10 gal bare bones qt tank

[bjtrapjr]

Ok I am putting together a 10 gal qt tank and I was wondering what is absolutely necessary to have I want as little as possible but it to still be functionable. Is this even possible.

 

[reepher315]

Its possible but fish will be stressed. powerhead, some sort of filtration, heat, and light are the essentials. Id strive for a 20-30g tank. Those guys are gonna be in there for some time.

 

[bjtrapjr]

I only have a 29 gal dt. What can I do with this 10 gal tank then

 

[toothybugs]

I used a 10 for my QT since I only had little fish going in to my 40. I had a small HOB filter on it for aeration and filtering (I used floss instead of cartridges for frequent change-out) with a heater. Nothing else needed.

On a 29, I'd be you could also use it for a sump just fine.

Edit: I have 4 or 5 tanks around here for misc purposes. All are 10s. I have a 10 fuge, few for QTs, and a couple spares for whatever purpose. For whatever that's worth.

 

[reepher315]

+1 for the sump. 10g fits a skimmer heater and pumps nicely.

 

[bjtrapjr]

Toothy so I can use the 10 gal for either a qt or a sump just fine no problem

 

[Nina51]

my qt is 10g. i have an air stone, heater, pvc for hidey holes and i just recently added cheap hob filter for more water movement. it doesn't have to be fancy. are you planning to keep it running constantly or just use it periodically?

 

[bjtrapjr]

I plan on keeping it constantly running. So I need a hob filter/ power head water movement, a heater to keep it at the proper temp and that's about it. So I don't need lights or anything like that

 

[toothybugs]

You got it. A few PVC elbows and such are nice to give the fish some cover, but that's really all you need. Lights are optional - I kept a cheap Petsmart LED strip over mine to get them used to my daylight/ moonlight schedule but that was voluntary on my part.

Probably should include a couple thermometers to watch the temperature.

Also consider a cover of some sort. In my experience fish tend to be more likely to jump when they're new, which is when you are QTing them.

 

[bjtrapjr]

Ok Thanks for the advice I've only been doing this for about 8 months and only recently got on this forum and I have learned more in the last 3 weeks on here then I did I the previous 7 months

 

[Nina51]

i also have lights on my qt, on the same schedule as the lights on my dt. i only set up my qt when i get a new fish. i'm thinking about 3 barnacle blennies and then my dt will be fully stocked.

 

[cnaugh]

Egg crate makes a great cover

 

[Reel_Reef]

I always throw a small piece of live rock in my qt for some biological filtration in addition to a hob filter.

 

[oh207]

HOB filter. Take out the sponge and carbon. Leave the ceramic media. You can substitute the HOB filter with an air pump driven in-tank filter.
PVC pipes. For fish to hide in.
Absolutely NO sand or Live rock. Parasites such as Ich can hide there in the dormant phase.
Water

Light. It's optional but is helpful to allow you to see the fish and help to determine if there are any signs of disease.

Patience.

 

[santanzchild]

Everyone is forgetting the ammonia alert tabs. Tank that size uncalled for the most part it's important.

 

[toothybugs]

Everyone is forgetting the ammonia alert tabs. Tank that size uncalled for the most part it's important.

That's one way to do it, but I just did ~30% water changes every couple days regardless. Gives me the chance to siphon out extra food, turds, etc and keep the ammonia minimal.