Quarantine tank

bkvreef

Member
Can I set this up in a matter of minutes?
By doing this:
taking water from established tank, putting into QT
using previously used filter (bacteria).
Leaving bottom of tank bare.
Basic flourescent lighting?
 

sepulatian

Moderator
It will cycle. If you are setting this up in an emergency then be ready to do some water changes. You also need a power head and some shelter for the fish. PVC pipe sections, or fake decoration, will do. It helps to darken the bottom of the tank. Fish get spooked by the reflection.
 

bkvreef

Member
Thanks.
it was one of those random questions.
I am looking at setting up my 210g in the spot that my 110g is presently in.
So If I set up a tank in the basement while I'm moving everything the fish and corals should do fine.
When I moved my 55g to my 110g I lost several fish and an anemone.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by bkvreef
http:///forum/post/2596169
Thanks.
it was one of those random questions.
I am looking at setting up my 210g in the spot that my 110g is presently in.
So If I set up a tank in the basement while I'm moving everything the fish and corals should do fine.
When I moved my 55g to my 110g I lost several fish and an anemone.
Cycle the QT first. You can pull some of your rock out and add that. Then ghost feed the tank to be certain that it breaks ammonia down quickly before adding the live stock.
 
IMO, i would leave the QT running constantly. you will always get a small cycle when you start up, I dont know why. you also want it in case a problem in your dt arises
 

reefkprz

Active Member
I always break down my QT between uses, just because if the tank is up and running I know I'll fill it then need another QT.
When I need a QT. I use an established sponge filter, NEW water (old water is just going to bring in pollution), bare bottom and a decent size chunk Of LR that I am willing to sacrifice if I need to treat with any reef-unsafe medications (aka an ugly rock out of my sump). I keep new water handy in case of spikes but havent had a problem using this route yet. feeding VERY lightly is key when you have very little biological action.
the simple fact is when doing it this way there is nothing to cycle.... everything already has an established coating of bacteria (except the glass), you'll only have problems if you exceed the amount of biological capacity your one chunk of rock and foam filter are capable of houseing. AKA BIG fish + small rock = bad news.

I almost forgot I dont run lights on the QT for fish ambient room lighting is more than enough, it helps de-stress the fish. I DO use lighting when QTing corals.
 

al mc

Active Member
As Reef indicated, using some LR helps in the QT. I have also done that in the past but decided instead of sacrificing some rock to use a filter bag full of ceramic media that 'lives' in a high flow area of my sump 24/7 and gets pulled into any newly set up QT to add biologic filtration/bacteria.
 
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