# Substrate for a feeder tank?



## xpac (Apr 29, 2004)

I just bought a 10 gallon tank which is going to primarily house feeders, and the occasional injured/sick P. Right now it's bare, I had a spare whisper filter which I hooked up, and that's about it. Obviously if I ever have to put a P in there, I'll need a heater, but is there any good reason to bother putting gravel in it?


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## User (May 31, 2004)

I have a piece of tan cardboard on the underside of my feeder tank to help with the mirror effect of a bb tank, and very few river rocks on the inside, which i'm going to take out the next time I net a feeder. - I dont believe you have to anything at all in a feeder tank.


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## BASSFISHERMAN (Feb 22, 2004)

I would just leave it bare - your water will be celaner and it will be a lot easier to keep clean.


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

you dont HAVE to but i think you can


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## qwuintus (Feb 3, 2003)

barebottom


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## chiefkyle (May 3, 2004)

xpac said:


> is there any good reason to bother putting gravel in it?


 Nope. No reason at all.

Notice your LFS's feeder tank doesn't have gravel? And if they do, they haven't been in the buisness long enough to know anybetter.


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

Barebottom, feeders dont deserve any better


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## xpac (Apr 29, 2004)

acidWarp said:


> Barebottom, feeders dont deserve any better


 Cruel, but I agree.....


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## phil me in (Jun 6, 2004)

mine is barebottom, and its soooo much easier to clean


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## User (May 31, 2004)

phil me in said:


> mine is barebottom, and its soooo much easier to clean


Yea they are, I dont want to clean up feeder sh*t when the filter will pick most of it up if the tank is bb.


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## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

my 10g's bare also with a ac200 and a heater in there. it's a tank to house food not pets


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

phil me in said:


> mine is barebottom, and its soooo much easier to clean


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

i agree with everyone! use cardboard like mentioned, or paint the bottom black!


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## xt12ap5peedx17x (Oct 20, 2003)

I was bored with my 10g, so i did some works on it.


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## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

xt12ap5peedx17x said:


> I was bored with my 10g, so i did some works on it.


 and the works would be.....................................


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## imachode (Jun 3, 2003)

just a note, you said you would also use it for a hospital tank. remember that if you're going to use it for that, it has to be cycled and established like any other tank. even if it was established previously, and then you went for some time with no feeders in it, all the beneficial bacteria would die due to a lack of an ammonia source. if you were to put your injured fish in there, i imagine that you coudl expect an ammonia spike and all the fun that comes with that. the point being, keep feeders in it, take them out when you use it for a hospital tank as it will keep the bacteria going until you use it for a P.


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## Doug (Feb 10, 2004)

to keep the bacteria alive couldnt u just add a little store bough







t amonia to it???


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## imachode (Jun 3, 2003)

i don't see why it wouldn't. keeping feeders in it seems a bit easier to me. the point of my earlier post was that you shouldn't have an empty tank to plop in an injured fish without having it cycled or at least using an established filter (i.e. sponge filter from other main tank)


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## bir2 (Jun 4, 2004)

acidWarp said:


> Barebottom, feeders dont deserve any better


 yah i agree!!!! they dont serve any!!!!! hahahahaha (evil laugh)


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## xpac (Apr 29, 2004)

imachode said:


> i don't see why it wouldn't. keeping feeders in it seems a bit easier to me. the point of my earlier post was that you shouldn't have an empty tank to plop in an injured fish without having it cycled or at least using an established filter (i.e. sponge filter from other main tank)


Yeah, I did take an established whisper filter from another tank. For fun I tested the parameters yesterday and I had high levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. So that's why 75% of the feeders I bought the other day are already dead...LOL









But seriously I won't think of using it for a hospital until it's fully cycled and I intend to keep feeders in there full time to keep it cycled once it gets there.


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