Frequent Aquarium Questions

• Is it OK to use sand instead of gravel in my tank?
  
  
• I live in South Florida and we dig a lot of coral rock out of the garden areas. Are these kinds of rock safe to use with freshwater fish?
  
  
• I tried converting my freshwater tank to a saltwater setup and the water turned brown. What could of happened?
  
  
• I set-up a saltwater tank a week ago. All was perfect for about three days, when bubbles started appearing and remaining on top of the water. What could be causing this?
  
  
• How do we go about converting a 55 gallon tank with a Fluval 304 canister filter?
  
  
• Where should I place my powerhead filter in a rectangular 29 gallon tank.
  
  
• Do I need to aerate my 125 gallon freshwater aquarium?
  
  
• Is it possible to switch my freshwater tank to saltwater and my other saltwater tank to freshwater while keeping the same equipment?
  
  
• I have a new 2.5 gallon tank and I put 10 Neon Tetras in it. Within 4 days they were all dead. What happened?
  
  
• Could a 45 gallon tank house 2 Clownfish, 4 Blue Damsels, a Yellow Tang, and a Blue Tang. Will a CPR Bak Pak 2 Filter be sufficient for this setup?
  
  

• Is it OK to use sand instead of gravel in my tank?
  
  As long as the intake of your pumps or filters are not close to the bottom, you should be fine. Stay away from sand not intended for aquarium use.
  
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• I live in South Florida and we dig a lot of coral rock out of the garden areas. Are these kinds of rock safe to use with freshwater fish?
  
  No, there is a good chance that the rocks are contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers since they originated from garden areas.
  
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• I tried converting my freshwater tank to a saltwater setup and the water turned brown. What could of happened?
  
  All the water needs to be removed and replaced with new saltwater. The substrate should be replaced with some saltwater substrate. Replace the disposable filter media.
  
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• I set-up a saltwater tank a week ago. All was perfect for about three days, when bubbles started appearing and remaining on top of the water. What could be causing this?
  
  Your tank is new and fully saturated with oxygen. As the tank matures, the bubbles will dissapate.
  
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• How do we go about converting a 55 gallon tank with a Fluval 304 canister filter?
  
  You could add an undergravel filter and use the canister filter for mechanical and chemical filtration.
  
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• Where should I place my powerhead filter in a rectangular 29 gallon tank.
  
  The intake and return of your filter should be in the middle of the tank lengthwise and heightwise.
  
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• Do I need to aerate my 125 gallon freshwater aquarium?
  
  It is not imperative if you aerate your tank if it is not exceptionally tall. Make sure you gently break up the surface of the water by aiming the returns there. If you had a wet/dry filter, this would be sufficient.
  
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• Is it possible to switch my freshwater tank to saltwater and my other saltwater tank to freshwater while keeping the same equipment?
  
  The equipment can be equally switched. The substrate should not be switched because the biological bacteria is specific to eithe freshwater or saltwater.
  
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• I have a new 2.5 gallon tank and I put 10 Neon Tetras in it. Within 4 days they were all dead. What happened?
  
  You added far too many fish to a tank that is not cycled.
  
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• Could a 45 gallon tank house 2 Clownfish, 4 Blue Damsels, a Yellow Tang, and a Blue Tang. Will a CPR Bak Pak 2 Filter be sufficient for this setup?
  
  Try sticking with 2 Damsels. You should be patient when stocking. Only introduce fish after your readings confirm the stability the tank environment. Your filter will be adequate.
  
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