Is A Cotton Wool Style Filter O.k For A Hospital Tank?

[branjie]

Hi all,
I need to set up a hospital tank, as I have a sick betta. This one will be o.k without a filter, but next time it could be one of my community fish. I am thinking of buying a cheap all in one set up from the local Kmart (like Walmart). They have those filters with cotton wool type media. Would that be o.k for a hospital tank? If so, how do you cycle the filter each time you use it? Can you stick that cotton wool inside the community tank powerfilter, to take out when you need it? I wouldn't want to have the tank running all of the time.

 

[afishdude]

if its just a hospital tank, you wont need to cycle the filter.
i assume with the hospital tank you will be dosing with meds. so after every dose you have to do a WC, with the water change, that will reduce your ammonia level. bettas are hardy fish, a betta would be able to withstand a little ammonia during the hospital QT

 

[WILDER]

Some meds wipe the bacteria out, just add an airstone you can add a mature little sponge to that you just put a hole through the sponge to hang the sponge over the airstone

 

[Tolak]

You can run the filter floss in your main filter, then use it for your hospital tank. Add new floss to the main filter, and just throw out the hospital tank floss when you are done medicating.

 

[branjie]

Tolak that makes sense.

Thanks for all of your helpful replies everyone.

 

[Arfie]

You can run the filter floss in your main filter, then use it for your hospital tank. Add new floss to the main filter, and just throw out the hospital tank floss when you are done medicating.

What he said

The other thing I do is I always have a twin sponge filter running in my main tank and if I need a quick setup such as a hospital tank, I take one of the sponges off the main tank and move it into the hospital tank. Medications can reduce the oxygen in the water so an airdriven filter will help oxygenate the water at the same time.

Arfie