Starting a QT: Have Icky Fish

auntkaren

auntkaren

Member
I've been researching Ick and QT tanks here and hope to see if my plan has any merit. I'm using Beth's FAQ post as my guideline.
Tank Info: 24G Nano DX Reef tank running 9 weeks
3" total Substrate half cc half live sand w/32 lb LR 13 lb in 10 days
1 Cleaner Shrimp, 1 Halloween Crab, 1 Eletric Blue Crab, 4 tiny blueleg crabs
2 Turbo Snails, 2 Margarite snails, 1 conch and 4 tiny serith snails
Coral: 1 Frogspawn 2" in 3 days, 1 Mushroom coral colony on hitchiker clam" in 3 days (Total size is 3x4"), 1 green ricordea frag 1" in 3 weeks, 1 Mexican Featherduster 4" in 2 weeks.
4 green chromis 1" ea in 3 weeks - no quarantine as there were never any fish in DT previously.
Current readings on tank are all within range and the tank has never been high or low in anything. pH: 8.2 Nitrate: <.10 Nitrite: <.1 Ammonia: <.025 Temp: 78 Salinity: .2045
The tank is fed once daily frozen brine shrimp and mixed seaweed flakes. The cleaner shrimp is hand fed squid and the hermits eat it's leftovers which are few and far between. We use no supplements in our tank.
One of the chromis has a salt speck at the top middle of his back at the base of the fin that I noticed 2 days ago but verified last night. Another chromis has a salt speck at the base of his fin at his right gill.
We don't have a QT Tank but there will be one started by tonight. We did a 10% water change last week but I plan to do a 15-20% water change and use the "old " water to start the QT.
I'm gonna make a judgement call and get a 5 gal QT Tank as we only have a 24 Gal now and the only other fish we plan to put in is one jawfish hopefully in 6-8 weeks.
Does this sound feasible so far?
I"ll chase down the chromis and put only the fish into the QT and then start the Hyposalinity process. How long do I need to have the QT running to put the chromis in using the DT water?
I am not trying to cut corners by using water from the DT. What I am trying to do is to get those fish treated as quickly and safely as possible. Will I be doing it right?
I figure that I can have the QT usable in 3 days - I have to make replacement water for the DT and will allow a bit for the QT to settle down.
Please give me some detailed feedback on my plan. I want to do this correctly!
 
unleashed

unleashed

Active Member
i always use water from my main tanks when setting up new tanks or starting a qt this time i left up and running even though it empty but I have much larger tanks and can afford to take out 50+ gal at one time without having cycling issues but with 24 gal dt it may be harder to acheive without having amonia spikes ect.im sorry i couldnt be of more help.
 
unleashed

unleashed

Active Member
what you can do to help battle the spikes is add amonia reducing filter padson the filter in the qt.imweird im willing to copper a couple peices of LR in my qt just to keep something in it..but again i use a lager system even for a qt
 
auntkaren

auntkaren

Member
LOL we are working toward a larger tank and plan to use the 24G as a hospitality (not Hospital) tank. We plan to put any new fish into hospitality as quarantine until or unless we notice the new fish is sick. That way I can have my mainly coral tank and hubby can have his big WOW tank

But nobody has addressed my actual question. How long do I need to wait if I'm using already cycled water in a QT?
 
92protruck

92protruck

Member
since no one is answering you I will take a stab at it. IMO, you're asking a bad question. DT water and cycle don't really go together. The cycle process builds bacteria which is mostly attached to rock, substrate, glass, filters, sponges, bio-wheels, bio-balls, etc. but not really in the water. When starting a new emergency QT using DT water helps for sure since you don't have to acclimate the fish and all parameters are the same. I help the process even more by sacrificing a few pieces of LR and a sponge or filter pad from the DT (which do contain the nitrifying bacteria you need). All of this helps....but IMO does not substitute or equal a cycled QT. You will have to monitor water quality closely and do regular water changes (possibly daily) depending on ammonia levels. A 5 gal QT will be extemely difficult to keep water quality stable. Setting up an emergency QT is acceptable and done by many with success. There is no waiting time, just start treating the animal and monitor water parameters. A cycled QT is always better and easier but many don't keep one setup. I would be sure the fish has ich or otherwise needs emergency treatment before putting it in a 5 gal tank. Hope this helps...a little.
 
auntkaren

auntkaren

Member
Thank you ProTruck! Yes you have been an enormous help!
We are going to set up an HT properly so that when another emergency does arrive we will be able to instantly hospitalize the "stricken one". It is a bit too late for the poor chromis' though as the morning after I bought all the stuff and was getting ready to make new water for a water change...... the most afflicted chromis was no longer in the tank! The other one looked truly fine so we decided to start the water and allow one more day...... you guessed it, the next morning Chromis #2 was MIA! No fish on the floor (although the cat would probably enjoy a fishy morsel if the opportunity arose) and we have a tight fitting lid.
Anyhoo... thanks for the info and I will definately remember your good advice as we set up a proper HT!
 
92protruck

92protruck

Member
sorry for your loss. the hospitality tank is a good move. since I have it set up I put everything in there for 3 weeks min. including corals, inverts, everything. I usually find something on a coral or LR I don't want in the display. I keep a couple snails and a mini sea hare in mine all the time to keep it clean. make sure to keep plenty of water movement (powerheads) to keep cyno and algae to a min. feed a little fish food every so often to keep the bacteria levels up. Good Luck.
 
auntkaren

auntkaren

Member
Will the pump for the filter be enough water movement, do you think? I was also wondering about lighting. This might sound silly but I can't find a light hood for a 5 gal tank so I thought I'd use a very strong bulb on a swing arm desk lamp. Heck the tank is in my pantry!
 
92protruck

92protruck

Member
umm....I'm not real familiar with 5 gal tanks and what fits on them. You don't need a real strong bulb that will heat up the water just enough to see your animals. I would look at the Galaxy Aquarium Light (google search). I am looking at one for my fuge. It is a 13 watt clip-on gooseneck light for about $17.00. My next choice would be a fixture from HD and put like a 15-20 watt U-tube flourescent bulb in it. Also, a Palm Light might work they are 9 watts (they come on those 1 gal palm aquariums for beta fish). My 20 gal QT came with a 18 watt bulb so I would think 13 watts would be fine for a 5 gal QT. Don't know about your filter. Typically, you need a powerhead even if its a small micro powerhead to keep good flow through out the tank. Otherwise cyno problems.
 
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