Advice On Setting Up A Nano Tank Please?

[Teri]

I've been thinking about setting up a nano tank, aftre I saw the pfk subscription offer, (unfortunately I saw it too late! ), and I've just got a few questions.
What kind of filter can I use? Obviously not an external one, but where can I find a good small filter to fit? As the fish in a nano tank are obviously going to be tiddly sized, how can I stop them from swimming into it?
Does a nano tank need to be cycled? Do littler tanks take less time to cycle than big ones?
I'm sure I'll think upplenty more questions in the next few weeks

 

[Ronan]

I've been thinking about setting up a nano tank, aftre I saw the pfk subscription offer, (unfortunately I saw it too late! ), and I've just got a few questions.
What kind of filter can I use? Obviously not an external one, but where can I find a good small filter to fit? As the fish in a nano tank are obviously going to be tiddly sized, how can I stop them from swimming into it?
Does a nano tank need to be cycled? Do littler tanks take less time to cycle than big ones?
I'm sure I'll think upplenty more questions in the next few weeks

If you are getting the same model tank as in the PFK article then a small internal model will be fine: Interpet, Rena, Hydor and Fluval all make small and cheap internal filters that will do the job. They are normally just a powerhead with a block of foam underneath for biological and mechanical filtration and they should all have guards over the inflow area to stop your fish from being sucked in.
All fish tanks need to be cycled and in my experience the size doesn't seem to make a huge difference to the time taken. I use fishless cycling as it is less stressful on the fish and some of the fish that commonly end up in a nano setup (neon tetras, otos etc.) are very sensitive to Ammonia and Nitrites. A good product to use is Waterlife's Biomature as it provides the food for the bacteria to live on as this is not normally present until your fish are in there and swimming around.

Ronan