Betta Nano M-500 Aquarium

[Boostic]

Hi all,
Picked up a nano tank yesterday with a bust skimmer
The tank is being used as a QT, with copper treatment before the fish hit my main tank.
I want to replace the skimmer as ive read alot of bad feedback on the standard fit skimmer.
What skimmer is best to use?
Im after one that is easy to use TMC V2 120? Will it fit in ok? Anybody have any views on them?
I know its only a QT tank but it will be running all the time and i dont want my fish to plop it just because is badly maintained.
Anyone got any views on this?
Cheers Andy

[ShyTalk]

Hi Andy, personally i wouldn't bother with a skimmer, especially if its just a quarantine tank, most of the nano skimmers are pretty poor performers and I'd save your money for other things.

Assuming at some point you'll need to add medication I'm guessing you won't be using live rock so put the money into a good external power filter?
I have a small tank here i plan to use as a qt tank and water quality should be fine with an external filter and water changes from everything i've read, don't forget though and filter media will need to be ditched after any doses of medication like copper based ones etc
One of my books recommends keeping a filter sponge or two in your sump of the main tank so you always have bio filtration ready when needed if you don't have the qt tank in use all the time, sounds a good tip to me

Cheers
Gav

[Boostic]

Thanx for the advice,
Ive got bits of live rock in my sump that im not really using as i bought it in mass from a tank shut down for a nice price,
the reason ill be keeping it running is because ive near lost all my fish due to white spot from a shop so ill be stocking it more or less every month

[Guest101]

theres no point haveing live rock in the tank as filtration as the copper will kill the bacteria, have a search through the links section im sure theres an articlke on setting up a QT

[ShyTalk]

Yeah, and you'll never get rid of the copper once its got into the rock, as i said external filtration will be better as you can just replace any media after you finished with any medication, leave your l/r in the sump of your main tank. As I said the experts say use mechanical filtration with disposable sponges, turns out the link mentioned by john above takes you to a web page by the same author as my book...

quote:
For simple biological filtration in a quarantine setup, I prefer air-driven sponge filters. These can be found at just about any aquarium store. They are very effective and inexpensive, although admittedly unattractive. If there is a sump on the main display, I would encourage the aquarist to place at least one small sponge filter there and keep it running at all times. This way, when the need arises, there will be a functional biological filter ready and waiting. While the nitrate produced by this unit may concern some, it should be of small consequence to most mature displays. With the increasingly common combined use of protein skimmers, deep sand beds, and macroalgae harvesting from refugium tanks, the minor amount of nitrate produced from one tiny sponge filter should be undetectable in an otherwise healthy display. If some aspect of husbandry is already lacking, this added nitrate is certainly not going to help, but the sponge filter can hardly be blamed.

Read the whole article about quarantine tanks here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

Taken from link in our very own Fish Health, Links section.

[Boostic]

Thanx great help all