QT Tank

[lietz06]

Do you guys usually use an actual tank or can u use like a rubbermaid or trashcan? If you use an actual tank how do you do the up keep? Do you keep it running even when there arent fish in there or what? Do you use water from your main tank or just start it from scratch? any help would be appreciated-thanks.

 

[keebler]

What I did was use a 20 gallon tank for a qt after my 30 gallon was setup and ready for fish and after I was done quarantining the fish (who were in great health), I emtied the 20 out and converted it into a sump for (you guessed it) my 30 gallon tank. Just a suggestion that is great in particular cases.

 

[gmann1139]

I have a 'real' 10 gallon tank that I set up and have kept cycled.
I used a Hagen HOB filter that I took out the rings from and added LR rubble, and a dusting of substrate from my DT. Cycled pretty fast.
When I have a fish in it, I use 50% 'waste' from the DT and 50% new water.
I see a small nitrite spike about 3 weeks after adding a fish, so I'm vigilant on the WC.
When the fish aren't in, I just ghost feed, and basically siphon enough water out to get the wasted food.

 

[butrfly2536]

We use a 5 gallon eclispse tank for a qt. It is a lot easier to take care of it.

 

[metweezer]

I keep my 10 gal QT running constantly. I cycled it from scratch with a raw shrimp. I have pvc and barnacles in there for hiding spaces. I do water changes and topoffs as often as needed (weekly with the water changes, daily with the topoffs) and feed a small amount of food weekly to keep the tank cycled

 

[lietz06]

I saw that you guys said that you still put food in there even if nothing is in it? How come? Or do you keep a small cuc in there?

 

[geridoc]

Feeding the empty tank keeps the bacterial levels high, so that when you put a fish in to the qt there is no ammonia rise. Forget about using a Rubbermaid bin - on eof the things you want to do in a qt is to examine the fish carefully for parasites, injuries, etc. You can't do that in a solid-sided container.

 

[keebler]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
http:///forum/post/2733729
Feeding the empty tank keeps the bacterial levels high, so that when you put a fish in to the qt there is no ammonia rise. Forget about using a Rubbermaid bin - on eof the things you want to do in a qt is to examine the fish carefully for parasites, injuries, etc. You can't do that in a solid-sided container.
besides, most fish don't require a dt any larger than a ten gallon anyway, and 10 gallon tanks are cheap. Now see, with my plan, there are enough bioballs in the sump taht are full of bacteria that when I need to quaranteen later in life, I just diconnect the sump and hook all of the equipment plus a hob filter on the main tank and use the sump as a qt for a month or so. When I'm done quaranteening or treating the fish (hopefully not), I just add the fish and do a 100% water change to the sump (if needed) and hook it all back up. There should be a name to this method of mine because I have never seen it done before, I'll call it Keebler's quaransump...or not.