QT/Hopsital Tank Question
- Thread starter Kdocimo90
- Start date
ihavtats29
New member
it is but if you dose with copper you will not be able to put any inverts in there
nmbeg
New member
not really......
if you will be dosing meds in the tank, you are going to kill off the live rock and sand anyway.
if you plan on treating ich, you don't want to have sand, because that's where ich lives and hides.
here's a good article:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
if you will be dosing meds in the tank, you are going to kill off the live rock and sand anyway.
if you plan on treating ich, you don't want to have sand, because that's where ich lives and hides.
here's a good article:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
There is no reason to have it and it will make dosing meds difficult since it will absorb some of them (copper for example). If,however you are qting a fish that needs sand such as some wrasses you can put a bowl of it in for them and remove it if you need to medicate.
otrlynn
Active member
You didn't ask about this but I'll just put my two cents in... I think the most challenging thing about a hospital or QT is keeping the ammonia in check. This is dependent upon the size of the tank, the number of inhabitants, whether you used some sort of "seeded" material etc. But remember, if you don't have the benefit of the biological filter offered by the live rock, there is great potential for the ammonia to rise quickly. IMO those ammonia badges are not all that sensitive. They work, but not before you have a significant amount of ammonia. Plan to test the water frequently (daily is best) and do frequent water changes. On a 29 gallon hospital tank with 4 fish, I needed to do 10-20% water changes every other day.
A bare bottom QT is easier to keep clean .. and left over food and fish debris tends to create ammonia issues which is probably the number one killer of fish in a QT. I paint the outside bottom of my QT white which gives it a better look .. also lets me spot debris which makes it easy to remove with a turkey baster.
