Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

If im running a full time QT system. do I have to keep changing out the sponges in the filters? or can I just keep the tank running and not worry?

also Im goin to have a 20L as my QT tank, I am goin to be using an aquaclear 20 & an aquaclear 50 on this tank, are they two combined enough for this 20L? I know the actual filtration capacity can handle the tank. but as far as the sponges go. will they be big enough to hold enough bacteria to run the tank?

hi
I am sure 2 HOB will be more than enough for filtration. If you fill them with ceramic media in media socks you can rid the sponges. i dont use any mechanical filtration in my qt's. as what i do is, i place socks full of ceramic media in HOB this naturally acts as filtration for most debris and also surface area for bacteria. after i have run the fish throw the qt system and now its empty, i take the HOB and rinse it out for debris and also take the socks out of the HOB and rinse then in qt water and then place them back in HOB and discard the water 100% from qt and put fresh water in the tank.
In between fish i ghost feed the tank every 3rd day so cycle remains.
this will rid the sponges, if you do decide to keep the sponges there is no harm in it. just dont replace/clean then while you have fish in tank. replace them or clean them when qt is empty so if there is an ammonia spike atleast the fish dont get hurt.
 
bnumair,

Well the qt is up and running. I filled it at 10am yesterday, added the biospria and dropped in a 1/2 cube of mysis shrimp. Just tested it (35hrs later) and here is what I got-

Ph 8.2-8.3
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5.0ppm
Sg 1.024
Temp 78-79*

Thanks for helping
Tom G

seems like its working and you have enough bacteria to neutralize the ammonia produced from mysis. i would suggest to place a small fish like a green chromis or pj cardinal in the tank, if that fish dont show any signs of stress and ammonia stays 0 for 3-5 days you can start adding fish to qt.
Prazipro or formalyn is the only two i use. Prazipro is available online.
 
now my naso tang with be in qt treated with copper for 10 days tomorrow look 100 times better there is one white mark .... not a spot like ick on his right fin and he's not using it as the other one ... is there anything I should do ..?? im gonna start prozipro sunday just wondering wanna make sure I do everything right thanks again
 
Maybe the second chamber meant for floss fill up with some sort of rocks or bioballs?

Looking at the diagram. I would fill the 4 small chambers with floss and ceramic media for more surface area for bacteria to grow on. If still not enough I would add more media in media socks and leave it in high flow areas.
I would not use rock or bio balls for many reasons already discussed in thread earlier.
Good luck.
 
now my naso tang with be in qt treated with copper for 10 days tomorrow look 100 times better there is one white mark .... not a spot like ick on his right fin and he's not using it as the other one ... is there anything I should do ..?? im gonna start prozipro sunday just wondering wanna make sure I do everything right thanks again

If it looks like a small white growth it might be lympho. Cauliflower disease. If thats what it it there is no known cure for it. If fish is kept healthy it should be able to fight it off.
Lympho usually will attack fins and tail making swimming hard for fish. Generally not deadly but if unchecked can cause death due to not being able to swim etc.
A better pic will be needed to ID it positively.
Also time to time it will fall off. I suggest when it does hurry and get the fish out into a bucket with freshly made saltwater with same temp ph and salinity as qt and drain qt out and scrub it down. Making sure HOB and ur filters/ceramic media remains submerged at all times.
 
If it looks like a small white growth it might be lympho. Cauliflower disease. If thats what it it there is no known cure for it. If fish is kept healthy it should be able to fight it off.
Lympho usually will attack fins and tail making swimming hard for fish. Generally not deadly but if unchecked can cause death due to not being able to swim etc.
A better pic will be needed to ID it positively.
Also time to time it will fall off. I suggest when it does hurry and get the fish out into a bucket with freshly made saltwater with same temp ph and salinity as qt and drain qt out and scrub it down. Making sure HOB and ur filters/ceramic media remains submerged at all times.

if it isn't one thing it's another lol ok so should I wait for it to fall off before adding it to my dt..??
 
if it isn't one thing it's another lol ok so should I wait for it to fall off before adding it to my dt..??

If it is indeed lympho then its also contagious. I would try to isolate the fish and problem before placing it into main tank. Best time to move would when it has fallen.
Lol I know the frustration but glad all this happens in qt than main.
 
If it is indeed lympho then its also contagious. I would try to isolate the fish and problem before placing it into main tank. Best time to move would when it has fallen.
Lol I know the frustration but glad all this happens in qt than main.

I agree I hope it falls off soon I have a 20 gallon that im gonna turn into my QT Tank so ill set that up now and hopefully It falls off soon and I can just transfer him over thanks again
 
If it is indeed lympho then its also contagious. I would try to isolate the fish and problem before placing it into main tank. Best time to move would when it has fallen.
Lol I know the frustration but glad all this happens in qt than main.

what do you think if I try to wipe it off ..?? not a good idea ..??
 
what do you think if I try to wipe it off ..?? not a good idea ..??

again without seeing it am giving you my best guess with little info is available. best if pic is posted.
if its is what i think it wont wipe off people usually perform surgery where they cut infected piece of fin off, not all of it just a very small infected area.
 
seems like its working and you have enough bacteria to neutralize the ammonia produced from mysis. i would suggest to place a small fish like a green chromis or pj cardinal in the tank, if that fish dont show any signs of stress and ammonia stays 0 for 3-5 days you can start adding fish to qt.
Prazipro or formalyn is the only two i use. Prazipro is available online.

bnumair,

Thank you very much for the help. My online order came in today and my qt is now the home of a lawnmower blenny and a yellow watchman goby. They seem to be doing well.
I believe I have read in one of the threads that it would be ok to add a bowl of sand to the qt for fish like the goby. I tried to find that reply but could not as I misplaced the notes I made on this thread of post numbers of useful info, Murphy's law is hard at work.
Anyway, I remember something about silica sand, not sure why. I have about 30# of aragonite, is there any reason why I shouldn't use aragonite?

Thanks for the help,
Tom G
 
your welcome, i am glad the fish are doing well. do test for ammonia first 2-3 days and make sure it remains 0. if not use prime or do water changes.
2" bowl of sand will what we use in qt for sand dwellers. silica sand in pure is used IF you will be treating with meds that contain copper. silica will not absorb copper while aragonite will. You can use sand what you have for now and if for some reason you diagnose ich then remove it before treatment.
good luck
 
ok I took the tang out and wiped the white spot off of his right fin and he look great he's using both fins now and swimming a lot more
 
also I ordered a lip stick tang it's been at the lps for about 4 days im making sure it eats etc... should I keep the tank running with the copper and just do a water change clean the whole tank ..??
 
also I ordered a lip stick tang it's been at the lps for about 4 days im making sure it eats etc... should I keep the tank running with the copper and just do a water change clean the whole tank ..??

i would run all tangs through copper or hypo, because you have a copper tank already setup with right strength i would slowly drip acclimate the new tang to it and move it into qt, run 4 weeks and make sure it doesnt have ich following treatment.
 
so i have been reading all over the internet and some people say that we need to cycle a QT while others say that we dont need to cycle a tank as long as we use clean saltwater and do frequent water changes.....is both acceptable of using a QT?
 
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