Maintaining a QT with no fish

[theclemsonkid]

So when my QT is not being used for fish, how should I keep it?
Obviously I don't want to be running a heater and filter 24/7 unless I absolutely have to.
Is there a way to run it on bare minimums but still keep the water cycled and full of bacteria?
Thanks!

 

[sly]

Throw in a piece of live rock.

 

[fats71]

Adding LR to my qt which I have used ap quick cure for curing ick etc would not work would it ? I mean without removing all the water etc scrubbbing and reqorking thhe tank right ? as the quick cure is bad for inverts and also LR LS.

 

[slomo]

I Use A 10 Gallon Tank For A Qt, So Far I Have Not Been Successful In Keeping It. I Ghost Feed It, And When I Put Fish In It, It Starts To Cycle. How Big Is It? As Long As It Is Disease Free, Can You Keep Hermits Or Shrimp. You Do Have To Keep It Heated And Filtered.

 

[sepulatian]

If you do not want to keep the system up and running then pick up some sponge filters from your LFS. Add them to the sump. They will gather bacteria as they sit in there. When you need your QT you can set it up and add the bacteria filled sponges. Here is a picture of sponges in my QT and a picture of different models.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by slomo
http:///forum/post/2515091
I Use A 10 Gallon Tank For A Qt, So Far I Have Not Been Successful In Keeping It. I Ghost Feed It, And When I Put Fish In It, It Starts To Cycle. How Big Is It? As Long As It Is Disease Free, Can You Keep Hermits Or Shrimp. You Do Have To Keep It Heated And Filtered.
Mine was the same way until I added another filter and more sponges inside of the PVC pipes in my QT. When using the QT you should always have water ready for a change if you see ammonia or nitrite. I did 1g changes on my 10g every day for about a week and then it settled down.
IMO I would not use LR in a QT that might need hypo as hypo levels will produce die off from the rock. Sponges are better.

 

[trainfever]

There really is no need to keep a QT or hospital tank set up all the time. I have an empty 10 gallon tank that I keep in case it is neeed. If ever there is a need for a QT or hospital tank, I simply syphon water from my display tank into the 10 gallon, then top off the display with fresh saltwater, just as if I were doing a water change. I then take a few pieces of live rock from my sump and place that into the 10 gallon.

 

[florida joe]

how big is your QT most of the small tanks 10&20g that are used for QT have a bio-wheel biological filter I keep an extra one in my sump of my DT I ghost feed my qt tank swap out the bio wheel filters every week. And its always ready to go