Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).
- Thread starter Dr. Reef
- Start date
hogfanreefer
Active member
I have 5 bags in each of my 110's. Got some of them at my local Petsmart but I found them on Amazon cheaper.
When I finish copper I plan to take one out and place it in the tank so I can run carbon in that space.
tassod
New member
my powder blue didnt make it
my powder blue didnt make it
Well looks like the ick got the best of my powder blue, struck him withing just a few days. Last night he just looked so out of it that he wouldn't even go hide when i put my net in the tank. So I decided to try and give him a fresh water dip to see if that would help. This is how he looked just before i caught him:
I then put my net in and caught him with relative ease, 2 weeks ago you would never be able to catch him. Well after i dipped him he became stiff as a board and sunk to the bottom of the bucket. Took him out right away and back in the tank. He gave out some jerky reaction and then just sank again to the bottom. I took him out and this is how he looked, never seen a fish so sick.
My other fish so far seem fine, i'm just hopping i can get this 75g setup and cycled before anyone else gets sick. How long will it take to cycle this 75g with just the aquaclear 110 and ceramic rings?
I picked up a box of ceramic rings (1 pound) from JBJ at my local LFS and will use those along with the bag that comes with the aquaclear which i'm still waiting on since i ordered it from Amazon. Is the 1 pound plus the bag from aquaclear be enough?
my powder blue didnt make it
Well looks like the ick got the best of my powder blue, struck him withing just a few days. Last night he just looked so out of it that he wouldn't even go hide when i put my net in the tank. So I decided to try and give him a fresh water dip to see if that would help. This is how he looked just before i caught him:
I then put my net in and caught him with relative ease, 2 weeks ago you would never be able to catch him. Well after i dipped him he became stiff as a board and sunk to the bottom of the bucket. Took him out right away and back in the tank. He gave out some jerky reaction and then just sank again to the bottom. I took him out and this is how he looked, never seen a fish so sick.
My other fish so far seem fine, i'm just hopping i can get this 75g setup and cycled before anyone else gets sick. How long will it take to cycle this 75g with just the aquaclear 110 and ceramic rings?
I picked up a box of ceramic rings (1 pound) from JBJ at my local LFS and will use those along with the bag that comes with the aquaclear which i'm still waiting on since i ordered it from Amazon. Is the 1 pound plus the bag from aquaclear be enough?
dotcommer
Active member
Question about QT.
If you need to set up a QT / Observation tank for fish that you decide to purchase last minute when going to the LFS for other reasons
, can you just take water from your DT and use that to start the QT tank?
Is it a good idea to pull water from your DT and use it for water changes in your QT as well?
If you need to set up a QT / Observation tank for fish that you decide to purchase last minute when going to the LFS for other reasons
, can you just take water from your DT and use that to start the QT tank? Is it a good idea to pull water from your DT and use it for water changes in your QT as well?
dotcommer
Active member
Question about QT.
If you need to set up a QT / Observation tank for fish that you decide to purchase last minute when going to the LFS for other reasons
Is it a good idea to pull water from your DT and use it for water changes in your QT as well?
Sorry, You already answered this in an earlier post.
dotcommer
Active member
I know that you say tangs always need to be treated for ICH in a QT tank.
I purchased an Achilles Tang at my LFS. They have it in one of their very large Frag Tanks.
They have agreed to keep him there for several months until I am ready to put him into my 300 Gallon build. This is a very reputable store that has a large QT area in the back of which he was in there for two weeks being treated and has been in the Frag tank for over a month.
When I am ready to take him home in 3 to 5 months, and he has no sign of ICH or any other disease, would it be okay to put him directly into my DT?
I purchased an Achilles Tang at my LFS. They have it in one of their very large Frag Tanks.
They have agreed to keep him there for several months until I am ready to put him into my 300 Gallon build. This is a very reputable store that has a large QT area in the back of which he was in there for two weeks being treated and has been in the Frag tank for over a month.
When I am ready to take him home in 3 to 5 months, and he has no sign of ICH or any other disease, would it be okay to put him directly into my DT?
Tassod fish looks really bad and may be already on its way out that way you described it. i would get her in fresh water baths 1-2 times a day right away making sure to match pH and temp. QT will cycle over time how long is anybody's guess but generally about 2-3 weeks.
other thing you can do is setup a qt, do water changes everyday to keep ammonia at bay and use either hyposalinity or copper. but with copper you will need to re dose with every water change and most ammonia kits will pick copper as ammonia giving you false readings so hypo may be a good option.
Good Luck
other thing you can do is setup a qt, do water changes everyday to keep ammonia at bay and use either hyposalinity or copper. but with copper you will need to re dose with every water change and most ammonia kits will pick copper as ammonia giving you false readings so hypo may be a good option.
Good Luck
Hi Dotcommer
i personally dont believe in fish being qt somewhere else. it has to be done in front of your eyes in your tank in your possession. simple reason for that is that this fish might not show signs in lfs because its used to this tank and may not be stressed. it maybe a carrier jut not an outbreak and you wont know till you stress her by moving into your tank and then it may show signs and by that time its too late.
i would get the fish and qt at home with copper or hypo and then move to dt.
i play very very safe. i have seen this happen many times.
Good luck
tassod
New member
Fish died instantly that night after freshwater dip.
dotcommer
Active member
I shouldn't have looked at this thread, I jinxed myself.
I have a 90 Gallon Reef thank that has been running great for over a year. Last night I noticed white spots on my larger hippo tang. Then this morning I see a white spot on the other smaller hippo tang. The other fish, two blue throat triggers a purple tang and Lamarck Angel, Bangai Cardinal, and Mandarin, firefish and Azure damsels all look good.
I have 3 fish already in a 20 Gallon QT. I have a 40 Gallon Breeder tank that is empty.
Should I just try and catch the Hippo Tangs right now and fresh water dip them and make the 40 Gallon a QT System?
I know that I have to QT them all, I am just concerned about putting that many fish in a QT right now my, since it is not cycled.
I do have a bio-wheel that has been in my DT tank for two weeks.
I have a 90 Gallon Reef thank that has been running great for over a year. Last night I noticed white spots on my larger hippo tang. Then this morning I see a white spot on the other smaller hippo tang. The other fish, two blue throat triggers a purple tang and Lamarck Angel, Bangai Cardinal, and Mandarin, firefish and Azure damsels all look good.
I have 3 fish already in a 20 Gallon QT. I have a 40 Gallon Breeder tank that is empty.
Should I just try and catch the Hippo Tangs right now and fresh water dip them and make the 40 Gallon a QT System?
I know that I have to QT them all, I am just concerned about putting that many fish in a QT right now my, since it is not cycled.
I do have a bio-wheel that has been in my DT tank for two weeks.
bnumair,
Is there any reason why a QT could/should not have a sand bottom and/or LR? My wife hates the bare bottom look and thinks that it is depressing to look at PVC pipe fitting. At least once a week she says that she feels bad for any fish that would have to be in there for 4-8 weeks.
I am looking to add fish in the near future and avoid having the discussion of my, as she calls it, the punishment tank. If the only reason is that it could not be used in another tank because of copper, am ok with that.
Thanks
TOM G
Is there any reason why a QT could/should not have a sand bottom and/or LR? My wife hates the bare bottom look and thinks that it is depressing to look at PVC pipe fitting. At least once a week she says that she feels bad for any fish that would have to be in there for 4-8 weeks.
I am looking to add fish in the near future and avoid having the discussion of my, as she calls it, the punishment tank. If the only reason is that it could not be used in another tank because of copper, am ok with that.
Thanks
TOM G
dotcommer
Active member
The problem with Sand and Live Rock is that it will absorb a lot of the medicine that you put into your QT, thus you won't know if the fish are getting the correct amount.
I understand where your wife is coming from. Something I was going to ask Bnumair, was instead of using PVC pipe, what about using fake plastic coral inserts. Like this one it provides hiding places, but looks much nicer and its made out of plastic. And under blue moon lights, it glows beautifully.
Hi dotcommer
man ur having bad luck with fish.... i would get all infected fish in qt and start treatment right away before it all starts to spread and kill fish. even if qt is not cycled you can do water changes and keep ammonia at bay. you can do hypo with amquel/prime/ammolock etc and still make it work. leave main tanks fish less for 10-12 weeks.
good luck
man ur having bad luck with fish.... i would get all infected fish in qt and start treatment right away before it all starts to spread and kill fish. even if qt is not cycled you can do water changes and keep ammonia at bay. you can do hypo with amquel/prime/ammolock etc and still make it work. leave main tanks fish less for 10-12 weeks.
good luck
michfish5
New member
Couple of Questions about Hypo
Couple of Questions about Hypo
Hi BNUMAIR,
I have a few questions about Hypo and the ich life cycle. I am running Hypo on 2 fish in my 20 gal. QT -a PJ Cardinal and Royal Gramma - as per your advice and instructions a few posts earlier on here. The PJ Cardinal was added on 8/21 and the Royal Gramma on 8/23. Waited a couple of days for them to settle and started Prazipro on 8/26. On 8/27 the RG started scratching. Cardinal has shown no signs of anything from Day 1. The RG showed no visible signs of ich, is eating well, very active, no heavy respiration. Just flashing, maybe hanging around by the PH side of the tank more than the HOB side, but the PVC keeps blowing over there and that's it's home. I assumed it might be in the gills and started hypo.
Once I got the SG down to 1.009 the RG stopped scratching (about 2 days later). I have been monitoring the SG with my calibrated refractometer on a daily basis and the SG is remaining at 1.009. Both fish remain active and eat like pigs. Now 10 days into Hypo, the RG started flashing again. I thought that would not happen again. The Cardinal is still asymptomatic and doing well. The SG has been stable at 1.009, almost 1.008.
Temp is at 78.4, NH4 0, NO2 0, NO3 0, pH 8.0
I have read all the posts I could find on here about Ich life cycle and the various treatment methods but I think I need a little further clarification. After the trophont falls off the fish and goes into the tomont stage (where I assumed the scratching would stop), once the cyst hatches and sends out the tomites into my now 1.009 SG water, would not the lower salinity then kill all those pesky tomites before they get a chance to attach themselves to a fish? I guess I am assuming that every single parasite in the tank is going through every phase of the life cycle at the same time. Is that not the case? Can there be multiple stages of the life cycle going on at the same time and THAT is why the treatment phase is so long? Is it normal to have a fish start scratching again after 10 days in hypo? Just want to be sure I am doing this right.
Also, do we do water changes during hypo? My QT is fully cycled and HOB is jammed with ceramic rings that I am not touching to rinse off until this treatment is done. Thus far I have had no ammonia problems and I am trying not to overfeed but they always seem like they are starving. I am feeding these two fish primarily mysis (about 1/3 cube 1xdaily) and trying to make sure there is nothing left floating around but I am sure I miss some and it gets lodged under the PVC along with their poop which collects there. One of the PVC pipes is like a Porto-Potty! And every time I try to siphon it out, the RG starts freaking out, trying to jump out of the tank, and I don't want to stress it anymore than it already is but I know I need to get the waste out. Should I try to remove the waste on a daily basis or should I let it ride for a week? Thanks in advance for your wisdom!
Couple of Questions about Hypo
Hi BNUMAIR,
I have a few questions about Hypo and the ich life cycle. I am running Hypo on 2 fish in my 20 gal. QT -a PJ Cardinal and Royal Gramma - as per your advice and instructions a few posts earlier on here. The PJ Cardinal was added on 8/21 and the Royal Gramma on 8/23. Waited a couple of days for them to settle and started Prazipro on 8/26. On 8/27 the RG started scratching. Cardinal has shown no signs of anything from Day 1. The RG showed no visible signs of ich, is eating well, very active, no heavy respiration. Just flashing, maybe hanging around by the PH side of the tank more than the HOB side, but the PVC keeps blowing over there and that's it's home. I assumed it might be in the gills and started hypo.
Once I got the SG down to 1.009 the RG stopped scratching (about 2 days later). I have been monitoring the SG with my calibrated refractometer on a daily basis and the SG is remaining at 1.009. Both fish remain active and eat like pigs. Now 10 days into Hypo, the RG started flashing again. I thought that would not happen again. The Cardinal is still asymptomatic and doing well. The SG has been stable at 1.009, almost 1.008.
Temp is at 78.4, NH4 0, NO2 0, NO3 0, pH 8.0
I have read all the posts I could find on here about Ich life cycle and the various treatment methods but I think I need a little further clarification. After the trophont falls off the fish and goes into the tomont stage (where I assumed the scratching would stop), once the cyst hatches and sends out the tomites into my now 1.009 SG water, would not the lower salinity then kill all those pesky tomites before they get a chance to attach themselves to a fish? I guess I am assuming that every single parasite in the tank is going through every phase of the life cycle at the same time. Is that not the case? Can there be multiple stages of the life cycle going on at the same time and THAT is why the treatment phase is so long? Is it normal to have a fish start scratching again after 10 days in hypo? Just want to be sure I am doing this right.
Also, do we do water changes during hypo? My QT is fully cycled and HOB is jammed with ceramic rings that I am not touching to rinse off until this treatment is done. Thus far I have had no ammonia problems and I am trying not to overfeed but they always seem like they are starving. I am feeding these two fish primarily mysis (about 1/3 cube 1xdaily) and trying to make sure there is nothing left floating around but I am sure I miss some and it gets lodged under the PVC along with their poop which collects there. One of the PVC pipes is like a Porto-Potty! And every time I try to siphon it out, the RG starts freaking out, trying to jump out of the tank, and I don't want to stress it anymore than it already is but I know I need to get the waste out. Should I try to remove the waste on a daily basis or should I let it ride for a week? Thanks in advance for your wisdom!
Hi Michfish5
To my understanding there are many different cycles that can be happening in the water at same time. not all ich is at the same stage of cycle at all times. temp, host and environment plays a great role in determining how cycle acts.
It would be best to raise the temp of the water up to 82F to fasten the cycle of the ich. free floating stage (comes after cyst form) is where hypo becomes effective. Also free floating stage can make it through the hypo if the host is readily available in some sick fish or dying fish or sleeping fish that tends to stay very close to sand or bottom of the tank which makes travel time very little from cyst to host and can survive the hypo as it digs deep into the tissue of the fish thus making hypo in-effective till next time around.
So i would say be patient and keep up with hypo holding at 1.009 for as long as the ich is gone and breathing becomes normal due to unseen ich in gills.
If its a qt with fully cycled media i usually ride the treatment out but if you see a lot of debris building up then u can siphon some out making sure salinity dont swing.
Good luck and safe reefing.
To my understanding there are many different cycles that can be happening in the water at same time. not all ich is at the same stage of cycle at all times. temp, host and environment plays a great role in determining how cycle acts.
It would be best to raise the temp of the water up to 82F to fasten the cycle of the ich. free floating stage (comes after cyst form) is where hypo becomes effective. Also free floating stage can make it through the hypo if the host is readily available in some sick fish or dying fish or sleeping fish that tends to stay very close to sand or bottom of the tank which makes travel time very little from cyst to host and can survive the hypo as it digs deep into the tissue of the fish thus making hypo in-effective till next time around.
So i would say be patient and keep up with hypo holding at 1.009 for as long as the ich is gone and breathing becomes normal due to unseen ich in gills.
If its a qt with fully cycled media i usually ride the treatment out but if you see a lot of debris building up then u can siphon some out making sure salinity dont swing.
Good luck and safe reefing.
icedearth15324
New member
Quick question, is a 20H tank ok for a quarantine system for a small tang or butterfly? Do to space constraints this was the best size I was able to get for where I want to store it.
yes not problem. i kept a medium size 4" Achilles and 3" blue hippo in a 20 gal tank.
pics and treatment and details are on here some pages earlier.
All went fine in hypo and treatment and they both live in my main tank now.
If for any reason the fish dont get along u can divide the tank into 2 or 4 parts with help of egg crate.
pics and treatment and details are on here some pages earlier.
All went fine in hypo and treatment and they both live in my main tank now.
If for any reason the fish dont get along u can divide the tank into 2 or 4 parts with help of egg crate.
michfish5
New member
Ich Cycle
Ich Cycle
Thanks! That is good to know. As of today the Gramma isn't scratching anymore. And it does sleep close to the bottom of the tank so maybe he got tagged again. But it seems perfectly fine otherwise - no heavy breathing, no visible spots, healthy appetite. So I will keep going as I am. Thanks again for the help.
Ich Cycle
Thanks! That is good to know. As of today the Gramma isn't scratching anymore. And it does sleep close to the bottom of the tank so maybe he got tagged again. But it seems perfectly fine otherwise - no heavy breathing, no visible spots, healthy appetite. So I will keep going as I am. Thanks again for the help.
30 Gallon tank with hob over flow into a 10 gallon tank under stand. Live rock and sand in the 10 gallon then pumped back up into 30 gallon? Is this a good idea for a quarantine setup? I got the items with the purchase of a 5 stage rodi for 125 bucks.
I'm reading that I should have no sand bed in qt tank and no live rock also?
Does that mean in filtration also? I know could have used a hob filter, but this is what I have.
I'm reading that I should have no sand bed in qt tank and no live rock also?
Does that mean in filtration also? I know could have used a hob filter, but this is what I have.
