Qt tank

Wagonpitt

New member
so far i have quite a few fish and havnt qt anything yet and so far ive been lucky with no issues yet but im getting my first tang and because how likely they are to get ich or other disease i want to make sure to qt this one. I read a sticky about qt and I going to get 20g tank and basic equipment. Im wondering how long does it take to "seed" some filter sponge in my dt so i can use it in qt.
 
To answer myself. Min 1.5 weeks but 2 weeks or more is better. Could i use the bottle bacteria or something else. Basically want to be able to extend period of time between waterchanges. Any other ideas ? Im getting the fish either tomorow or friday (today Wednesday).


20g tank with hob filter heater maby power head Or would filter be enough ? Pvc of some sort for little cave. Thermometer. Amonia sticker ( i have seachem test also but the sticker seems popular for qt).

Im going to get this stuff today and fill it up and have it mixed and ready. Also ill throw in some sponge in dt to start seeding now for the future. For now the plan is waterchanges during that 2 week seeding period unless i find another way. I dont know if bottled bacteria would work or not ive never tried using it. I would think it should be fine and i should be able to seed the qt tank and filter in it, but unless i can confirm it will work i wont bother.

Any ideas
 
To answer myself. Min 1.5 weeks but 2 weeks or more is better. Could i use the bottle bacteria or something else. Basically want to be able to extend period of time between waterchanges. Any other ideas ? Im getting the fish either tomorow or friday (today Wednesday).


20g tank with hob filter heater maby power head Or would filter be enough ? Pvc of some sort for little cave. Thermometer. Amonia sticker ( i have seachem test also but the sticker seems popular for qt).

Im going to get this stuff today and fill it up and have it mixed and ready. Also ill throw in some sponge in dt to start seeding now for the future. For now the plan is waterchanges during that 2 week seeding period unless i find another way. I dont know if bottled bacteria would work or not ive never tried using it. I would think it should be fine and i should be able to seed the qt tank and filter in it, but unless i can confirm it will work i wont bother.

Any ideas

I'd throw a bottle of Dr. Tom's in if it were me, but constant water changes will work also until that sponge filter is seeded.
 
You could do the TT method, Then Observation tank with Prime and Stability and water changes. Utill you think it's safe to introduce it to the display. But... Don't be supprised if Ich doesn't rear its ugly head from some of the fish already in the DT that are somewhat resistant to it.
 
I am using a 20L for a 3" yellow tang, and he seems well adjusted. I just do aggressive water changes. I did not see. With TTM it's useless to seed until final tank transfer.

Also, from personal experience....I started my 90g and did quarantine my first fishes for observation but did not treat for marine ich (no disease or marine ich noted in 6 wks of quarantine). My last fish added, a yellow tang, I also quarantine.... and treated prophetically for marine ich by TTM (because tangs are known to be ich prone and I saw evidence of ich at LFS I purchased from). End game, after a few weeks after adding tang to DT marine ich was noted on tang only. So either I contaminated the TTM method of tang or the more ich resistant fish I added earlier brought it in and I did not see it, I don't know. Now all fish are going through tx for marine ich with TTM and my DT will be fallow for at least 3 months+. In the future, if I ever add fish all will be TTM. It is simple and easy.
 
Thanks everyone. Looking back ofcourse qt everythingn from begining would have been ideal but i was a little impatiant i guess. i have too many fishes to start ttm on them all. im going to qt the tang so i know the tang isnt bringing in anything. If my other fish have something they are fighting it themselves. This way i know the tang is good and wont get my other fish sick. If my other fish get the tang sick then i only loose the tang instead of all the others. I have no reason to think my orher fish haave anything anyway just saying.

So i got 15gallon24x12x12, heater, hob filter, net, thermometer, ammonia, sticker, filter sponge for seeding, and bottle of bacteria. I already had a aquascape 180gph pump that im going to use as powerhead for flow if necesarry?

Since i have the bottled bacteria i can just put the sponge filter in my hob and the bacteria will colonize the sponge. Correct ? I bought 2 anyway and one is already in my sump.


I bought marineland biowheel penguin 150 rated for 30g tank
Should i use the cartridge filter that came with hob filter ?

Should i use the bio wheel that came with hob filter ?

Ive read that people remove the bio wheel and use sponge instead. Also i know if i end up having to use copper for anyreason im supposed to remove the carbon in the cartridge.

The tank is filled and saltwater is being mixed and heated right now. I didnt put the filter cartridge or bio wheel in the hob filter yet.

Once i add bacteria how should i test to make sure that amonia is being removed and bacteria is working.

Run tests make sure everything is right

Add fish.

Make sure params stay right

Do waterchanges when nitrates start to go up.



What am i missing ?
 

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You need hiding places for the fish, otherwise they'll be incredibly stressed out. PVC pipe and elbows do the trick quite nicely, make sure to account for the fish size.


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Completly forgot about pvc even though i mentioned it thanks bigbluetang.

Anythoughts on my other questions how to run the hob filter while my sponge is being seeded.

I used the bottled bacteria but now thinking about it since i didnt put the bio wheel or the filter cartridge or the sponge i bought in the qt hob, the bacteria i added has nothing to attach itself to except glass and i doubt that holds much

Once i get home im going to put one of the sponge in the hob and add bottled bacteria again so it has something to attach to.

Befor i left today there was a small amonia reading on the sticker, not sure why since i only added rodi, salt, bacteria, nothing for amonia to develop. Once i get home ill do a proper test.
 
Got pvc and got the tang. I checked amonia with seachem and its 0 ph 8.2. At this point i dont know if i should test for anything else. I acclimated and put it in the qt. i also put a sponge in the hob filter and added some more bacteria. I fed a very small piece of spirulina brine and it ate everything i gave. Doesnt scratch or rub against pvc or glass. No darting around. I bought prazi pro and curpamine as that what seems to be most popular and after 3 or 4 days im going to start the treatment.

im not going to use the filter cartridge because of the meds im going to use.
The instructions say the biowheel is where the bacteria os supposed to build up so i think it wouldnt hirt if i use it but not sure so waiting for answers. I read on nano tank forums what they do and mostly they just use the hob for phos media and stuff. They have lr for filtrations so doesnt help me much

Let me know if im going in right direction. Thanks
 
Got pvc and got the tang. I checked amonia with seachem and its 0 ph 8.2. At this point i dont know if i should test for anything else. I acclimated and put it in the qt. i also put a sponge in the hob filter and added some more bacteria. I fed a very small piece of spirulina brine and it ate everything i gave. Doesnt scratch or rub against pvc or glass. No darting around. I bought prazi pro and curpamine as that what seems to be most popular and after 3 or 4 days im going to start the treatment.

im not going to use the filter cartridge because of the meds im going to use.
The instructions say the biowheel is where the bacteria os supposed to build up so i think it wouldnt hirt if i use it but not sure so waiting for answers. I read on nano tank forums what they do and mostly they just use the hob for phos media and stuff. They have lr for filtrations so doesnt help me much

Let me know if im going in right direction. Thanks

Just went through this thread again, and I guess I was wondering, is the tang currently infected? Or, did you rescue it from a tank infected with ich? Sounds like your going to treat as if it is currently infected. If I have that correct, may I ask why treat if not currently symptomatic and why not quarantine for 4-6 weeks and observe?
 
Im under the impression that for succesfull qt either have to do hypo, meds or Ttm. Or whats to say that parasites wont stay hidden for the 4-6 weeks and then pop up after. But then again some people believe that ich is always present nomater what and some people dont. Im honestly way to new to have a firm opinion for either way. Im just trying to be as prepared as possible. while its in "observation" for next few days im still reading as much as i can. Really since i didnt qt any of my other fish i could have something in my tank that i dont know about and no amount of qt for the tang will keep it safe once i put in dt. I might just keep it in observation like you said for a month and if nothing then ill put in Dt. Im still not sure exactly how to go about this. Atleast i have the meds if anything ill be ready.
Would it be okay if i use the filter cartridge with carbon in it for now and then incase i do use meds i can remove carbon befor adding meds.

my lfs just got the fish last night. I have been asking for it for 2 weeks. I can only assume it came from a dealer because the lfs got large shipment last night. The tang seems to me perfectly healthy like i described nothing that stands out.

Its hard to choose exact way because theres no one set of ways to do anything. Some threads i read "qt" includes meds aswell. In others "qt" is observation and hospital tank or watever other term people use is with meds.
I usually wait for a mod or someone with lots of posts and old join date to tell me what to do lol. In this situation they will probably tell me to do what "meandcharlie" is doing, ttm all fish and fallow dt for 72days or more. But thats way more then i can handle right now.

Still have 2 or 3 days to make a solid plan on how to do this. Untill then im just going to keep an eye on it make sure its ok and eating.
 
Im under the impression that for succesfull qt either have to do hypo, meds or Ttm. Or whats to say that parasites wont stay hidden for the 4-6 weeks and then pop up after. But then again some people believe that ich is always present nomater what and some people dont. Im honestly way to new to have a firm opinion for either way. Im just trying to be as prepared as possible. while its in "observation" for next few days im still reading as much as i can. Really since i didnt qt any of my other fish i could have something in my tank that i dont know about and no amount of qt for the tang will keep it safe once i put in dt. I might just keep it in observation like you said for a month and if nothing then ill put in Dt. Im still not sure exactly how to go about this. Atleast i have the meds if anything ill be ready.
Would it be okay if i use the filter cartridge with carbon in it for now and then incase i do use meds i can remove carbon befor adding meds.

my lfs just got the fish last night. I have been asking for it for 2 weeks. I can only assume it came from a dealer because the lfs got large shipment last night. The tang seems to me perfectly healthy like i described nothing that stands out.

Its hard to choose exact way because theres no one set of ways to do anything. Some threads i read "qt" includes meds aswell. In others "qt" is observation and hospital tank or watever other term people use is with meds.
I usually wait for a mod or someone with lots of posts and old join date to tell me what to do lol. In this situation they will probably tell me to do what "meandcharlie" is doing, ttm all fish and fallow dt for 72days or more. But thats way more then i can handle right now.

Still have 2 or 3 days to make a solid plan on how to do this. Untill then im just going to keep an eye on it make sure its ok and eating.

I hear what you're saying. It's tough sometimes to know exactly what to do as there is so much anecdotal info out there. It defiantly sounds like you have a handle on what you want to do.
If there is no current infection in your DT, then there is no reason to fallow it. Sounds like you have beaten the odds with your current livestock but are unwilling to push your luck any longer.
I understand the appeal of taking the advise of someone who posts here a lot. They've got cred, I don't here. But regardless of my on line history or lack there of, I've been in this hobby for 25+ years. With that said... Here is merely my humble opinion: Quarantine all livestock 4-6 weeks. If during that 4-6 weeks, there are no signs of an infection, then you can be reasonably certain that they're good to go into the DT. IF, during the quarantine/observational period you observe an infection, then treat with one of the 3 proven methods of your choice (my choice is copper). If you have to treat and you choose copper, they yes, you must take the carbon out as it will strip the water column of medication.
Here's an analogy I like to use when I hear someone treating copper to a fish that has zero history of infection: What would you think if I told you I was a MD who treats all my patients with chemotherapy just in case they might have cancer? (I know it's an "extreme" analogy, but it's not far off if seen through the eyes of your fish.)
If you diagnose your fish with cancer, then by all means, treat with a method that has a proven track record. But until then, quarantine, observation.

To quote the great American Philosopher, F. Gump: And that's all I have to say about that.
 
Thanks bp and just because you dont have a bunch of posts doesnt mean your opinion doesnt matter. Really alot of what i read is what you just said, just observe. then theres others who like to be extra safe reading about copper treatment your right in a way it is like chemo because its actual toxic for the fish just the amount we use isnt toxic enough to kill the entire fish just The bad stuff. But it also potentialy makes them not eat so thats not good either. I guess one of positives to the med treatment is that the entire qt process is shorter and its more garantee. Bit since ive never qt befor theres no garantee for me and not using the meds and just observing would keep the stress down. Still not sure 100% on wat im going to do but i definetly see your point and it would be easier for me just maintainance wise. Plus i have the meds sitting there incase i need them
 
Do you have any corals or Cuc in the DT? If none consider hyposalinity to treat DT fish in the DT. I had to do that as with all the rock work I could not catch them all. I put cuc and coral in another tank.
 
Lots of cuc and corals. I could move corals but most crabs and snails are in rocks or sand.

I found this article and i think im going to follow these directions + some extra observation make it full 4 weeks

Hoping to not introduce anything to my tank from now on and praying nothing is already in there and hiding. After this mimic tang i wont have much room for more fish anyway but i will qt all fish and atleast dip all corals from now on.
 
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