Quarintine tank question

[darth stinji]

From my research it sounds like a great idea to have a quarintine tank for new fish. Question is how do you maintain it when you dont have any new fish. Do you tear it down and restart it when you buy a new fish, if so what about the cycle? or do you leave it running with a fish in it to keep is cycled? what about quarintine time? 3-4 weeks?

 

[saltn00b]

set up a QT tank, and leave it running.
you can use water from your DT, and maybe a small piece of fresh shrimp for the market to start the cycle, just like a DT, then do water change.
when no fish are in it, leave it running, doesnt need lights, the bacteria will stay alive.
for time, you should look into the hyposalinization process. i do it everytime i get new fish, because it doesnt hurt the fish, and it will kill the ich IF he has it. if not, it makes sure he doesnt by the time its over.

 

[thegrog]

Yes, a QT tank is the best route to go!! By using one, I have not had a single fish die of disease in my display tank.
As for setting it up, I only have it set up when I have a fish to QT. Only takes about an hour to set up and I use water from my DT to fill it. That way, you do a water change while you are at it!
For filtration, I use a Whisper HOT filter that takes the same sized pads as the one in my DT. I simply take the biofilter sponge from the DT and drop it in the QT tank and instant biofiltration!!
Same thing with my sponge filter. I keep one in my sump and just have to drop it into the QT tank, hook it up to an air pump, and INSTANT BIOFILTRATION!! no need for cycling.
If I have to treat for anything, the biofilters come out as the treatment will kill off any bacteria in them. Then I jsut have to do water changes to get rid of waste products.
For the QT tank itself, I have a 10-gallon tank that I painted the bottom on. I drop in a few peices of PVC and a plastic plant for hiding places. The standard light lid that came with the tank. If QT corals, I have a 65w PC light that I throw on and set the rock with coral on a peice of eggcrate so any hitchikers will fall off and have troble getting back on.
Monitor your water parameters dialy and you may have to do a small water change every few days. Use the water from your DT for that.
Your fish are safe to enter your main tank after being disease-free for 4 weeks. After that, they can go into the DT and you can either put a new fish into your QT or tear it down and put it away until you need it again.
Hope this helps!

 

[saltn00b]

the only thing with putting it together as you need it is that the tank isnt cycled, and it will try to cycle as soon as it is put together, and especially once you have ammonia producing inhabitants in it. so you will need a lot more water for continual changes to keep it from cycling and killing them.

 

[darth stinji]

whats hyposalinization process? Never heard of it.
I was thinking of setting up a QT tank in my sons room, that way he can enjoy it, and maybe learn something about marine life.

 

[toggil]

What if everytime you set up your QT you put a piece of LR in from your DT or sump would that bacteria prevent a cycle?

 

[beth]

You can put a little fish food in their occassionally to give the biofilter something to do while there are no fish.

 

[beth]

Originally Posted by Toggil
What if everytime you set up your QT you put a piece of LR in from your DT or sump would that bacteria prevent a cycle?
You could, as long as the QT has never been exposed to medications and the QT has not been exposed to fish diseases. This is risky business.
You could just add a bit of LS...but you must feed the tank, otherwise, the biofilter will die off.

 

[darth stinji]

Beth,
thats a good idea!

 

[saltn00b]

Darth -
for exact details, Do a search for Hypo, or look in the FAQs for it. its the process of slowly lowering the salinity to a safe level , keeping it there to kill the ick, and then slowly bringing it back up.
Toggil, you want to avoid putting any Calcerous material in a QT tank at all. thats, LR, LS, CC or whatever. This provides a porous surface for ICH to adhere to in a certain part of its life cycle, hence removing it, stops the cycle.
also QT tanks are supposed to be clean like a hospital so you dont want to include other critters and hitchikers on the LR. most of which will likely die (including the bacteria) during treatments causing problems...

 

[phishface]

After my cycle, and a few more fish, I went hypo. I kept it that way until stocked, eliminating the need to QT. Or am I just lucky?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by phishface
After my cycle, and a few more fish, I went hypo. I kept it that way until stocked, eliminating the need to QT. Or am I just lucky?
You acclimated all of your fish directly into hyposaline conditions? How long was your tank down that low? Hyposalinity is great for stoping ich's lifecycle but fish should not be exposed to it for a very long time. 6 weeks is pushing max time. Hyposaline conditions have been proven to shorten fish's life span if they are kept at unaturally low salinity for extended periods of time.

 

[saltn00b]

more importantly, hypo will kill all inverts, and corals, and most beneficial bacteria, which is why it is best to perform in a QT tank