Hospital tank help...

[a&m '96]

I am somewhat of a novice saltwater fishkeeper, and I'd like some infomation on setting up a hospital tank. My porky puffer is just getting over a case of ick that I treated with formalin in my main tank. I'm not sure how he got it with a UV going, especially since his Red Sea Sailfin tang roommate is fine, but oh well. I don't have any inverts, but I do have live rock, so I chose not to treat with copper. Anyway, in the future, I'm going to use a 10 gallon hospital tank and treat with copper, and I'm not sure how to set it up. Do I need anything besides a tank, heater, powerhead, PVC pipe, and a box filter? Should I worry about bio-filtration? Should I actually cycle the tank and keep it running all the time, or can I just set it up (with water from my main tank) when I need it?

 

[beth]

You're on the right track. The hospital equiptment can be put together with spare equiptment that you're not using, or any of the items you mention.
Formalin has the same toxcity as copper. Formalin, in fact, is formaldehyde, which is the same stuff that morticians use to embalm dead people. So don't take its use lightly. Formalin should be used for "baths". Usually around 30-45 mins at a time. But, in the case of ick, the best treatment choice is niether copper nor formalin. Hyposalinity should be used.