Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I was wondering if you know a way to safely tint my water blue. I've used everything but by the end of the day the tint is gone.
  
  
• I just upgraded to a 250 gallon tank. I'm wondering about placement of the powerheads, intakes, and spraybars for optimal circulation and filtration.
  
  
• I'm running 2 Aquaclear 500 filters on my 35 gallon tank. Is an air pump neccesary for this set up or not?
  
  
• I was wondering if I needed a wet/dry filter for keeping coral alive or is there another way?
  
  
• Is it okay to use crushed coral as a substrate in a freshwater aquarium?
  
  
• I recently bought a 55 gallon tank for a marine "fish-only" setup. I have a cascade 1000 canister. Is this enough filtration?
  
  
• Can we use the water from our old tank to set up a new tank. What other type of fish are sutable with cichlids?
  
  
• I just bought a Supreme magnetic drive 9.5 pump. This does not fit the tubes running to the prefilter of my tank. What do I need to complete the installation?
  
  
• I inherited a 30 gallon octagon tank and want to stock it. We tend to like more aggressive fish such as cichlids. What would you suggest?
  
  
• We set up a new tank and have not put new fish in there. There is a terrible smell eminating from the tank. What can we do to get rid of the smell?
  
  

• I was wondering if you know a way to safely tint my water blue. I've used everything but by the end of the day the tint is gone.
  
  A filter, filled with carbon or not, will slowly dissipate the blue out of the water.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I just upgraded to a 250 gallon tank. I'm wondering about placement of the powerheads, intakes, and spraybars for optimal circulation and filtration.
  
  You can place the filter intakes near the left and right corners. One filter spraybar can be near the top for surface agitation. The other one can be placed near the middle bottom portion of the tank. Then place the powerheads near the middle and aim them towards the intake side of the filters.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I'm running 2 Aquaclear 500 filters on my 35 gallon tank. Is an air pump neccesary for this set up or not?
  
  No.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I was wondering if I needed a wet/dry filter for keeping coral alive or is there another way?
  
  You don't necessarily need a wet/dry filter or sump for a reef tank. If you go without one, you will need powerheads for circulation, a hang-on protein skimmer, and an optional mechanical/chemical filter.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• Is it okay to use crushed coral as a substrate in a freshwater aquarium?
  
  No, unless you are keeping African cichlids. This substrate will raise your pH too high.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I recently bought a 55 gallon tank for a marine "fish-only" setup. I have a cascade 1000 canister. Is this enough filtration?
  
  I would strongly suggest purchasing a wet/dry filter and protein skimmer. You can keep the canister filter for mechanical/chemical filtration.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• Can we use the water from our old tank to set up a new tank. What other type of fish are sutable with cichlids?
  
  You should use all the old water. You should stick with African Cichlids in the open water column, but you can try a synodontis catfish for the bottom.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I just bought a Supreme magnetic drive 9.5 pump. This does not fit the tubes running to the prefilter of my tank. What do I need to complete the installation?
  
  A Mag Drive 9.5 pump has 3/4" fittings. If your tank fittings are 1/2" or 1", you must purchase a reducer bushing and other pvc parts to complete the process.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• I inherited a 30 gallon octagon tank and want to stock it. We tend to like more aggressive fish such as cichlids. What would you suggest?
  
  You should keep a lower amount of fish in a taller, slimmer tank due to surface area limitations. If you decide to keep cichlids, make sure that you decorate the tank with plenty of places for the fish to hide and seek shelter.
  
  Top
  
  
  
• We set up a new tank and have not put new fish in there. There is a terrible smell eminating from the tank. What can we do to get rid of the smell?
  
  If your filter accepts carbon, I would put new carbon in there to absorb the smell.
  
  Top