Well my QT is a 50g tank. I have a few pieces of pipe in there with some 2" elbows and other fittings to create hiding places. I run a Remora Pro on it. Have a reactor hooked on the back running carbon but I don't think this is necessary. And now I have an 8w UV Steriliser which is a must have.
Thats the setup put a few other points are worth mentioning. First is that I keep sponges in my sump at all times so that when I need to set up a QT I transfer water over from the main system plus the sponges. I have them stuffed into 45 degree elbows so they fully submerge. On this latest cycle I have gone against conventional wisdom and added two chunks of LR to the QT too. My reasoning behind this is that I want to feed heavy (Anthias have a high metabolism) and I was worried that the two sponges wouldn't have carried enough bacteria to handle this bioload. You can hypo LR just fine. I've done it before and it was more than just two chunks. Two weeks into hypo you'll notice the rock go fuzzy as the life inside expires (it takes 2 weeks for hypo to kill invert lifeforms from what I've seen in applying hypo to LR before). When that happens take it out and scrub it and dunk it in RODI and put it back it - easy.
Even with the sponges and the assistance of some chunks of LR and a Remora Pro you need to do twice weekly water changes to keep the quality up. So twice a week I siphon the tank out of collected detritus and replace about 5 or 10 gallons depending on how proactive I'm feeling.
I use a PH buffer to keep PH around 8. Alot of people use baked baking soda but I have teh amounts worked out with the buffer so when I do a water change I put 7ml of buffer in and I'm sorted.
QT is tough. I think this is my 4th or 5th hypo cycle and it's going well. My last attempt was a complete disaster when water quality went downhill and I was unable to rectify the situation quick enough. I lost 4 out of 6 fish. Admittedly one was a tough copper banded butterfly and one fish jumped (6 line) but the PBT and longnose hawk definitely perished due to the water quality.
In summary....yea, QT is tough and you won't get it right straight away but I now feel that I've been through enough cycles to have my own system worked out. One of the Anthias died on Tuesday due to what looks like internal parasites but I'm now 3 weeks in and the water quality is excellent, PH stable, salinity stable, fish healthy. I'd do a school of 10 in a 50g. I have another powder blue in with the anthias and it poos alot. The sponges, rock, skimmer and water changes can handle that though.
One thing I wouldn't do is 10 different or mixed species in a 50g QT due to possible aggression issues. Six would be the max there I reckon depending on what you have though. Hopefully this ramble helps.
Thats the setup put a few other points are worth mentioning. First is that I keep sponges in my sump at all times so that when I need to set up a QT I transfer water over from the main system plus the sponges. I have them stuffed into 45 degree elbows so they fully submerge. On this latest cycle I have gone against conventional wisdom and added two chunks of LR to the QT too. My reasoning behind this is that I want to feed heavy (Anthias have a high metabolism) and I was worried that the two sponges wouldn't have carried enough bacteria to handle this bioload. You can hypo LR just fine. I've done it before and it was more than just two chunks. Two weeks into hypo you'll notice the rock go fuzzy as the life inside expires (it takes 2 weeks for hypo to kill invert lifeforms from what I've seen in applying hypo to LR before). When that happens take it out and scrub it and dunk it in RODI and put it back it - easy.
Even with the sponges and the assistance of some chunks of LR and a Remora Pro you need to do twice weekly water changes to keep the quality up. So twice a week I siphon the tank out of collected detritus and replace about 5 or 10 gallons depending on how proactive I'm feeling.
I use a PH buffer to keep PH around 8. Alot of people use baked baking soda but I have teh amounts worked out with the buffer so when I do a water change I put 7ml of buffer in and I'm sorted.
QT is tough. I think this is my 4th or 5th hypo cycle and it's going well. My last attempt was a complete disaster when water quality went downhill and I was unable to rectify the situation quick enough. I lost 4 out of 6 fish. Admittedly one was a tough copper banded butterfly and one fish jumped (6 line) but the PBT and longnose hawk definitely perished due to the water quality.
In summary....yea, QT is tough and you won't get it right straight away but I now feel that I've been through enough cycles to have my own system worked out. One of the Anthias died on Tuesday due to what looks like internal parasites but I'm now 3 weeks in and the water quality is excellent, PH stable, salinity stable, fish healthy. I'd do a school of 10 in a 50g. I have another powder blue in with the anthias and it poos alot. The sponges, rock, skimmer and water changes can handle that though.
One thing I wouldn't do is 10 different or mixed species in a 50g QT due to possible aggression issues. Six would be the max there I reckon depending on what you have though. Hopefully this ramble helps.
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