shiladitya1991
New member
Thanks for the feedback. I will keep you updated. 
Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).
- Thread starter Dr. Reef
- Start date
I treated w prazipro almost 2 days ago and now I'm starting to see a blemish in abdomen area on 6line wrasse.This looks like beginning signs of what killed last one I had.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2280022
I'd like to start Cuprimine asap.
Being that prazipro was just added,is a w/c all that is neccessary to proceed and how much?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2280022
I'd like to start Cuprimine asap.
Being that prazipro was just added,is a w/c all that is neccessary to proceed and how much?
i'm having trouble kind of understanding this and forgive me but i'm a newbie to all this and want to get a QT tank setup and going so i can begin to add my first fish to it then to my DT in the next week or 2
So far i have a 20 gallon QT tank and i purchased a heater for it and a new marineland penguin 100 with the bio wheel.
What i'm confused about is how to actually set it up. From what i'm gathering i can fill it with my DT water or ro/di salt water mix but i need to put both the bio will and the blue filter sponge in my refugium for 2 weeks then i can add the filters back to the filter and fire everything up and it should pretty much be cycled? then i can check levels, add my fish, watch it and make sure, then transfer it to my DT, at that point i can remove my bio wheel and filter and put them back into my refugium and shut down the QT until needed again then just repeat above steps?
So far i have a 20 gallon QT tank and i purchased a heater for it and a new marineland penguin 100 with the bio wheel.
What i'm confused about is how to actually set it up. From what i'm gathering i can fill it with my DT water or ro/di salt water mix but i need to put both the bio will and the blue filter sponge in my refugium for 2 weeks then i can add the filters back to the filter and fire everything up and it should pretty much be cycled? then i can check levels, add my fish, watch it and make sure, then transfer it to my DT, at that point i can remove my bio wheel and filter and put them back into my refugium and shut down the QT until needed again then just repeat above steps?
well u have pretty much... and first off i want to say that ur doing a good job and starting out the right way.
now ur 20g tank will be ur qt. u can place the filters and biowheels in ur established(cycled) main tank and leave then there for 2 weeks. then move them back to ur qt. qt can be setup with dt water or just freshly made saltwater.
once u have the filters back ghost feed a little amount of food in qt and check for ammonia next day (about 24 hrs) if no ammonia then ur tank is instantly cycled but dont put a whole lot of bio load in it right away start with a small fish or 2. u can also get floss or ceramic media to increase surface area for bacteria to grow on.
if u never medicate the qt then u can place the filters and biowheels and media (like floss or ceramic rings) back into ur main tank or keep replacements in ur sump to repeat if u ever need to re start the qt.
if u medicate the qt with meds containing copper then NEVER put the filters and media in ur sump. just buy extra replacements.
i hope i answered the questions.
please feel free to ask anything u may not understand.
Good luck and Safe reefing.
ok perfect so i think i'm on the right track. I'm not speeding thru this and taking my time setting this up, my DT just barely cycled and i've added a cleanup crew or some snails, crabs, and 3 peppermint shrimp. But i don't want to add anything else for now until i get everything setup and running.
So long as i don't have to medicate i'm fine moving the filters back and forth but still buy and extra set incase i do end up medicating especially with copper then discarde the medicated filters and wheel and start with fresh ones.
So once i'm done with the QT tank it's ok to leave the water in it and just shut everything down until needed again or would i need to drain it, clean it? maybe leave the water in it and if i do need it again then before i fire it up or right after i fire it up do a decent sized water change?
So long as i don't have to medicate i'm fine moving the filters back and forth but still buy and extra set incase i do end up medicating especially with copper then discarde the medicated filters and wheel and start with fresh ones.
So once i'm done with the QT tank it's ok to leave the water in it and just shut everything down until needed again or would i need to drain it, clean it? maybe leave the water in it and if i do need it again then before i fire it up or right after i fire it up do a decent sized water change?
if ur DT is new as well then i would place the filters for a longer time for bacteria to establish on them. 3 weeks or so.
yes as long as there is no medication used u can move the filters back and forth. but always keep a replacement set in ur sump just in case.
once dont with QT. it should be drained and wiped cleaned with paper towels and vinegar water. you can leave the equipment like HOB heates powerheads etc in the tank dry (make sure to unplug them from power).
but dont leave standing water in there.
alright got it. thanks again for the help.
another quick ? is what do you recommend for QT? i've heard so many varying opinions from 1 week all the way to 8 weeks. ANd also i've heard i don't need to QT my very first fish but i was leaning toward i should for atleast a week just to make sure everything is ok with him
another quick ? is what do you recommend for QT? i've heard so many varying opinions from 1 week all the way to 8 weeks. ANd also i've heard i don't need to QT my very first fish but i was leaning toward i should for atleast a week just to make sure everything is ok with him
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Lol this is the one question u probably wont like the answer to.
Qt times are 6 weeks min. Also first fish or not all fish needs to be qt'ed.
For newbie I recommend 8 weeks as they are not as familiar to diseases as someone with more experience.
I follow this procedure personally
First 2 weeks in qt with prazipro. Dose it couple of days after fish is in qt. Let it run 1 week do water chance 50% dose half the quality run 1 more week.
At end of 2 weeks do 50% water chance once then another one in few days after. U can skip the second water change if u can run carbon.
After that observe 4 weeks for any signs of disease and treat accordingly.
If the fish is a Tang. Then my process changes. After 2 weeks of prazipro I run 3 weeks of copper then 2 weeks observation. Due to tangs being ich magnets.
Hope it helps.
Also this myth of not qt first fish is wrong. For example ur first fish can have ich or other parasites but is immuned to them. As soon as u add more fish they may not be immune and wipe out the entire tank.
Qt times are 6 weeks min. Also first fish or not all fish needs to be qt'ed.
For newbie I recommend 8 weeks as they are not as familiar to diseases as someone with more experience.
I follow this procedure personally
First 2 weeks in qt with prazipro. Dose it couple of days after fish is in qt. Let it run 1 week do water chance 50% dose half the quality run 1 more week.
At end of 2 weeks do 50% water chance once then another one in few days after. U can skip the second water change if u can run carbon.
After that observe 4 weeks for any signs of disease and treat accordingly.
If the fish is a Tang. Then my process changes. After 2 weeks of prazipro I run 3 weeks of copper then 2 weeks observation. Due to tangs being ich magnets.
Hope it helps.
Also this myth of not qt first fish is wrong. For example ur first fish can have ich or other parasites but is immuned to them. As soon as u add more fish they may not be immune and wipe out the entire tank.
i have seen people lose entire livestocks to disease in matter of few days.
its well worth it. after thousands of dollars and many many hours why take a chance over few weeks of qt.
Good Luck
tassod
New member
Ok, i got my 20g QT tank setup. I used about 3 gallons DT water and also my aquaclear filter media that was sitting in my DT sump for about 10 days or so. I also added a product called Cycle to help with the tank. Yesterday i added a very small cardinal fish in there as a permanent resident. So far no ammonia or anythng. I will monitor that daily. Is this the correct process to get started on the QT?
tassod
New member
Ok, no ammonia last few days so that's good. Although not sure whats the deal with the little cardinal fish, not eating. I put food and he just ignores it and tries to hide. Normal for cardinals first few days? I've tried pellets, flakes and some mysis shrimp.
Cardinals are shy eaters. i have had a few over many yrs and even of different kinds, PJ, Bangii, Orange strip etc and they all for some reason in a QT tank are very shy and stay in one corner of the tank and dont eat much.
I noticed that when i feed mysis to qt tank (usually 1 or 2 shrimp) per day i just run away fromt he tank after feeding and observe from a distance (about 10ft plus and see cardinal dart at the food and gulp and run back.
try that and see.
tassod
New member
Bnumair, let me first say thank you and that this thread is amazing. Just spent last few hours reading through entire thread (only half way done!) and the info is amazing. So if i understand correctly, now that i have the QT setup i should start using Prazipro? Also, when can i start adding a second fish for observation? I also read you always use copper for tangs. My next purchase will be a tang, but what if i didn't want to use copper at all in my QT?
Thank you for ur kind words, i have been practicing QT procedures and medicines for over 15 yrs now.
Yes i do prazipro on all fish. procedure i follow is:
Day 1. Buy fish and acclimate them to QT
Day 2-3 Leave fish in qt and observe, give it time to adjust and start eating.
Day 5 or so, start prazipro
run prazipro for 1 week then 50% water change
next day dose 50% less prazipro (as 50% is still in water from first dose)
run second dose for 1 week as well.
once done with second dose do another 50% water change.
after that u have 2 choices. 1. either do another 50% water change(second one making 100% water change) next day. or 2. run carbon (if u run carbon no need to do second water change)
then observe over 4-6 weeks for other diseases.
after observation time is over transfer to main.
Now procedure for tangs a bit different. due to them being ich magnets i always run copper for 3 weeks after 2 doses of prazipro but you dont want to run copper so u can do hypo. here is how u do that.
After 2 weeks of prazipro and water changes. every day take out some water from qt and let ATO replace it with RO/DI water. this will cause salinity to drop everyday. Remember to take out only just enough saltwater from qt to make a change of 1 point on salinity.
example: if u start with 1.026 first day then second day 1.025 third 1.024 and so on till you reach 1.009.
I highly recommend an ATO for qt running hypo.
once at 1.009 then count 4-6 weeks,
after those weeks are over then start raising salinity 1 point at a time till u match DT's salinity. then transfer.
Note: if ich is observed then hypo should last 4 weeks after the last ich has fallen off and breathing has gone to normal( rapid breathing due to ich in gills)
Also hypo can be pretty much performed on all marine fish while copper cannot be used on all fish.
tassod
New member
This is great info, thanks!! :beer:
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