hospital tanks

[skatoholic]

Should there be gravel in a hospital tank? Why or why not?

[squidney101]

I dont think that it makes a difference. I find that no graval tanks are easier to clean, because you can see what is there, or left behind, but tanks with gravel look better.

[Sinsarity]

If there is no substrate, how do you keep the tank cycled?
(just curious, am setting up a Hosp. Tank myself )

[ducksarefun]

when our hospital/quarentine tank isn't being used, we either put the filter on my bf's 33g or we leave it in there with my betta and our apple snails.

[FroggyFox]

I keep my bottle of storebought ammonia nearby and dump a splash in every once in awhile to keep the tank cycled...then make sure to do a 100% water change before I put a fish in there (to get rid of accumulated nitrates and any remaining ammonia)

Mine is a little tank with a UGF, so it has to have gravel in it...and I would say that a tank with a sponge filter and no gravel would be way easier to maintain...but like Squidney (great name!) said a tank with nothing in it is an eyesore in my opinion!

[wayne]

No. I just keep a bit of flowerpot I can replace each time it's used. I don't keep the tank cycled , I just do waterchanges. There's no point as a lot of meds kill the bacteria , or at least inhibit them anyway.

[Iggy]

I agree with Wayne, no use trying to create a bio-filter in a hospital tank you need to sanitize all the time.

I am using a 4l (1gal) ice-cream bucket with airstone for my hospital tank, with an airstone and 1-3 day full water changes (depending on the meds). I don't like the bucket because it is harder to see the 'patient', but it's all I have for now.

My ideal hospital tank would be a 5 to 10 gal glass tank, with no gravel, an airstone, and maybe a sponge (aka bubbler) filter for long-term recovery.