Seting up a Quarantine tank (Beth or Lion?)

[sac10918]

Hi
I posted in the equipment and lighting section but didnt get any response so I will try again here...
I am looking to set up a QT tank using leftovers to use to Quarantine the next two fish I intend to purchase before adding them to my display...
I plan to use water from my display and a piece of live rock (small piece though) to cycle this QT.... I am wondering how long it will take for the QT to be ready to add fish (an estimate would be great)!
Thanks for any help!

 

[sepulatian]

How about Sep? You can use the water and rock, but biological bacteria does not live in the water column and your bacteria will be gone when you remove the rock. Is this an emergency situation? If not, then skip the rock. Use the water from your display, then add a small piece of raw shrimp and watch for an ammonia spike. When the ammonia reaches .75-1ppm then pull it out and let it finish cycling.

 

[sac10918]

Hi Sep!
For some reason I didnt realize you hung around in the disease and treatment area....I try to avoid this part of the message boards, it makes me sad.
No, this is not an emergency situation, I am just trying to set up the QT properly so that I can QT new fish I intend to purchase. So, it is best not to even bother putting a piece of live rock in the QT? I was under the impression that it would help my cycle go quicker.
Is there anything else (besides using DT water and throwing in a cocktail shrimp) to hurry the cycle along SAFELY. I know its best not to rush the cycle, but in the past (when I have set up a QT for emergency situations) I have purchased nitrifying bacteria put them on my biowheel filter. I was always successful at keeping the ammonia and nitrites down using this method, although I did very frequent water changes since it was an uncycled tank.
Also, another question for you....
What exactly do I do once I put a new fish in the QT? Observe and let it rest? Treat for disease I cannot visibly see?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by sac10918
Hi Sep!
For some reason I didnt realize you hung around in the disease and treatment area....I try to avoid this part of the message boards, it makes me sad.
No, this is not an emergency situation, I am just trying to set up the QT properly so that I can QT new fish I intend to purchase. So, it is best not to even bother putting a piece of live rock in the QT? I was under the impression that it would help my cycle go quicker.
Is there anything else (besides using DT water and throwing in a cocktail shrimp) to hurry the cycle along SAFELY. I know its best not to rush the cycle, but in the past (when I have set up a QT for emergency situations) I have purchased nitrifying bacteria put them on my biowheel filter. I was always successful at keeping the ammonia and nitrites down using this method, although I did very frequent water changes since it was an uncycled tank.
Also, another question for you....
What exactly do I do once I put a new fish in the QT? Observe and let it rest? Treat for disease I cannot visibly see?

Using nitrifying meds are temporary fixes. If you let the qt cycle properly then you will not have any spikes at all when you add a fish. When you put the new fish in to the qt you observe but also pamper your fish. This is the time to get him healthy. You get him used to the foods that you feed without competition, used to your voice, and add extra vitamins and nutrients to the fish's food to boost his immune system. Quarantine time is very important even if the fish is already completely healthy. If the fish does come in with a disease then it is contained and can be dealt with easily.

 

[sac10918]

THanks for the help Sep...
So, is it not necessary to treat the fish for anything as long as the fish stays in QT for a few weeks and is eating healthy and normal? Would you do a freshwater dip, hypo, or anything to a visibly healthy fish to make sure there is nothing that you can't see hiding on the fish?
Sorry for the lame questions, I just am VERY particular about my fish and my tank, and I don't want to add a fish to my tank that will get my other one sick!

 

[al mc]

Sac.....I find that hyposalinity is very safe and helps me with my paranoia about bringing Ich into my DT. I hypo all new fish arrivals. My thought. If you are going to quarantine for 3 weeks anyway..why not hypo.
All new arrivals go into normal salinity QT...wait 2-3 days to acclimate (eating/appear OK), then 2 days to drop salinity to 'hypo', 3 weeks of hypo, 4-5 days to bring up to normal salinity. Total..a little over 4 weeks...virtually no chance of Ich coming into the DT.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by sac10918
THanks for the help Sep...
So, is it not necessary to treat the fish for anything as long as the fish stays in QT for a few weeks and is eating healthy and normal? Would you do a freshwater dip, hypo, or anything to a visibly healthy fish to make sure there is nothing that you can't see hiding on the fish?
Sorry for the lame questions, I just am VERY particular about my fish and my tank, and I don't want to add a fish to my tank that will get my other one sick!
You can hypo them if you want to. Many people do. I personally do not, but I keep the fish in QT for over a month and observe them quite a bit. Don't be afraid to ask questions at all. It is always better to be over cautious than under

 

[sac10918]

Al Mc
~Thanks for the info....I just worry that if I don't hypo, but I leave the fish in QT for 4 weeks, I could still possibly introduce ICH that went unnoticed on the new fish. I think I will try the hypo method (ive done it before and have a refractometer and everything)...
Sep
~Thanks for all of your help! So, when you introduce a new fish you QT for 4 weeks and observe, and only treat if there is disease present....Have you ever had any problems introducing anything "unseen" while in QT?
Also, I am setting up my QT in like an hour and I was wondering if I could post some pictures and get your input after I get it up and going....

 

[sac10918]

Okay, so here are some pics of the QT.... I am hoping it will be sufficient. I still need to add a cocktail shrimp and fill it up the rest of the way obviously.
THe basic set up is a 10 gallon tank witha phosban reactor, marineland biowheel, heater, and an extra pump for decent circulation. The bottom has black paper taped to it, although this still makes the bottom look reflective if you are standing in front of the tank, but not if you open the lid and look down. I have some cheapo lights but I think it will be sufficient since I am only QT fish right now... What do you think....Am I forgetting anything?

 

[al mc]

SAc...I also like to cover the back with the paper as well and put in some places to hide...pvc works well. The biggest problem most people have with hypo is making sure they test the SG 2x daily and adding top off water, if needed ,to keep the SG at 1.009 and watching the pH..less salt in the water/less buffering...so the ph can really change quickly.
Looks good. I think you will be happy with your decision to hypo new arrivals.
good luck....

 

[sepulatian]

Al is correct, be sure to test the SG often. The PH is a concern as you lower the SG. If your source water, the FW you will be using, has a low PH then add buffer to a bucket of FW. It is best to allow the buffer to mix with the water before adding it to to tank to avoid ph swings. To answer your other question, I have not had any issues with just monitoring my fish in QT. Other people have though.

 

[sac10918]

Thanks to both of you for your help...
AlMc~
I covered the back of the tank with black paper as well. My only concern is that when the tank is viewed from the front, it looks like the bottom is reflective. However, when I open the lid and look from the top, the reflection is gone.... I am hoping that the fish who goes in here will not experience the relexion and that it is just an optical illusion (you can even see the reflexion in the pics I posted)
Also, should I build a little structure with the PVC or is it just as good to put in varying sizes of PVC? My next fish is a citron clown goby and he will probably want to perch (?)
I still haven't quite decided if I will perform the hypo or just observe.. I will most likely hypo because of my parania of bring ICH into my tank....
Again, thanks to both of you soooo much for your help!

 

[beth]

The coctail shrimp thing is better not to do. A couple of cups of sand from your display or a bit of rock rubble would work best, then feed a couple of times a week with fish food.

 

[shinobi9119]

Originally Posted by Beth
The coctail shrimp thing is better not to do. A couple of cups of sand from your display or a bit of rock rubble would work best, then feed a couple of times a week with fish food.
I dont want to steal the thread, but y is it bad to add cocktail shrimp?

 

[al mc]

Beth may give you a better answer, but I believe that it is safer to add sand/substrate to give you 'good' bacteria instead of a shrimp that will cause
an ammonia spike and require waiting time to get the tank into proper nitrogen cycle balance.

 

[beth]

It doesn't work that well, risks of pollution, and the items I mention actually result in a healthy seeding of marine bacterial populations.

 

[al mc]

Originally Posted by sac10918
Also, should I build a little structure with the PVC or is it just as good to put in varying sizes of PVC? My next fish is a citron clown goby and he will probably want to perch (?)
I have done both but find that a couple short pieces of pvc pipe with a diameter big enough for the fish to hide in works well. If you do go with the sand/substrate as Beth mentioned you can add enough just to cover the bottom and decrease the reflection. Good luck!

 

[sepulatian]

Beth, why do you say that it is not good to use a piece of shrimp to cycle a qt. This isn't an emergency situation. I suggest, myself, to use a few cups of sand if the qt needs to be set up in a hurry. This is not a hurry. How does it not work that well, and have the risk of contamination, when shrimp is part of homemade food and you recommend adding some fish food to the tank to keep the bacteria alive, as I do? Sand should not be in the qt tank. It should be bare bottomed, but if it is needed for biological filtration then it is okay to add. I am curious as to why you said that shrimp is not a good idea to cycle a qt that is not in a rush to be used, besides the reasons that you have given so far on this thread. It is part of the food that we feed, why is it different?

 

[sac10918]

I would like to know why a cocktail shrimp is a bad idea also....
I actually already added it, and I think I blew it because I left it in there for 2 days and today I went to take it out and it broke into tiny pieces all over the tank....I checked my ammonia level and it was zero so I am wondering if I never even got the cycle going (?). Even though I used display water, I doubt that it cycled in 2 days!
Should I add another cocktail shrimp? Hmmm....