Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

[Dr. Reef]

I have 10 fish and they have all come from the same local fish store that is about 10 minutes from my house. Prior to these last two I was not doing QT. As to acclimination I float the bag for 20 mins and then add a small amount of tank water every 5 mins until it is doubled. Thhat usually takes another 30 mins. Then I pour most of the water out of the bag and let the fish swim out.

Thanks,
Process you described is fine, i am guessing just bad luck and maybe already sick fish or shock.
did you check the salinity of the LFS and compare with yours?
most lfs keep salinity lower and that would explain sudden shock and death.
just my guess.

 

[TegaCayReefer]

Good a guess as any, I need to figure something out though, my local LFS closed down and I wouldnt even think of putting a fish from the remaining local stores straight into my DT. Only thing I can think of doing next time is maybe increase my water changes to weekly and tracking parameters daily to see if anything spikes.

 

[gsgentry]

I set my QT up last night. Tank, heater, bio-wheel filter w/ ceramic rings in the back for extra surface area, powerhead. I think I am set.

I did add a dead shrimp in a media bag and I am dosing with Micro Bacter 7 in hope of speeding the process along some. This will be a permanent setup and will always house 1 fish to keep the cycle going.

Couple of questions... does the shrimp and micro bacter 7 help speed things up for sure? Is there anything wrong with that or my setup? Lastly, I purchased some misc PVC pieces to put in the tank, but they all have a ink like upc code not them. Not sure what it really is, but worry about it leeching something into the QT. Can this be removed or is it not an issue?

Thanks!!

 

[gsgentry]

Also, is it ok to run the carbon pads when just dosing with anything but copper? Why water is very cloudy is what I ask. Thanks.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Also, is it ok to run the carbon pads when just dosing with anything but copper? Why water is very cloudy is what I ask. Thanks.

Hi
carbon will take out any meds used for treatment so there will be no point in dosing so thats why i recommend no carbon in QT unless you are trying to get something out of the water.
Water cloudiness can be bacterial bloom if whitish milky color, algae bloom if greenish in color and creamy if you dosed prazipro. All normal and will go away over time. I noticed prazipro always cause milkyness.

 

[gsgentry]

Thank you. Is my post before that one not showing up?

 

[gsgentry]

Here is the post... Not seeing it for some reason...

I set my QT up last night. Tank, heater, bio-wheel filter w/ ceramic rings in the back for extra surface area, powerhead. I think I am set.

I did add a dead shrimp in a media bag and I am dosing with Micro Bacter 7 in hope of speeding the process along some. This will be a permanent setup and will always house 1 fish to keep the cycle going.

Couple of questions... does the shrimp and micro bacter 7 help speed things up for sure? Is there anything wrong with that or my setup? Lastly, I purchased some misc PVC pieces to put in the tank, but they all have a ink like upc code not them. Not sure what it really is, but worry about it leeching something into the QT. Can this be removed or is it not an issue?

 

[syedjilani]

Nice thread. tagging along.

 

[hatfielj]

My idea for a quarantine system...
I have an old 29gal biocube that has its own PC lights, heater, and circulation pump. I plan on adding an auto top off system to keep it running all the time as well as a couple of small pieces of LR rubble from my display tank for filtration. Is this good enough to quarantine frags? Never done a quarantine before so any help is much appreciated.

 

[Babyfaceur]

Tagging along. When setting up the QT is there a lighting requirement?

 

[Dr. Reef]

I set my QT up last night. Tank, heater, bio-wheel filter w/ ceramic rings in the back for extra surface area, powerhead. I think I am set.

I did add a dead shrimp in a media bag and I am dosing with Micro Bacter 7 in hope of speeding the process along some. This will be a permanent setup and will always house 1 fish to keep the cycle going.

Couple of questions... does the shrimp and micro bacter 7 help speed things up for sure? Is there anything wrong with that or my setup? Lastly, I purchased some misc PVC pieces to put in the tank, but they all have a ink like upc code not them. Not sure what it really is, but worry about it leeching something into the QT. Can this be removed or is it not an issue?

Thanks!!

Hi
for some reason your first post never showed up but now it did.
anyways, setup looks fine no issues there, pvc with ink imprint is fine too. Shrimp and micro bacter 7 is fine to start a cycle, take the shrimp out after ammonia reaches 1.5ppm or so. (3-4 days usually)
Hope it answers your question

 

[Dr. Reef]

My idea for a quarantine system...
I have an old 29gal biocube that has its own PC lights, heater, and circulation pump. I plan on adding an auto top off system to keep it running all the time as well as a couple of small pieces of LR rubble from my display tank for filtration. Is this good enough to quarantine frags? Never done a quarantine before so any help is much appreciated.

29 biocube will be fine for qt corals along with ATO. Cubes generally run hotter temps so keep an eye on that.
Good Luck

 

[Dr. Reef]

Tagging along. When setting up the QT is there a lighting requirement?

Hi
good question, in short NO.
reason is if your just qt'ing fish there is hardly any need for light. a cheap fixture is not a bad idea as its best to have lights on to diagnose and id disease.
i keep a cheap (under $20) t5 light fixture and only turn it on 2-3 hrs a day to feed and observe fish for disease.

 

[Pikemartin]

So I just lost my battle with Dino. Having to start all over. Here's my QT I setup 3 days ago.

Aqueon 10g Basic aquarium kit with Quit Flow hang on Filter (no floss or carbon in it during cycle). Heater and Tunze silence pump.

Obviously I don't want to use anything from my DT because of the Dino. I ghost fed the QT for the first 2 days and have been adding the recommended dosage of Biozyme daily (I'll do this for 7 days). When I know the QT is finished with the cycle I'll do a 50% WC and add floss with carbon in filter. After that I'll start adding my livestock after a freshwater dip( Zoas, Hammer, Plate,cyphasteria, and 1 Clownfish). Am I doing this all correctly?

To through a twist in it I believe my DT had a case of Ich a few months back and my clown is the only one that survived. He shows no signs but I know how Ich can be. What do you suggest I do here? Or am I ok to add fish later on without treatment?

Looks like I'll have to have the QT running for about 3 Months. 1 month to cycle it and the rest to clean out my DT and wait for that to cycle as well before adding all livestock back.

Thanks for listening

 

[Dr. Reef]

So I just lost my battle with Dino. Having to start all over. Here's my QT I setup 3 days ago.

Aqueon 10g Basic aquarium kit with Quit Flow hang on Filter (no floss or carbon in it during cycle). Heater and Tunze silence pump.

Obviously I don't want to use anything from my DT because of the Dino. I ghost fed the QT for the first 2 days and have been adding the recommended dosage of Biozyme daily (I'll do this for 7 days). When I know the QT is finished with the cycle I'll do a 50% WC and add floss with carbon in filter. After that I'll start adding my livestock after a freshwater dip( Zoas, Hammer, Plate,cyphasteria, and 1 Clownfish). Am I doing this all correctly?

To through a twist in it I believe my DT had a case of Ich a few months back and my clown is the only one that survived. He shows no signs but I know how Ich can be. What do you suggest I do here? Or am I ok to add fish later on without treatment?

Looks like I'll have to have the QT running for about 3 Months. 1 month to cycle it and the rest to clean out my DT and wait for that to cycle as well before adding all livestock back.

Thanks for listening

Hi
i see ur setup is fine and ur in right direction. After qt cycles do a water change and ready for new arrivals. Regarding freshwater dips for corals, i personally never did i always used product called Revive, a short dip and in they goto main tank. i Never qt corals.
Fish is a different story. In your case the clown that was subject to ich can be carrier so i recommend qt all fish for 8 weeks or so or treat anyways with copper or hypo just to be sure. Links for both treatments are just a few comments above in this forum.
Also your treatment or observation clock starts from the time ur last fish is introduced in qt.
Hope it helps.

 

[Pikemartin]

Thanks a lot. Can Revive get rid of dino? Some of the zoa frags have the dino on them so it's a must I treat them. I'd hate to get rid of them because they're all rare Zoas.

Must say I'm new on this forum. Stumbled across this thread it forced me to sign up lol. Great thread!

 

[Dr. Reef]

Thanks for ur kind remarks. I have not tried this but I know few people that have successfully beat dino by hydrogen peroxide. Google it or search it here. Revive will not cure dino it's more to rid unwanted pests/bugs.
Good luck

 

[Pikemartin]

Been there done that with the dino and peroxide. Came back full force. That's gonna be $500 down the drain in Zoas if I can't transfer them back

 

[Pikemartin]

This has probably been answered but here it goes...

When cycling the QT is there a need to ATO it? Im thinking no.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Ato is not necessary for cycling but is a safety device that allows evaporated water to be replaced immediately thus causing less swing in salinity and parameters. Good to have but not entirely needed as long as u top off water daily.