reverendmaynard
New member
Hey guys,
The short and sweet... Can I use a mature FW filter on a newly setup SW QT tank and have it effectively bio-filter the water?
The longer, more bitter, story.
I've got a YT with black ich. I also have a hippo, a royal gramma, and a maroon clown in the same tank, but I haven't seen any ich on them. I also have crabs/shrimp/snails, so treating the main tank is not an option.
So, I'm thinking if I don't catch all the fish and treat them fith FW dips, keep then in QT for 4-6 weeks, and leave the display tank empty of fish during that time, I'm always going to have to worry that the black ich will pop back up again. Catching the royal gramma may be extremely difficult, but I suppose I can try to trap him somehow. The others "may" be catchable without dismantling the whole tank, but I'll do it if I have to.
So, I've got a 30gal clear tote that I can use for a QT tank, but the only filter media I have in the main tank (in a AC500) is only 3 days old, since I was actually trying to keep that filter from becoming overly bio-active. I do have several FW filters that are fully mature, but I'm not sure if the bacteria will survive the transition to SW. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
I have learned my lesson on QTing new fish. These fish were my first fish, so I kind of blew off the QT thing because I didn't have any other fish. Now I realize that the biggest problem with getting a sick fish in the main tank is that you cannot treat them effectively in the main tank, and have to catch them out. Not a fun task in a reef tank with lots of LR.
The short and sweet... Can I use a mature FW filter on a newly setup SW QT tank and have it effectively bio-filter the water?
The longer, more bitter, story.
I've got a YT with black ich. I also have a hippo, a royal gramma, and a maroon clown in the same tank, but I haven't seen any ich on them. I also have crabs/shrimp/snails, so treating the main tank is not an option.
So, I'm thinking if I don't catch all the fish and treat them fith FW dips, keep then in QT for 4-6 weeks, and leave the display tank empty of fish during that time, I'm always going to have to worry that the black ich will pop back up again. Catching the royal gramma may be extremely difficult, but I suppose I can try to trap him somehow. The others "may" be catchable without dismantling the whole tank, but I'll do it if I have to.
So, I've got a 30gal clear tote that I can use for a QT tank, but the only filter media I have in the main tank (in a AC500) is only 3 days old, since I was actually trying to keep that filter from becoming overly bio-active. I do have several FW filters that are fully mature, but I'm not sure if the bacteria will survive the transition to SW. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
I have learned my lesson on QTing new fish. These fish were my first fish, so I kind of blew off the QT thing because I didn't have any other fish. Now I realize that the biggest problem with getting a sick fish in the main tank is that you cannot treat them effectively in the main tank, and have to catch them out. Not a fun task in a reef tank with lots of LR.
