.)
ps... she said this line for a reason, and you didn't even see it... how
much did you read about cichlids?