Desk Aquarium?

[CaptnIgnit]

I'm looking to get a smaller aquarium for my desk, mainly as a hospital/quarantine tank. Does anyone have any recommendations on what size tank they think I should get? The space I'm trying to fill is about 10 inches deep and 16 inches wide, but it doesn't have to be exact.

I've seen a couple eclipse aquarium's around 5 gallons that look like they might work but wanted to see if anyone else had any better idea's.

 

[MattAquaBio]

My girlfriend bought a 2.5 gallon set up a while back, a little red one, i think it might be eclipse but i wouldnt swear to it. She has a beta in there with two little plants and they grow like crazy, betas happy to. A five gallon would be even better i bet.

 

[toddnbecka]

Most hospital/QT tanks are 10 gallons, anything smaller is very limited for even temporary stocking space. The only thing I would keep in a nano tank would be plants and shrimp, or a betta.

 

[newfound77951]

I have a 5 gallon hexagon tank on my desk, it's the Walmart version but I really like it. I have it planted with 5 pristella tetras in it.

 

[Reefmonkey]

My stepson had one of those little 3.5 eclipses, very frustrating for him. I would have never bought him one so small, but my wife got it for him before I came into the picture. On his last birthday I got him a 10 gallon, the smallest aquarium I think anyone should get. (unless you want just plants and a betta).

Another thing I don't like on those Eclipses - the Biowheel. I am a masters-level environmental engineer, used to do wastewater design, and am very familiar with the Rotating Biological Contacter, which these biowheels are modeled after. There are 3 reasons why those biowheels don't work:

1. The biowheels don't have enough surface area.

2. The effluent they are treating is not rich enough to support the bacteria. They make this worse by placing the biowheel on the outfall of the filter - after it has already been treated by the cartidge filter.

3. The biowheel moves too fast - RBCs move quite slowly to give the bacteria a lot of contact time with the water.

So in essence, the eclipse biowheel is a junky gimmick.

 

[Tostada]

A 5.5 gal is 16" wide by 8" deep. I have one setup with an AquaClear 20 and it's almost exactly 16" x 10".

Meijer sells the tank for $8.99 and I got PetSmart to pricematch an expired drsfostersmith.com deal that popped up on Froogle to get the filter for $11.99. Just about the only decent heater that'll fit in a tank that size is a Hagen Thermal Compact (found one at Pet Supplies Plus for $8.99).

The cool thing about a 5.5 gal. is that it's the perfect size for a hood that fits a 15" fluorescent bulb -- the kind you usually get free with a 30-35 gal. hex. I just got an piece of plexiglass and cutout a filter hole and a feeding hole. Most of the hoods you'll find for tanks that size are POS plastic incandescant fixtures.

 

[CaptnIgnit]

That sounds about the right size I'm looking for. Can't seem to find any place that carries them online though.

I live up in Washington state and don't have a Meijer's here. Any one else know where I might find one?

 

[rich311k]

My Petco carries them.

 

[Tostada]

Jack's Aquarium usually has a few 5.5 gal tanks in an obscure place, and PetSmart has them in the reptile section.