Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

So this might be a dumb question but im willing to take the risk. LOL
When bringing snails in I am kinda worried about bringing in aptaisia or mayanos
on there shell and also pyramid snails.

Is this possible and if it is what would be a way to take care of this.

Sorry im a bit worried about this as my last system had pest nems and as I
found out when i brought home a clam pyramids. (at least im pretty sure they were
from my tank)
 
So this might be a dumb question but im willing to take the risk. LOL
When bringing snails in I am kinda worried about bringing in aptaisia or mayanos
on there shell and also pyramid snails.

Is this possible and if it is what would be a way to take care of this.

Sorry im a bit worried about this as my last system had pest nems and as I
found out when i brought home a clam pyramids. (at least im pretty sure they were
from my tank)

u can certainly qt inverts. setup is same, equipment is same. the only thing that changes for you is water quality. in fish qt nitrates are not that big of a concern till they reach 90 or up but in a invert qt you will need to keep it under 20ppm and ideally under 5.. which boils down to more frequent water changes and a cover on top to prevent snails escaping.
qt then for 6-8 weeks and transfer them to main.
also when u first bring them in do temp acclimation then a slow drip acclimation as inverts are very sensitive to transport/shipping and also to water chemistry changes.
happy reefing.
 
What type of fish?

What type of fish?

Set up a 20l long quarantine tank that will be permanent. What fish would be appropriate for addition that will be there full time? I'm guessing a clown or something similar.
 
Set up a 20l long quarantine tank that will be permanent. What fish would be appropriate for addition that will be there full time? I'm guessing a clown or something similar.

i personally keep a pj cardinal fish in my qt. damsels or clowns can get aggressive towards certain fish or their own kind. i find pj cardinal to be peaceful.
 
Yesterday the ammonia spiked to 1.0. I put some rock in there added amquel and did a 50% water change. Ammonia went back to 0

Today 1.0 again. Did a 50% water change and added amquel again. Hopefully the spiking is the high point and the cycle will end soon. Fish all seem fine knock on wood. all eating and all swimming actively.

Well going on 3 weeks come wed. Still reading @ 1ppm+ ammonia each day.
Adding amquel+ every day and 50% water change every 2 days.

On the bright side fish are doing fine. Just hope this cycles soon.
 
Well going on 3 weeks come wed. Still reading @ 1ppm+ ammonia each day.
Adding amquel+ every day and 50% water change every 2 days.

On the bright side fish are doing fine. Just hope this cycles soon.

do u have any media or ceramic rings in a sock u can place in sump for few days and bring them to qt to give it a boost. if not then water changes and amquel will have to do. i am not surprised for cycle to last 3 week and still going. sometimes it takes a while for cycle to end.

Note: is the kit new? or can u get sample checked by a buddy or lfs to verify the results just in case of a bad kit.
 
do u have any media or ceramic rings in a sock u can place in sump for few days and bring them to qt to give it a boost. if not then water changes and amquel will have to do. i am not surprised for cycle to last 3 week and still going. sometimes it takes a while for cycle to end.

Note: is the kit new? or can u get sample checked by a buddy or lfs to verify the results just in case of a bad kit.

Yeah, you had mentioned that before, but The display reads 0 ammonia.
Also after treating with amquel it reads close to 0.

The filter im using is packed with ceramic media, and its a biological only filter. So im just hoping by the water changes i am not prolonging the cycle, byt really there is nothing i can do about that.

I also put 2 medium sized rocks from my sump in there.
 
u can certainly qt inverts. setup is same, equipment is same. the only thing that changes for you is water quality. in fish qt nitrates are not that big of a concern till they reach 90 or up but in a invert qt you will need to keep it under 20ppm and ideally under 5.. which boils down to more frequent water changes and a cover on top to prevent snails escaping.
qt then for 6-8 weeks and transfer them to main.
also when u first bring them in do temp acclimation then a slow drip acclimation as inverts are very sensitive to transport/shipping and also to water chemistry changes.
happy reefing.

Thanks for your info! So what do you think of the other things
That I listed coming in on snails shells? Seem possible or am I
Smoking crack? Thanks again
 
Yeah, you had mentioned that before, but The display reads 0 ammonia.
Also after treating with amquel it reads close to 0.

The filter im using is packed with ceramic media, and its a biological only filter. So im just hoping by the water changes i am not prolonging the cycle, byt really there is nothing i can do about that.

I also put 2 medium sized rocks from my sump in there.

at this time i would just keep up with water changes and amquel. there is not much u can do but wait it out.
regarding water changed during cycle there is a long debate and plenty of forums here u can search that tell us its just a myth. u can do water changes during cycle.
Apart from all the debates as long as ur keeping ammonia 0 and fish look happy and eating ur on right track.
good luck.
 
Thanks for your info! So what do you think of the other things
That I listed coming in on snails shells? Seem possible or am I
Smoking crack? Thanks again

in some rare occasions i have seen aiptaisa on snails or snail shells yes its possible. qt'ing inverts will let u know over weeks that if there is such a thing. chances are rare but happens.
if found then u will need to remove the pest off the snail and it might already be in ur qt as well. if u see outbreak in qt u will have to rid them there too as soon they will take over.
if they get to an a point that there are just too many then just dump the water shut the qt and let it sit dry for week or so. clean with bleach rinse then dry out again. re start and recycle.
hopefully it wont get that far.
Safe reefing.
 
Thanks alot I will be watching these guys as they come in. Just wanted to make sure that
i was thinking straight
 
Type of Fish

Type of Fish

Thanks for your response. I'll be picking up a pj cardinal. I'm restarting my 180 and I'm trying to do it right this time. A qt tank seems to be a definite requirement. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
 
new QT tank

new QT tank

Hi everyone.

I just finished cycling my main DT 125 gallon tank and i now just setup a 20 gallon long QT. Using an Aquaclear 50 HOB power filter...has foam, carbon and biomax media in it. Is this ok to use?

I used some of the DT water ( not much) and freshly made saltwater that i am keeping at a salinity of under 1.019. Dont want to run meds in this QT. for hypo, is that a good salinity to run it at?

I'm guessing i have to cycle this tank from scratch...i took tests on it yesterday and had zero ammonia and nitrite.
 
Hi everyone.

I just finished cycling my main DT 125 gallon tank and i now just setup a 20 gallon long QT. Using an Aquaclear 50 HOB power filter...has foam, carbon and biomax media in it. Is this ok to use?

I used some of the DT water ( not much) and freshly made saltwater that i am keeping at a salinity of under 1.019. Dont want to run meds in this QT. for hypo, is that a good salinity to run it at?

I'm guessing i have to cycle this tank from scratch...i took tests on it yesterday and had zero ammonia and nitrite.

hi there.
equipment u mentioned is ok. running carbon is ok as long as u wont be using any meds in it. if u do take carbon out.

if u want to run hypo only all the time then sg is 1.009 ur 10 points too much.
also if u run hypo all the time make sure to slowly acclimate the new arrivals accordingly.

yes its best to cycle that tank, use shrimp method to kick start ammonia.

Safe reefing.
 
hi there.
equipment u mentioned is ok. running carbon is ok as long as u wont be using any meds in it. if u do take carbon out.

if u want to run hypo only all the time then sg is 1.009 ur 10 points too much.
also if u run hypo all the time make sure to slowly acclimate the new arrivals accordingly.

yes its best to cycle that tank, use shrimp method to kick start ammonia.

Safe reefing.

Thanks bnumair, going to drop the salinity and start the cycle.
 
I had the unfortuanate luck of two fish dying 36 hrs apart due to what is likely an internal parasite. They were in my QT at the same time. I won't do multiple fish in quarantine anymore. I treated with prazipro as a preventative measure starting week 2 (they died at 3.5 weeks), but still didn't get whatever killed them. My 1" clown died during the night and was a ferocious eater. My six-line wrasse fought hard, but was too far gone to save. I didn't see white stringy poop until my wrasse was almost dead.

Long story short, I don't know for sure what killed them. What is the recommended way to "reset" the QT?
1) Just empty the tank out and put new saltwater in?
2) Do a tap water soak of everything for a day (or longer) and let it be dry for another day?
3) Soak everything in bleach and water, and later add a large dose of declorinator?

It still drops below freezing at night so I will have the tank in my basement. Thus, bleach might stink my basement up. Afterwards I will probably put the hob filter in my DT for 2 weeks to reestablish the bacteria and get the QT up and running again. Thanks in advance.
 
I had the unfortuanate luck of two fish dying 36 hrs apart due to what is likely an internal parasite. They were in my QT at the same time. I won't do multiple fish in quarantine anymore. I treated with prazipro as a preventative measure starting week 2 (they died at 3.5 weeks), but still didn't get whatever killed them. My 1" clown died during the night and was a ferocious eater. My six-line wrasse fought hard, but was too far gone to save. I didn't see white stringy poop until my wrasse was almost dead.

Long story short, I don't know for sure what killed them. What is the recommended way to "reset" the QT?
1) Just empty the tank out and put new saltwater in?
2) Do a tap water soak of everything for a day (or longer) and let it be dry for another day?
3) Soak everything in bleach and water, and later add a large dose of declorinator?

It still drops below freezing at night so I will have the tank in my basement. Thus, bleach might stink my basement up. Afterwards I will probably put the hob filter in my DT for 2 weeks to reestablish the bacteria and get the QT up and running again. Thanks in advance.

first off i am sorry to hear the loss. but on other hand i am glad it was qt tank and not dt which could wipe the entire tank.
anyways back to ur question. if unsure i would take everything out rinse it in tap water scrub stuff and u can use vinegar water for cleaning if u like. rinse good then let it sit dry for a day or 2. put fresh filters in us dt sump for 2 weeks and fire up the qt again with those filters.
it may see a mini cycle so watch for ammonia. do ghost feed the qt tank every 3rd day to keep cycle going.
Good luck.

note: what dose/strength did u use prazipro in? what size tank?
 
Thanks for the response. I have a 10g tank (9g actual water). The instructions asked for 1tsp/20g, so I did just under 1/2 tsp using an oral dropper. I left meds in for 7 days, followed by a 50% water change. I was in the second week/dose when everything went downhill. Can I just do 1/2tsp or will it be bad to overdose?
 
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