Frequent Aquarium Questions

• Do I have to have rocks in my fish tank?
  
  
• My nitrites are rising. I know this is part of the cycling process, but I'm not sure what exactly is supposed to happen next.
  
  
• Is distilled water OK to use in a fish aquarim?
  
  
• I am in the process of setting up a 375 gallon reef tank. What size hole(s) should be drilled in the bottom of the overflow box?
  
  
• I just recently purchased an oceanic complete 2 sump to go with an aga 90 gal predrilled with overflow. The sump did not come with directions. Is there a basic way of setting it up? I know that it goes in flows through the bioballs and it gets pumped out. Which hoses get used for what etc. Thank you
  
  
• I recently started up my 29 gallon tank I noticed that one side of the tank had something that looked like scales on it. What is this?
  
  
• I am setting up a 125 gallon fish-only salt water tank. I plan to use a canister filter, protein skimmers, and Emperor wet/dry bio-wheel filters. Is my current setup adequate for a fish-only tank or do I need more?
  
  
• Is it safe for me to put a toy Smurf figurine in my tank?
  
  
• We just set up a 90-gallon tank and added some rock which looked like it already had some yellow algae on them. Now there is a transparent moldy film on only those rocks. What could that be?
  
  
• Is it safe to house a baby piranha in a 10 gallon tank until I move him into a 55 gallon in 3 months?
  
  

• Do I have to have rocks in my fish tank?
  
  No, depending on the types of fish you are keeping. There are fish, like African Cichlids, that benefit from them.
  
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• My nitrites are rising. I know this is part of the cycling process, but I'm not sure what exactly is supposed to happen next.
  
  Your nitrites should fall to zero, and then you will see a rise in nitrates.
  
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• Is distilled water OK to use in a fish aquarim?
  
  Yes.
  
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• I am in the process of setting up a 375 gallon reef tank. What size hole(s) should be drilled in the bottom of the overflow box?
  
  If you have only 1 prefilter, unless it is large, you will need another one to handle the output of your pumps. If you have 2 prefilters, you will need two 1.5" drains.
  
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• I just recently purchased an oceanic complete 2 sump to go with an aga 90 gal predrilled with overflow. The sump did not come with directions. Is there a basic way of setting it up? I know that it goes in flows through the bioballs and it gets pumped out. Which hoses get used for what etc. Thank you
  
  
  
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• I recently started up my 29 gallon tank I noticed that one side of the tank had something that looked like scales on it. What is this?
  
  It is not unusual to see different types of build-up on the walls of an aquarium while it is cycling.
  
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• I am setting up a 125 gallon fish-only salt water tank. I plan to use a canister filter, protein skimmers, and Emperor wet/dry bio-wheel filters. Is my current setup adequate for a fish-only tank or do I need more?
  
  I would purchase a true wet/dry filter instead of the bio-wheel model.
  
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• Is it safe for me to put a toy Smurf figurine in my tank?
  
  Yes, assuming there are no metal parts.
  
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• We just set up a 90-gallon tank and added some rock which looked like it already had some yellow algae on them. Now there is a transparent moldy film on only those rocks. What could that be?
  
  You will have some initial die-off on the rock. Make sure that there is proper current over the rock to blow off the detritus.
  
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• Is it safe to house a baby piranha in a 10 gallon tank until I move him into a 55 gallon in 3 months?
  
  Yes.
  
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