Guide to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT).

[sensei]

Thanks for your answer.

So If I understand correctly, after you do the TTM and after prazi pro, you observe for another 4 weeks and seed the the observation tank with these sponges, and rely on amonia levels, prime and stability?

do you dose prime and stability on a regular basis just as an asurance on these 4 week observation period after the fish have been treated for pests?

how do I know when to do water changes, when to dose prime and when to dose stability or when to do a combination of these?

I do have a 2nd DT which I assume doesn´t have ich because my fish have always looked fine since I introduced most of they 14 months ago. how can I be sure if it is free of parasites with out taking all fish out of this tank?

I know I ask a lot.
Thanks for answering

 

[Spar]

Thanks for your answer.

So If I understand correctly, after you do the TTM and after prazi pro, you observe for another 4 weeks and seed the the observation tank with these sponges, and rely on amonia levels, prime and stability?

do you dose prime and stability on a regular basis just as an asurance on these 4 week observation period after the fish have been treated for pests?

how do I know when to do water changes, when to dose prime and when to dose stability or when to do a combination of these?

I do have a 2nd DT which I assume doesn´t have ich because my fish have always looked fine since I introduced most of they 14 months ago. how can I be sure if it is free of parasites with out taking all fish out of this tank?

I know I ask a lot.
Thanks for answering

Yes, on your 4 week observation points. If you use the seeded sponges, you may not even need Stability, but won't hurt to use it either.

You can dose prime just in case, but really it is more important to just monitor ammonia levels and dose when necessary.

you may not need to do any major water changes during the 4 weeks if ammonia doesn't show up. but, i would still recommend weekly 25% water changes. you will also want to do tiny water changes every day or two to siphon off waste that settles on the bottom of the tank. if you start seeing ammonia build up, then you will obviously need to increase your water changes... that is really the only indication you will be looking for.

your last question regarding "how do I know if I am parasite free"... unfortunately there is no good answer to this, other than that you won't know for sure. only way to know is if you physically see it. it is highly possible that Ich does exist in your system and your fish are just warding it off well based on good overall health, diet and low stress (things we should all strive for regardless). that said, the only way to guarantee it would be to take your fish out and run that tank fallow while treating the fish separately. personally, if I hadn't seen Ich for 14 months in my tank, then I would skip going to that extreme until I saw it with my own eyes. but if you are planning a large stock of new fish in the near future, then maybe now is the time... all up to you.

 

[sensei]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us,
I will let you know how it goes when I try it in my next fish purchase.

regards

 

[Dr. Reef]

A quick reminder. Dosing prime or any ammonia detox will give a false reading on your regular ammonia test kit. To avoid that use an ammonia badge.

 

[sensei]

Thanks bnumair

One more question, in my country is very cheap to get fresh natural sea water.
Would it be a good option instead of preparing saline water with a salt mix?
I assume it is parasite free?

please tell me what you think

 

[sensei]

I forgot to mention that I use red sea salt for doing the water changes of my two Display tanks, I was thinking of using NSW for the quarentine of fish only.

waiting for your comments

 

[Dr. Reef]

strain it with a fine silk cloth at best. i have read many success stories here from people living by the sea and just getting water in buckets directly from the ocean. which country by the way?

 

[sensei]

Bnumair,

by strain you mean to filter it?
would it be a good idea to recirculate it with UV lamps??
would it kill any parasites if present??

I guess NSW is considered a good option not only for the quarentine period then?
I will test Cal, Alk and Mag to see how they look in our NSW, may be is also a good option for the water changes in the DT?
I have not done it before because I was afraid of the contamination in NSW, but importing the red sea salt is a pain in here.

I see you have a 350 DT + sump, I am in the process of designing a new 400Gal DT x sump for mixed reef, SPS and fish and I would apreciate to see your DT if you have photos here in RC and see the equipment you choose. let me know if you have a thread were you have posted photos and / or talk about your system, I would love to ask you question about it.

p.d. I live in EL Salvador, Central America.
if you come near here, just let me know!
Will be glad to show you around.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Bnumair,

by strain you mean to filter it?
would it be a good idea to recirculate it with UV lamps??
would it kill any parasites if present??

I guess NSW is considered a good option not only for the quarentine period then?
I will test Cal, Alk and Mag to see how they look in our NSW, may be is also a good option for the water changes in the DT?
I have not done it before because I was afraid of the contamination in NSW, but importing the red sea salt is a pain in here.

I see you have a 350 DT + sump, I am in the process of designing a new 400Gal DT x sump for mixed reef, SPS and fish and I would apreciate to see your DT if you have photos here in RC and see the equipment you choose. let me know if you have a thread were you have posted photos and / or talk about your system, I would love to ask you question about it.

p.d. I live in EL Salvador, Central America.
if you come near here, just let me know!
Will be glad to show you around.

sorry for late reply, i was on vacation.
yes strain meaning filter with atleast so you can remove some of the larger debris. UV will kill everything good or bad so not sure if its any good to have as i never use it.
There are many success stories here on RC regarding NSW. i dont have any personal experience with it. But for QT my only concern will be if there are any contaminants or parasites that can make it through to your system and cause more harm than good.
my build thread is on my blog you can check it out there,
Thank you for the offer i might cash that rain check one day.
Good luck

 

[luisedumuller]

Hi mate... thanks for the very helpfull post.
Do you think it is possible to set up a QT tank with just 4 gallons.
it is just for a par of clownfish.

Cheers,

 

[Dr. Reef]

Hi mate... thanks for the very helpfull post.
Do you think it is possible to set up a QT tank with just 4 gallons.
it is just for a par of clownfish.

Cheers,

yes its possible, smaller the tank more closely you will have to watch it as parameters can swing wildly in no time. things go wrong quick in smaller tanks.
But if you can stay on top of it should be fine.
If you can get a 10 gal i would strongly recommend it but due to some reason you cant then yah go for it with a 4 gal.

 

[bucfan]

Going to set up my temporary QT this weekend and wanted to be sure I got it right. Have 2 paired bellus angels coming in and cannot take any more chances with new arrivals given my disastrous experience in April. Plan to observe the fish in the QT for 4 weeks. Have purchased a 20G long glass tank for this. Will use 10G of water from my DT and 10G from freshly prepared. Plan to keep SG around 1.019. Will use 2 frag plugs (without corals) and a small rock from my DT to seed my tank along with Stability. Also have a small heater and some 2" PVC pipes. 50% water changes every 3 days.

I have a few questions:

1. Have purchased several meds (Prazi, Metro, Chloroquine, Kanamycin, Nitro) from National Fish Pharma. Should I place all of these in the water or use them only if I see evidence of disease?

2. Is 4 weeks long enough? The fish have already been in the LFS for a week and look good.

3. Is what I have enough to seed the QT? I have ceramic rings in my DT but they've only been in there 4 days and I don't think they are seeded already. The frag plugs have been in there a few weeks.

4. Should I also be using Prime if I do water changes?

5. Is there anything I am missing? Also does anyone have any comments about my set up?

 

[bucfan]

Anyone?

 

[Dr. Reef]

I have a few questions:

1. Have purchased several meds (Prazi, Metro, Chloroquine, Kanamycin, Nitro) from National Fish Pharma. Should I place all of these in the water or use them only if I see evidence of disease?

No do not use any meds unless you ID a problem positively. PraziPro is ok to use anytime.

2. Is 4 weeks long enough? The fish have already been in the LFS for a week and look good.

No 4 weeks is too short. I highly recommend 8-10 weeks.

3. Is what I have enough to seed the QT? I have ceramic rings in my DT but they've only been in there 4 days and I don't think they are seeded already. The frag plugs have been in there a few weeks.

I never recommend live rock or plugs in a t setup but for now its ok just replace them with ceramic media as soon its ready.

4. Should I also be using Prime if I do water changes?
if your tank is established then prime is not required. it will give false ammonia reading on test.

5. Is there anything I am missing? Also does anyone have any comments about my set up?

 

[bucfan]

Thanks for your response Dr. Reef. This a great forum! One more question. I have ceramic media that I placed in my DT 5 days back. How long does it take to get seeded and then once I move it into the QT how long will that take to establish. I plan to take the frag plugs out of the QT once the biofilter is established. Thereafter I will use Prazi.

 

[Dr. Reef]

2 weeks or so should establish the ceramic media. Once it's seeded and moved to qt it will be instant cycled qt. No need to wait any longer and remove the rock.
But just to be certain leave both in for about 3 days before pulling the rock out.

 

[Crackem]

I have questions regarding cupramine in my qt tank but it's mainly regarding using some of the same equipment that I use for doing water changes. I started a qt tank and used cupramine to try to save one of my fish but it died. I decided to break down the qt tank but before I did that I put an aqua clear carbon in it and also used cuprisorb. I let the tank run with carbon and cuprisorb for about a week. I also used a polyfilter and it didn't change color as far as I can tell. After that I drained the tank and used a little bleach on paper towels to clean it.

I had the wrong size heater in the qt tank so I would like to use it in my Rodi brute container that I also use to mix salt water. Do you think it's ok? Also I use some flexible tubing and a rio pump to do water changes. Is it safe to keep using those?

 

[Dr. Reef]

I have questions regarding cupramine in my qt tank but it's mainly regarding using some of the same equipment that I use for doing water changes. I started a qt tank and used cupramine to try to save one of my fish but it died. I decided to break down the qt tank but before I did that I put an aqua clear carbon in it and also used cuprisorb. I let the tank run with carbon and cuprisorb for about a week. I also used a polyfilter and it didn't change color as far as I can tell. After that I drained the tank and used a little bleach on paper towels to clean it.

I had the wrong size heater in the qt tank so I would like to use it in my Rodi brute container that I also use to mix salt water. Do you think it's ok? Also I use some flexible tubing and a rio pump to do water changes. Is it safe to keep using those?

its fine. u can use bleach water or vinegar water mix and clean all the equipment and dry it. leave it to air dry in sun or warm place if you can and then rinse it and use it.

 

[Pprice01]

Biofilter without Copper

Biofilter without Copper

Hi everybody,

I'm planning to setup a biocube for HT and then QT, and plan to run Chloroquine Phosphate and Prazipro - no copper.

With this plan should I still avoid live rock for the bio filtration?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Johnb123]

for the permanent quarantine set up was that barebottom with live rock? if not i see no difference from the permanent and temp quarentine set up