No room to qt? You DO know that a qt doesn't have to be cycled...

Sk8r

Staff member
RC Mod
...and can easily reside in the bottom of the closet holding spare flip-flops when not in use.
To run a non-cycled qt, even in a bucket, just use new salt water and a filter stuffed with pillow floss (cheaper than fish floss) that you toss daily.

It also works excellently well with TTM protocol for ridding tank of ich: you have 2 tanks and just keep switching (see sticky above) and drying out the other one. In between uses, if you're using poly buckets for this purpose, just stack them. When operating, set it in a corner of your bedroom, bath, or kitchen. Heck, set it in the shower while you're at work, (I know the problem of 'efficiency' apartments) so long as the pump/heater power cord reaches.
 
When I anticipate getting a new fish, I put a bag of bio media and a sponge in my CT sump for a few days. When I set up my QT I add them to an Aquaclear 30 HOB filter. That seems to be enough to keep ammonia at 0 with a small bioload.
 
WHich again, is a small, quick setup. Yes. You do not have to live with a second cycled setup constantly going. You should dry and clean it between fish anyway.
 
Clean water is clean water as long as you keep it clean. The minuscule amount of ammonia from excrement and respiration will not harm them so long as you attend their water quality and as long as there is enough water to dilute the pollutant. Maintaining the TTM process with cycled tanks?
 
Clean water is clean water as long as you keep it clean. The minuscule amount of ammonia from excrement and respiration will not harm them so long as you attend their water quality and as long as there is enough water to dilute the pollutant. Maintaining the TTM process with cycled tanks?

Miniscule? Have you ever seen a yellow tang take a dump? In a small uncycled quarantine it's a fish killer. Not being argumentative just debating the subject
 
Setting up a cycled qt does not have to be a huge ordeal or always running. I clean all my equip between new fish. When getting ready for a new arrival, I use half new SW & half old SW (from a water change that day) along with some floss from my sump for the filter. Uncycled tanks just scare me a bit.
 
I think it mainly just depends on:

1) length of treatment/observation
2) type of fish
3) size of the system

Like, I wouldn't treat a 3" puffer in an unfiltered (or uncycled with new HoB) for a 2 week period.

Yes, ammonia can potentially stay 0 meaning clean water, but the concept of Ph balance and back up plan for a random potential ammonia spike can be very risky.

There's also the medication you're using, remember the only reason clean water stays clean is due to water change/carbon, one of which needs removed during treatments for best results.
 
It's an interesting question: the vegetarians do produce more poo, but the quality and composition is different from, say, a predator on lean commons. One part of the question is the efficiency of the filter, and the fact that it is very frequently changed in TTM.
 
Couldn't you just add ammonia neutralizer to keep levels down as well? 5ml a day keeps the ammonia away [emoji14]

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FWIW I very seldom cycle a QT. I rely on water WC's and prime when needed. After the fish goes through the TTM they then go into the QT for 4-5 weeks.
 
I do TTM with what would obviously be uncycled tanks, but I do use an algae badge alert and will often at an ammonia detoxer on the second day. When movig the fish to QT the QT tank is cycled as I explained in my first post to this thread.
 
I do TTM with what would obviously be uncycled tanks, but I do use an algae badge alert and will often at an ammonia detoxer on the second day. When movig the fish to QT the QT tank is cycled as I explained in my first post to this thread.

so are you tossing the $10 badge in the garbage at every tank transfer? because if you sterilize it and dry it off for 24 hours wont it die?

otherwise all that's doing is adding a gateway for ich to skip to the new tank.
 
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