Low Maintenance 10G QT tank Plan

[Picasso]

You might want to read over the "bulletproof tank" article at GARF: www.garf.org. He posits using a pump to get water in and out of the under gravel area. He's got the math and patterns to build all this stuff yourself. When I make my big tank, I really think I'm going to give his system a try. Looks interesting.

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[sen5241b]

My copper tank has nothing in it but a heater, a mag HOB micron filter and a small power head for circulation. I've been running it for three weeks and have zero ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. I attribute this to the micron filter which I clean ever three days. The current resident is a large Percula clown who will get out of QT in one week. You can't get much simpler then this.

What's in the micron filter?

 

[1geo]

Nothing, its simply a cone shaped with ribs micron cloth filter. Its very effective in trapping fine particles such as un-eaten food and brine shrimp. I use no other type of filters on the QT tank. After each meal, I also use a Eheim hand vacuum cleaner on the tank to remove as much un-eaten food I can. The micron filter removes the rest.

 

[sen5241b]

Right now I have a small bag of chemi-pure in my HOB.

 

[1geo]

If you are going to run copper in your QT tank, the recommendations I have read say no carbon or bio filters. The carbon would reduce the copper and the copper would kill the bio filter. The advantage of doing it my way is you hit all of the major causes of infestations at one time and reduce the time in the QT tank. Unfortunately for my Percula, I just got the Formalin in the mail and she has been in the tank for three weeks. I added the formalin today and she will have to stay in the tanks at least another 7 to 14 days. My target with the Formalin is Brooklynella or Clownfish disease.

 

[sen5241b]

Yes, a QT tank is no longer part of the plan but I'm still curious to see if use of a UGF will be bad or good. (All agree they don't work in large tanks). There is a modest clean up crew and one Royal Gramma. I added this little 1G fuge. If you do this put the end of the drain tube above the water --arrggh. My hat is blocking the light cause it messed up the photo. Nitrates around 5ppm and calcium is at 500ppm???!! How is that possible? Recall this tank has no sand.