Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

[ca1ore]

I have actually decide to have two tanks for new arrivals. The first is a 10 gallon tank setup permanently with either a yellow-tail damsel as a semi-permanent resident or ghost fed every few days with a large krill (approx. 1 inch). I only buy new fish occasionally, and almost always one at a time. A new fish goes into this cycled tank for observation. Depending upon the fish, I may move the damsel to the DT. If the fish passes observation, it goes into the DT after four weeks. If the fish shows problems, I move it to a 20L hospital tank that is not run permanently, but purpose-filled with water from the DT and medicated as necessary. I use an ammonia detector for this tank, and do water changes to avoid buildup. If a fish has been moved from observation to the HT, I do add a new damsel to the observation tanks as my 'canary in a coal mine'.

Only issue is that the observation tank is a bit small if I need to observe either a group (i.e anthias) or a larger fish (i.e Achilles tang).

Although I do dip new corals, I do not quarantine them. I do, however, treat anemones prophylactically with fish flox.

Critiques welcome please!

 

[Dr. Reef]

only thing that pops out is that 10gal is a small tank for groups of fish and/or large fish or swimmers like tangs. Also if there is a parasitic problem with any fish under observation then u need to make ur QT tank into a HT anyways because u have to rid the tank of parasite. so either way ur both QT and HT tanks will need to be treated in case of disease.

 

[SirSalty]

I do see them going after reflection for 1 to 2 days but after that I don't see a problem. I have a mirror tint on my 300 gal system and except for Achilles tang no one noticed the reflection. She went at it for few days then never cared. Infact it helps them take their aggression out on reflection rather than other tank mates.

Thanks for the response. Now that you mention it, that could work in my favor. I've used mirrors outside the DT to distract aggressors. I plan on attempting to get a pair of small tangs to play nice (powder blue and purple) and will likely be forced to QT them together. Perhaps if I divide the QT with acrylic or egg-crate, the mirror images plus seeing one another out of reach will make their entrance to the DT less violent.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Thanks for the response. Now that you mention it, that could work in my favor. I've used mirrors outside the DT to distract aggressors. I plan on attempting to get a pair of small tangs to play nice (powder blue and purple) and will likely be forced to QT them together. Perhaps if I divide the QT with acrylic or egg-crate, the mirror images plus seeing one another out of reach will make their entrance to the DT less violent.

Yup it can work for ur advantage.
Good Luck and Safe Reefing.

 

[jfeva0049]

im looking for my qt set up.

would this be a good filter to run on a 20 qt tank?

http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Pe...=1369245421&sr=8-2&keywords=marineland+filter

thanks.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Yes those are the same HOB units I used on Qt for ever till now recently I redid my setups.

 

[jfeva0049]

Yes those are the same HOB units I used on Qt for ever till now recently I redid my setups.

thanks, do you think this would be a better filter to go with? i see alot of people go with this type.

http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-50-...UTF8&qid=1368634906&sr=1-1&keywords=aquaclear

thanks for your advice.

also do you think i could get away with a 10 gal qt? my dt is only 90 gal so i wont be added any really big fish. space is really tight, thats why i ask. thanks again.

 

[Dr. Reef]

lol i have used both in past in fact i am using Aquaclear on one of my tanks right now.
i would say for QT aquaclear works better as it has a sponge and more space to put ceramic media.

 

[jfeva0049]

lol i have used both in past in fact i am using Aquaclear on one of my tanks right now.
i would say for QT aquaclear works better as it has a sponge and more space to put ceramic media.

great thanks, im looking into getting either a 10 or 20 gal tank. what size aquaclear should i go with? 20,30,50??? thanks.

 

[Dr. Reef]

great thanks, im looking into getting either a 10 or 20 gal tank. what size aquaclear should i go with? 20,30,50??? thanks.

go with the biggest one u can afford due to simple reason more surface are for more ceramic rings. do order some ceramic media as it only comes with a little bit.
i have a AC 50 on a 30gal frag tank AC 50 on 20gal QT and AC 70 on 40gal QT.

 

[jfeva0049]

go with the biggest one u can afford due to simple reason more surface are for more ceramic rings. do order some ceramic media as it only comes with a little bit.
i have a AC 50 on a 30gal frag tank AC 50 on 20gal QT and AC 70 on 40gal QT.

ok so lil change of plans, i am gonna get either a 20 or 30 gal tank for my qt. so my question is would a AC 70 be to big for a 20 or 30? i know you have one on your 40 gal but would you think that it would be to big for a 20 or 30 gal?
its only a $10 difference to go from the AC 50 to the AC 70.

also what ceramic rings would you suggest? the AC ones are only 195 grams;
http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-A1373-Aquaclear-70-Gallon-Biomax/dp/B000A7709M/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_2

vs

these that are 500 grams and are cheaper;

http://www.amazon.com/Biological-Ce...&qid=1369283863&sr=1-3&keywords=ceramic+rings

your thoughts? thanks.

 

[Dr. Reef]

its ok. u can buy AC 70 for ur 20-30 gal tank it has a flow adjustment on top so u can slow it down if u need to. i dont see why it would be a problem.
ceramic rings i have bought are right here but ur second link at amazon is cheaper.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181110899498?hlp=false&var=
go with cheaper 500grams one from amazon.

 

[jfeva0049]

its ok. u can buy AC 70 for ur 20-30 gal tank it has a flow adjustment on top so u can slow it down if u need to. i dont see why it would be a problem.
ceramic rings i have bought are right here but ur second link at amazon is cheaper.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181110899498?hlp=false&var=
go with cheaper 500grams one from amazon.

awesome will do thanks, last question, what filter floss do you recommend? i saw this one but dont know if its any good.

http://www.amazon.com/Acurel-LLC-10...8&qid=1369329501&sr=1-1&keywords=filter+floss

thanks for the help.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Honestly I have never used floss but lot of people do. Ur AC 70 will come with sponge which will act same way as floss. Anyways that floss looks ok.

 

[tassod]

changing filters means u got rid of the bacteria thus causing a tank to go through mini cycle. that mini cycle can damage gills and cause internal organ damage.
this could be the cause of fish not doing good.

anyways at this time u can do 2x 50% water changes and run fresh carbon and leave the filters in. this is get u ready for next round.

Did a 75% water change yesterday and put new carbon in. No more nitrite showing up but i think ammonia looks to be around 0.25 with Salifert test but my Seachem badge is showing 0. I'll do another test tonight but is it safe for a new fish now? My cardinal is still in there and doing fine. Still trying to forget about my powder brown ordeal, i really liked that fish. How is the Achilles doing?

 

[Dr. Reef]

there is always a slight hint of ammonia i think due to feeding and fish waste in every tank. anyways if u did 75% water change and ur cardinal is doing fine and eating well and not acting funny then ur good to go.
i hear yah on the fish. its never a good feeling to lose one. Achilles is doing great, i added a 3" hippo tang with it in same tank. they dont like eachother but its not intense fighting either.
i am down to salinity 1.13 today. my goal is to drop to 1.009 by end of the day.
i have 50gal of freshly made saltwater mix at 1.009 ready in case.
ammonia is always between 0 to 0.15 and nitrites 0. i am using red sea test kits for ammonia nitrites and nitrates.
i have following in qt with hypo salinity.

20 gal QT:
1. Achilles Tang 6"
2. Blue hippo tang (dory) 3"
3. Green Chromis 1"

40 gal QT:
1. CopperBand butterfly 6"
2. Yellow Tang 5"
3. Yellow candy hogfish 3"
4. school of 8 Ignitus Anthias 2" each
5. 2x Regular clown fish 2"
6. 2x Black clown fish 2"
7. PJ cardinal 1.5"
8. Banguii cardinal 1.5"
9. Gold assessor basslet 1.5"

 

[tassod]

Did you treat with Prazi pro before dropping to hypo?

 

[Dr. Reef]

no prazipro as 99% of the fish have been in my main tank for about 2 yrs. Achilles is new and known to carry ich so i went to preventive measure against ich right away. infact it came with a few white spots on it. i will do prazipro after the 3 weeks of hypo. now blue hippo is new as well.

 

[Dr. Reef]

i had a big fat hippo that was a bully so i sold him to LFS and replaced it with a 3" hippo tang. Achilles and Hippo both are known for ich carriers so i decided to do hypo first. Achilles did show signs of ich.
Well here is the pics of the 2 new fish:

 

[jfeva0049]

bnumair, nice looking fish. i hope all goes well with them.

what should i put in my DT to be seeded for my QT filter, foam block or ceramic rings? or both? thanks.