Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

[Dr. Reef]

there is always enough space in the HOB for one to place a media sock full of ceramic rings. if for some reason u cant then place the ceramic media in media socks/baggies and place them in high flow area in the tank. they will eventually have enough bacteria growing on them to make bigger surface area.

 

[Deinonych]

Great, thanks so much. Looks like there's some space between the filter floss and the "bio-holster" grid. Hopefully my LFS has the rings.

 

[nickbuol]

I keep going back and forth on whether or not to medicate right away, or wait and just keep the water clean and hope that things die on their own.

I know that this is an age old argument, but I've heard from some "industry experts" who were getting talks at major saltwater aquaria meets/conferences who were giving specifics on how to medicate EVERY QT whether the livestock shows any signs of parasites/sickness. Prazipro and Cupramine were consistently the two products used for medication with some sort of antibiotic available for use if need be, but not used unless some symptom showed up. Another consistency was to ramp up some of the medications like the Cupramine. 1/4 dose, wait a few days, 1/4 dose again, wait, then 1/2 dose, etc. Ease them into the meds basically.

With my 120 gallon FOWLR done cycling, I am excited to get my first couple of fish (clowns), but since I have 2 weeks’ worth of travel starting next week, I wanted to wait until *I* (not my wife since she tells me that this is *MY* tank) was home to go through the whole quarantine process, but I want to make sure that I have a solid game plan for quarantining the fish so that I feel comfortable making my order in a couple of weeks.

Again, I've heard "All fish come with parasites whether you see them or not. Treat them now so that they are parasite and disease free before putting them into you DT. Not everything will just go away on its own." and the counter of that "Never medicate unless you know what you are medicating for and the fish is showing signs of parasites or disease. The medications are hard on the fish."

How the heck does someone ever know what to do?
PS. This is not my first FOWLR tank. We had a 75 years ago and I only quarantined 1 fish (koran angel) and it died in the QT despite my best efforts. So while saltwater is not new to me and we never lost any other fish to parasites or diseases, the QT process has me nervous as I just want to do the right thing.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Great, thanks so much. Looks like there's some space between the filter floss and the "bio-holster" grid. Hopefully my LFS has the rings.

petco or petsmart will have them too. i always got mine at petsmart.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I keep going back and forth on whether or not to medicate right away, or wait and just keep the water clean and hope that things die on their own.

I know that this is an age old argument, but I've heard from some "industry experts" who were getting talks at major saltwater aquaria meets/conferences who were giving specifics on how to medicate EVERY QT whether the livestock shows any signs of parasites/sickness. Prazipro and Cupramine were consistently the two products used for medication with some sort of antibiotic available for use if need be, but not used unless some symptom showed up. Another consistency was to ramp up some of the medications like the Cupramine. 1/4 dose, wait a few days, 1/4 dose again, wait, then 1/2 dose, etc. Ease them into the meds basically.

With my 120 gallon FOWLR done cycling, I am excited to get my first couple of fish (clowns), but since I have 2 weeks’ worth of travel starting next week, I wanted to wait until *I* (not my wife since she tells me that this is *MY* tank) was home to go through the whole quarantine process, but I want to make sure that I have a solid game plan for quarantining the fish so that I feel comfortable making my order in a couple of weeks.

Again, I've heard "All fish come with parasites whether you see them or not. Treat them now so that they are parasite and disease free before putting them into you DT. Not everything will just go away on its own." and the counter of that "Never medicate unless you know what you are medicating for and the fish is showing signs of parasites or disease. The medications are hard on the fish."

How the heck does someone ever know what to do?
PS. This is not my first FOWLR tank. We had a 75 years ago and I only quarantined 1 fish (koran angel) and it died in the QT despite my best efforts. So while saltwater is not new to me and we never lost any other fish to parasites or diseases, the QT process has me nervous as I just want to do the right thing.

Qt'ing fish is the best policy for a safe and cleaner DT.
regarding whether to medicate or not, i personally do as follows.
first i get fish from a very reputable source.
then i qt them in my qt tank.
i do run 2 weeks with prazipro no matter what.
then wait and observe for next 4 weeks.
in this observation period i dont treat just look for unusual,
if ich or other parasites are found in that time then i do medicate with cupramine or best known medicine.
sometimes if i am qting tangs (they are known as the ich magnets) i do run 2 weeks prazipro followed by 3 weeks of cupramine. (3 weeks due to fact i dont dose all the cupramine in 1 day. i go slow and dose over several days then hold the strength 0.5 for 2 weeks.)
once complete the cupramine treatment i take another 1 week to water changes and temp/ph/salinity match with dt and then i move them.

 

[nickbuol]

Hey, that makes sense. Prazi no matter what and then treat each species differently. Ich magents (as you mention) get some copper, otherwise wait.

Ok, so I basically felt like a mocking bird, or broken record just repeating what you said.

Like I said, there are so many people that are extreme one way or another that I was looking for some levity and you provided it.

I've been told that LiveAquaria is pretty darn good as a source for livestock.

 

[fio1022]

I just added some tank raised yellow watchman gobies to my new qt (never treated).
What is your advice for tank raised specimens?Full Qt?
Thanks

 

[Dr. Reef]

Hey, that makes sense. Prazi no matter what and then treat each species differently. Ich magents (as you mention) get some copper, otherwise wait.

Ok, so I basically felt like a mocking bird, or broken record just repeating what you said.

Like I said, there are so many people that are extreme one way or another that I was looking for some levity and you provided it.

I've been told that LiveAquaria is pretty darn good as a source for livestock.

LiveAquaria is very good online seller. and yes i think u got it now. glad i could help.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I just added some tank raised yellow watchman gobies to my new qt (never treated).
What is your advice for tank raised specimens?Full Qt?
Thanks

tank raised or not i would qt all fish fully and full term. reason due to simple fact its not the fish its the water they are in. most vendors have several tanks plumbed to 1 pump/sump/filter. so chances are parasites can be introduced to other tanks on same system.
also if u wanna give it some sand to play in use pure silica sand in a bowl and place it in the qt tank. silica due to the fact if u decide to use medications containing copper it wont absorb any like other types.
good luck and happy reefing

 

[jpruitt]

I have a quick question as I am new to QTing fish. But since I lost 400 dollars in fish due to ich i figure it's a good time to start. But anyways my question, after I treat with copper or another product and bring the levels back down to zero then wait a couple of weeks, How do I transfer the fish into my DT. Since you are not suppose to use the same net ect I'm a little lost on how to properly transfer as I do not want to contaminate my DT. If someone could give me a step by step it would be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

[terirass]

OK, I'm really a novice here. Have had a tank for several years, had some long-lived fish and soft corals in there, but you've got me thinking it was just dumb luck ? I don't have a QT tank, never had. Is this a must? And why?

good info on setting one up, but why does one need to treat with copper? Is that for fish with ich?

 

[Dr. Reef]

I have a quick question as I am new to QTing fish. But since I lost 400 dollars in fish due to ich i figure it's a good time to start. But anyways my question, after I treat with copper or another product and bring the levels back down to zero then wait a couple of weeks, How do I transfer the fish into my DT. Since you are not suppose to use the same net ect I'm a little lost on how to properly transfer as I do not want to contaminate my DT. If someone could give me a step by step it would be most appreciated. Thanks.

ok good question. first i am sorry for ur loss but on the other hand i am glad ur practicing QT.
here is the steps i take to make sure of clean transfer.
first off after treating the tank with copper u need to do 2 things. first off do water changes and use a product called cuprisorb by seachem. these 2 things will knock ur copper out to 0 over 2 weeks time.
then once u hit copper 0 then i take a bucket fill it with DT water and net the fish out from QT and give it a bath in bucket. (note: make sure the ph/temp/salinity is same between dt and qt.)
this practice will prevent copper from getting into the main tank.
also i use the net from qt to bucket that only is used in qt then after bath i use a different net from bucket to main tank.

 

[Dr. Reef]

OK, I'm really a novice here. Have had a tank for several years, had some long-lived fish and soft corals in there, but you've got me thinking it was just dumb luck ? I don't have a QT tank, never had. Is this a must? And why?

good info on setting one up, but why does one need to treat with copper? Is that for fish with ich?

its luck. people get away with not qting fish but its not a safe practice.
i strongly recommend having a qt. for people that have already maxed out their tanks with fish and are not expected to buy anymore can get away with no qt till they lose a fish or one gets sick. then u can setup an emergency qt but for people that are still in process of adding fish should have one setup permanently.
so in short qt is must. there are many many parasites and diseases out there that fish carry and can introduce it to ur existing setup and sometimes wipe out the entire tank.
qt'ing can prevent some of these problems. qt will also give a fish to adjust to a new environment and eat regular before going to main tank.
copper is used to treat ich. some fish can handle copper some dont. tangs are ich magnets and i treat them with copper. some fish that cannot handle copper there are other means like hypo-salinity or tank transfer method.

 

[jpruitt]

Thanks for the comments and I will definitely start QTing everything. Happy reefing.

 

[chorn562]

my 125g DT finished cycling for about a week now. i was thinking about setting up a 20g QT now before i get my first fish.

1) would i be able to use water from my DT in a newly setup QT with a HOB filter and consider the tank cycled?

2) how often would i change out the filter cartridge while i have fish in the QT?

sorry if these questions have been answered before, i dont know if its me but it seems like vbulleten runs really slow on RC and it takes me forever to go through threads

 

[nickbuol]

The HOB won't have any beneficial bacteria on it if it is brand new. I have an HOB that I removed the carbon filter (since the carbon will remove any meds that might get added) and got a sponge the will go in its place. That sponge is currently in my sump getting all full of good bacteria. Using water from your DT is OK, but the water isn't where the good stuff is, it is in the above mentioned sponge.

I've heard some people use 100% new (fresh) saltwater mix for the QT to start. That way there aren't any negative elements in the water, plus you can try to match it to the water that the livestock come in. Then, over time, as you are doing water changes, you can start to slowly introduce DT water.

So, hopefully that helps. The trick again with the HOB filter is that the carbon is great for clearing the water, but in order to get any bacteria in there, you have to come up with something else. Running the carbon filter in your DT will just use up the carbon before you would have enough beneficial bacteria on it.

 

[Dr. Reef]

my 125g DT finished cycling for about a week now. i was thinking about setting up a 20g QT now before i get my first fish.

1) would i be able to use water from my DT in a newly setup QT with a HOB filter and consider the tank cycled?

2) how often would i change out the filter cartridge while i have fish in the QT?

sorry if these questions have been answered before, i dont know if its me but it seems like vbulleten runs really slow on RC and it takes me forever to go through threads

1. HOB filter is brand new its not considered cycled even if u use dt water. U can take carbon out of the filter cartridges and place them in ur main tank for few weeks then they can be moved to qt and consider cycled. Buy extra pair or cartridges and leave them in main tank for next time u need to change filters.
2. I personally dont change filters for very long time. Usually 3 to 4 months. I swap filters sitting in main tank with old ones in qt. Keep extra filters in sump of main tank so they are already loaded with bacteria when needed.

 

[chorn562]

when were talking about filters, you mean something like this right

http://www.petco.com/product/3039/Tetra-Whisper-Bio-Bag-Disposable-Filter-Cartridges.aspx

just the filter by itself, no carbon

 

[Dr. Reef]

yes those will work just make sure there is no carbon in those. if there are u can break a small piece off and get the carbon out.

 

[SloppyWhenWet]

Now with getting rid of ich, the sponge wont allow the ich to keep spawning? Just not sure what will keep the ich cycle going. Have 3 fish in 1.010 for a week now. Still see slight ich on yellow tang.