Quarantine tank set up

[Roxborough Reefer]

After reading a lot of forum threads of sick and dead fish etc.. I understand the importance of quarantining of fish prior to introducing them into your tank. How do I set up a QT in an economical way? Should I take advantage of the sales this weekend at Petsmart of buying a 10 gallon aquarium kit for 50% off? If you quarantine, what is your methods and set up?

Thanks in advance
Jacob

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[Legonch]

Or.....buy fish and corals from me. All my fish go through 30 days qt. Fish are medicated for ich, velvet, and parasites. Totally clean fish when their sold. All corals go through a 30 day qt as well and are dipped 3-4 times during


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[zombie]

Even when buying from a reputable vendor that QTs their new arrivals well, it's still important to have at least an observational QT setup for no less than 2 weeks because you never know what they might have missed

The cheapest method is to buy a 10-40 gallon tank (depends on the size of your main tank), a HOB filter that you can use to run carbon to remove any medicines (the ones with the bio wheel are nice because you can still run them without carbon for extra filtration and water movement), a heater adequate for the tank size, a light of any kind to inspect the fish (a 5w LED clamp on is adequate), a sponge filter that you keep in your main tank sump until you get a new arrival, an air pump to drive the sponge filter, and some non-porous hiding places like some PVC fittings.

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[Balz3352]

There is a fantastic thread on this on reef2reef. Its worth checking out.

 

[Roxborough Reefer]

Or.....buy fish and corals from me. All my fish go through 30 days qt. Fish are medicated for ich, velvet, and parasites. Totally clean fish when their sold. All corals go through a 30 day qt as well and are dipped 3-4 times during


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That sounds better. I look forward to a future business interaction.

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[Roxborough Reefer]

There is a fantastic thread on this on reef2reef. Its worth checking out.

I will review. Thank you for the suggestion.

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[Andrew_bram]

I personally believe all tanks have something. In order to make sure not illnesses are present you would have to QT every snail,shrimp,coral,fish,and rock. There is even speculation certain parasites can survive in frozen food. Far fetch in my opinion but just adds to the list.

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[Legonch]

Even when buying from a reputable vendor that QTs their new arrivals well, it's still important to have at least an observational QT setup for no less than 2 weeks because you never know what they might have missed

The cheapest method is to buy a 10-40 gallon tank (depends on the size of your main tank), a HOB filter that you can use to run carbon to remove any medicines (the ones with the bio wheel are nice because you can still run them without carbon for extra filtration and water movement), a heater adequate for the tank size, a light of any kind to inspect the fish (a 5w LED clamp on is adequate), a sponge filter that you keep in your main tank sump until you get a new arrival, an air pump to drive the sponge filter, and some non-porous hiding places like some PVC fittings.

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I don’t miss anything. Ever. My fish are clean when they leave. I’d have no problem dropping any of my fish for sale in my own system.


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[ReefCheif]

I don’t miss anything. Ever. My fish are clean when they leave. I’d have no problem dropping any of my fish for sale in my own system.


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Thats a pretty bold statement, and something id have to disagree with completely. I dont care who you are, how you QT or how long you QT, your NOT gonna catch everything and suggesting otherwise and telling hobbiest theres no need to QT if buying from you is just irresponsible as a vendor. Any experienced hobbiest or professional knows the #1 rule of this game is QT, regardless of where the livestock came from.

 

[Legonch]

Thats a pretty bold statement, and something id have to disagree with completely. I dont care who you are, how you QT or how long you QT, your NOT gonna catch everything and suggesting otherwise and telling hobbiest theres no need to QT if buying from you is just irresponsible as a vendor. Any experienced hobbiest or professional knows the #1 rule of this game is QT, regardless of where the livestock came from.

It is a bold statement I agree. Of course you can qt after buying fish from me, that’s your choice. But no need to.


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[zombie]

Thats a pretty bold statement, and something id have to disagree with completely. I dont care who you are, how you QT or how long you QT, your NOT gonna catch everything and suggesting otherwise and telling hobbiest theres no need to QT if buying from you is just irresponsible as a vendor. Any experienced hobbiest or professional knows the #1 rule of this game is QT, regardless of where the livestock came from.

I agree with this.

A good vendor QT may eliminate the need to proactively treat with meds, but it doesn't eliminate the need for QT. You need some time to observe the fish to make sure nothing got missed, you need a place of no competition to transition onto the food you plan to use, and you need a place that won't foul your main tank if it dies from shipping stress.

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[Legonch]

All good information here. It’s so sad and frustrating to hear of people losing all of their livestock due to velvet and or ich etc. that’s a big reason I started doing all this.


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[SynDen]

This is the method I use for every new fish I bring in
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/quarantining-marine-fish-made-simple

 

[Roxborough Reefer]

This is the method I use for every new fish I bring in
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/quarantining-marine-fish-made-simple

Because of the great advice I got in this thread and the link that was shared by SynDen. I got a used 12 gallon JBJ nano glass aquarium. It came with a Aquaclear HOB filter. After cleaning it, the only thing I need is a light and heater. Thanks everyone.

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[Hal3134]

10g or 20l for tank. Heater, air bubbler, powerhead (from experience my fish did much better in QT with good water flow. And then add pvc and plastic plants to break up the sight lines and provide hiding spaces. This also was a major upgrade to my success: (plastic plants) to break up sight lines. Finally, if in a busy location, blackout or otherwise cover 3 sides of the tank.

My QT procedure is, upon receipt, a bath in Safety Stop ( part 1 is formalin, part 2 is methylene blue). Then tank transfer for 14 days with Prazipro on the 2nd and 4th transfer. Never had ich or velvet in my DT.

 

[DyM]

Had I known this 6-12 months ago, I would have ordered all my fish through @Legonch Emerald Reef Supply. So if a fish normally goes for $80, it's worth double that if someone QT's it correctly for 30 days. Here's why. First, there is a high mortality rate of fish in the first 30 days. Most business that deal with fish are what I call "burn and turn" as it's received on Thursday, quick QT/ Dip, and it's in a tank to sell for the Friday crowds. Fish going from ocean to your tank go through a lot, it's stressful, and it happens... fish die. When I order fish online, I often order 20-30% more knowing some will die. Yes, you'll get credit, but it happens... even with Diver's Den who does a good job at QT.


Second, you have to buy all the chemicals/treatments - like what Hal3134 mentions. That's a cost.


Third, there is much debate on how long to QT - from 3-6 weeks. It's not hard, but a pain. Think of feeding two tanks, and depending on setup, taking care of two tanks. It's not like you're getting one batch of fish, most likely x2-4 batches so several months... believe me, I am dealing with this now. How much is your time worth?


Forth, in 4 weeks, a fish is settled in and eating. In addition to stress/disease, this is the second most important reason for QT, especially when adding fish in a tank that already has fish. They have to "hold its own", compete for food and not get bullied. All these factors is a circle - fish that are stressed, are more susceptible to disease. Diseased or stressed fish don't eat well, fish that don't eat are even more stressed, and more susceptible to disease/ All this leads to a loss. It's a hard cycle to break once it starts.


I lost about 25 fish due to not QTing correctly and getting velvet. One mistake here in this area could be costly, and painful to watch.


All reefers should have a permanent QT setup. I would get fish from Lagonch, and keep them in a tank for one week just to ensure they are eating your food, and use to your water. That is sooo much easier than doing the whole QT process.

 

[Legonch]

Had I known this 6-12 months ago, I would have ordered all my fish through @Legonch Emerald Reef Supply. So if a fish normally goes for $80, it's worth double that if someone QT's it correctly for 30 days. Here's why. First, there is a high mortality rate of fish in the first 30 days. Most business that deal with fish are what I call "burn and turn" as it's received on Thursday, quick QT/ Dip, and it's in a tank to sell for the Friday crowds. Fish going from ocean to your tank go through a lot, it's stressful, and it happens... fish die. When I order fish online, I often order 20-30% more knowing some will die. Yes, you'll get credit, but it happens... even with Diver's Den who does a good job at QT.


Second, you have to buy all the chemicals/treatments - like what Hal3134 mentions. That's a cost.


Third, there is much debate on how long to QT - from 3-6 weeks. It's not hard, but a pain. Think of feeding two tanks, and depending on setup, taking care of two tanks. It's not like you're getting one batch of fish, most likely x2-4 batches so several months... believe me, I am dealing with this now. How much is your time worth?


Forth, in 4 weeks, a fish is settled in and eating. In addition to stress/disease, this is the second most important reason for QT, especially when adding fish in a tank that already has fish. They have to "hold its own", compete for food and not get bullied. All these factors is a circle - fish that are stressed, are more susceptible to disease. Diseased or stressed fish don't eat well, fish that don't eat are even more stressed, and more susceptible to disease/ All this leads to a loss. It's a hard cycle to break once it starts.


I lost about 25 fish due to not QTing correctly and getting velvet. One mistake here in this area could be costly, and painful to watch.


All reefers should have a permanent QT setup. I would get fish from Lagonch, and keep them in a tank for one week just to ensure they are eating your food, and use to your water. That is sooo much easier than doing the whole QT process.

Thanks!!!


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[flagg37]

@Legonch, thank you for taking the time and extra effort to do your best to ensure that you are offering your customers a healthy product. I’ll have to look into what you have to offer.

That being said, I consider it my responsibility to ensure the safety of my livestock and never 100% trust anyone else to do this. Many times I will add something without qt but I consider it a calculated risk based on certain factors.

To the op, it depends on what you’re trying to keep from coming in to better tailor your qt method to.

 

[DyM]

I consider it my responsibility to ensure the safety of my livestock and never 100% trust anyone else to do this.

So true!!!! Reefing principle to live by. Instead of pointing the finger one has to point both thumbs back, and know it's up to you, always to QT correctly.