Quarantine Tank help please...

[Tangwich]

Hello, currently in the process of building my very first quaratine tank and not sure exactly what is needed besides the actual aquarium and filtration. Is LS and/or LR needed? What size do most people get for a qt and should i set up a sump and skimmer and the whole nine for it? Thanks for all help.

 

[erbio]

Dont add any sand, it is not necessary.

You WILL need something for the fish to hide in such as PVC, flower pots or similar.

 

[Tangwich]

ok, thanks.

 

[mattsilvester]

well, it depends on what you might q-tine

if it is fish only....... then the tank, a filter, a heater, and sometihng to hide in.... flower pots or pvc as erbio says.

how do you intend to q-tine...... 4 weeks, and treat if necessary? or treat regardless as a preventative measure? I favour the latter, and use hypo - which means that a skimmer is practically useless.

personally however, I am taking q-tine to the next level, and anything wet, including inverts, corals or otherwise will be q-tined...... if you are going to that extreme, then a small skimmer and a little PC or T5 lighting unit should serve you well.....

HTH

Matt

 

[Tangwich]

Thanks Matt, that's more the type of response I was looking for, something detailed. I'm going to do fish only so you have answered my questions. Thanks again.

 

[mattsilvester]

I would definitely treat with hypo while you are quaranting....... as you are at it.... so put a refractometer on your shopping list

 

[Tangwich]

How much of a difference do you honestly think a refractometer makes from having and using a regular hydrometer? Just wondering if it should be a "MUST" on my list of things to buy, now that I've taken the plunge into the big tank world. Thanks.

 

[erbio]

Well definitely a heater, I assumed you'd already be aware of that.

 

[Tangwich]

Yeah, the heater was the first thing I got, even before the tank which I'm still looking for..lol..any suggestions on size of tank I should be looking for? Fish I will quarantine will all be under 4 inches in length.

 

[erbio]

How many fish do you believe you'd be quarantining weekly and for what time period?

For example a Yellow tang would need at least 75 gallons minimum for a period of four weeks.

 

[Tangwich]

You nailed it right on the head Erbio. One would be a blue tang, maybe a yellow tang and maybe a copperband butterfly. So I'm guessing 75-100g will work.

 

[mattsilvester]

I think a 75 gal tank for a single yellow tang is way OTT.

A 48"x12"x12" is plenty big for anything up to 6".
Smaller water volume means you can do 25% daily water changes with a single bucket, if you need to..... this is much more difficult in a bigger tank.

I treated an emporer angel, 5 yellow tangs, a purple tang and 6 anthias in a 75 gal tank for 6 weeks with hypo salinity........ it was far from ideal, I am quite experienced, and it was hard work.... definitely not to be recommended, especailly for a begginer....... but it shows that it can be done.....

I use a 48"x12"x12" an find it ideal....... But even for a yellow tang, maybe a 36"x15"x15" tank would be perfect.....

Now if you want to q-tine them all together, thats different...... but I would recommend individuals, or two at a time maybe, at most.......

HTH

Matt