1)Keep hardy fish in them or not? Obviously these fish become exposed to the diseased patients?!! And they can't go into your display if you only have one!!
Answer: Yes! The purpose of a quarantine tank is to isolate new fish before they go into your main display tank. You want to make sure that they are disease-free before they go into your tank, thus avoiding exposing your other fish and tank to a disease process. If a new fish comes down with a disease in the quarantine tank, then it is isolated and you can treat the fish there.
2) LR or no LR, seems that it is a bad idea to keep in tank, but then return it after tank is up and going???
Answer: I’m not sure what you are asking here. If you are asking if it is bad to keep LR in a quarantine tank then the answer is “it depends”. If the LR is going to be used exclusively for the quarantine tank, than perhaps it is ok to use it. You should not return the rock to a display tank, however, as the rock could be exposed to diseases [particularly parasites] in the quarantine and could carry those disease back to the main tank. If you are very organized and plan well, you could use a LR to help cycle a quarantine before fish go in it, but only if the tank has never been used with copper. Copper will adhere to glass and the silicone sealant used to construct aquariums and can leach out into the water. Live rock in the presence of copper will die off. The better thing to do is use fake decorations or just construct a PVC simulated rock structure for your quarantine tank.
3)Can you shut down tank, and then get it going when you need it. Or will getting it going at right levels take to long?
Answer: No you can not shut down and then restart your tank at a later date. Water that is not filtered and circulated will turn into a cesspool. You can break down your quarantine completely and then put it back together when you need it or keep it running, and maintain it all the time.
4)Lighting, any needed, or is it best to have none?
Answer: If you are using your quarantine tank to quarantine new fish then the choice is yours. If you are using the tank as a hospital tank to treat fish, then no lighting is better. Sick fish fare better with reduced lighting [room lighting is fine in this situation]. Additionally, if you are treating fish with antibiotics, then no lights is required, as lighting significantly reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics.
5)Do large 23 gallon plastic containers from Target actually work
Answer: Yes, they work, but I personally do not like to use this. I think fish are more stressed going from a darkened container to a regular fish tank. Better to keep them in a situation where you can easily SEE the fish. The purpose of quarantine, after all, is to see if your fish is sick before you introduce it to your main tank. That task is difficult when your fish is in an opaque container.
