Lonnie - thats great to hear that you do that already. I didnt think about the extra option for more outflow by leaving that open. I just may do that.
Also, the reason I wanted to do it in the first place was so preserve pressure by reducing "head". If I combine the two returns into one while it goes up the back of the tank, and then split it at the top, I think I'll save 30" of head. Right? But, to your point, maybe I'll run it up the corner so its not sticking out right in the middle of the back of the tank.
Doug - yep, youre exactly right on that. I should be clear - this is really just a Holding-QT. And, also, Lonnie is right too. I will have a seperate, true, QT on the other side of the room - a 20 gallon tank. But, I want to use this 15 gallon for exactly what Lonnie suggested.
I'm hoping to use it as a "secondary" or "interim" QT. Once I properly QT a fish in the standalone 20gallon for 6 weeks (mainly for ICH) I will then transfer it to the 15 gallon. There I'll be able to monitor it better than just dropping it into the 210 to hide and be harassed by other fish. I can also spend plenty of time "fattening" it up so that its as healthy as possible when it gets released into the rest of the community.
Also, like Lonnie said, I'll keep LR in there for Pods as well as some Chaeto. And, if need be, I will be able to shut it off from circulation from the rest of the tank. I'll have my backup heater in there just in case power goes out.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Any others?
