Quarantine Tank

[Bulldog]

I have been in the hobby for about 14months and have never qt anything. The LFS qt everything and treats with formalin. I know that this isnt the best method but I have never had any problems. Now that Im looking at getting corals from other people Im going to. My wife just brought home today a 14g nano I will be setting up at the end of the week. My plan is to fill it with DT water and use a sponge from the sump for the bacteria. If anyone has suggestion yell at me.

[mlobato]

I run one like others, during the "stocking" phase. Once I am done adding my fish, I will tear it down. I have all the corals i NEED (not want) haha. I only plan to set up the 10g qt when I need some restock of snails/crabs etc.

[rmougey]

The one thing that I have learned after doing this for 25+ years is.... ALWAYS QT!

I run multiple QTs (copper/non-copper) and always have at least one running at all times.

-Rob

[Kirblit]

I would never be without a QT ever again, I had a bad experience a couple years ago and ever since I"m extremely cautious, even with corals. I QT for a minimum of 10 weeks with all new fish.

[stugray]

I QT for a minimum of 10 weeks with all new fish.,

WOW!

I thought I was cautious with always QT for three weeks ( mandarins excepted, they go right in ).

I always cringe if I need to QT for more than a few weeks. I have lost far more fish in QT due to "my fault" than I care to count.

It is just hard to keep a decent QT running with the proper bioload on it to be able to accommodate a sudden fish and all the food required to keep it unstressed.

How do some of you keep a QT running all the time without the sudden cycle as soon as you put a fish in & start feeding?

Stu

[frickenfragger]

I have a 20L i run if I have fish coming in, but is dry until fish come. I fill the tank with 15 gallons of old water(water from displays water change) and 5 new. Run a hob bio-wheel and leave the wheel my 90 display to keep it stocked with bacteria.

[rmougey]

Excellent suggestion on a bio-wheel. It's also easy to put a small one of these type filters on your sump, keep one on your QT and then move the wheel from your DT sump to the QT tank. Bleach the wheel from the QT tank, rinse and let dry, then place the disinfected wheel on your DT to get bacteria going again.

Performing a water change on your DT, and pulling all that 'gunk' out of the gravel bed is also a quick way to get your QT up quickly. It's chocked full of good bacteria. It also give you a good amount of seasoned saltwater for the QT.

I'm also a big fan of Seachem's Stability, a stable live autotrophic bacteria. If i need to QT large numbers of critters (or a big critter) quickly, I'll dose the tank with Stability. Be sure to follow directions. This is also helpful when treating with antibiotics to help return some pf the good bacteria to the tank. Haven't had any issues with spikes. If it is particularly heavy bioload, I'll also supplement with Bio-Zyme, another live bacteria item.

Some folks prefer to keep small dither fish in their QT. Don't keep anything aggressive though, or you will be facing other problems.

-Rob

[Kirblit]

Originally Posted by stugray

I QT for a minimum of 10 weeks with all new fish.,

WOW!

I thought I was cautious with always QT for three weeks ( mandarins excepted, they go right in ).

I always cringe if I need to QT for more than a few weeks. I have lost far more fish in QT due to "my fault" than I care to count.

It is just hard to keep a decent QT running with the proper bioload on it to be able to accommodate a sudden fish and all the food required to keep it unstressed.

How do some of you keep a QT running all the time without the sudden cycle as soon as you put a fish in & start feeding?

Stu

I'ts important to QT all new fish for at least 6 weeks because it takes time for them to show symptoms that we can recognize. I also use it as an opperotunity to deworm all new fish.
I QT my mandarin for 4 weeks as well, it's a good opperotunity to get them to eat prepared foods, I also taught them how to eat from jars just in case.

To run a proper QT tank you have to feed the tank just as if there were fish in it if there aren't any. I feed my QT tank flake food every couple of days to keep it cycled and ready for a new fish. When I get a new fish I do a 90% W/C the day before and I have never had any problems. It's also important not to have any sand or live rock in a QT tank because treatments like copper will accumulate in the live rock throwing off the concentrations in the water. I have a BB 20g with a HOB aquaclear filter on it with 3 sponges for bacterial growth.

here are the mandarins when I had them in the QT








Eating from Frapaccino Bottle