Help with QT tank

[D. Torres]

I've been doing a lot of reading on QT tanks, A LOT. ;Bookworm;Bookworm;Bookworm I want to set up a QT tank but my concern is that I've read that daily water changes are needed. I work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week and during my work week it would be almost impossible to have time to do a daily water change. Is there a way to have a QT tank where I could get away with doing maybe 1 or 2 water changes a week. If so what would I need for that to be possible.

Another question I have is how do you go about tranfering a fish back to your DT after it's been in QT with a copper treatment. Do you just net the fish and put it back in the DT. Do you "rinse" the fish with some DT water in a separate container before going back in the DT? I'm confused and haven't read anything about how to transer a fish back to your DT after it's had a copper treatment. Im concerned about copper getting in my DT and killing my corals and invertebrates. Please any answer to either one of these questions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kristinarenee]

Get a sponge filter from amazon. Put it in your dt for 3-4 weeks. Use that with an air pump in your quarantine tank. It will grow enough beneficial bacteria in the dt that daily water changes wont be needed. I dont have a sump so i just put mine right in the tank till needed in the qt tank. Get a new on each time so medication doesnt get put back in dt.

 

[Humblefish]

To answer your second question, so long as SG & temp match just net the fish and transfer him on over. Don't worry about the little bit of copper on the net.

 

[D. Torres]

Get a sponge filter from amazon. Put it in your dt for 3-4 weeks. Use that with an air pump in your quarantine tank. It will grow enough beneficial bacteria in the dt that daily water changes wont be needed. I dont have a sump so i just put mine right in the tank till needed in the qt tank. Get a new on each time so medication doesnt get put back in dt.

I don't have a sump either but I'm running a FX6 which is rated for up to 400 Gallons on my 75 gallon tank. Could I remove one of my sponges in my canister and place a foam filter in there so that it grows the necessary bacteria? Also would a copper treatment kill the beneficial bacteria in the sponge filter.

 

[HotRocks]

The beneficial bacteria, will be fine in the presence of copper. Personally after a treatment of copper is complete, I do a 100% water change and add inserts with activated carbon into HOB filter to remove any trace amount of copper, then observe the fish for at least 14 days to be sure they are indeed "clean". Once complete I just siphon water from QT into 5 gallon bucket, net fish into bucket. Carry bucket upstairs and net them from bucket into DT.

 

[kristinarenee]

I don't have a sump either but I'm running a FX6 which is rated for up to 400 Gallons on my 75 gallon tank. Could I remove one of my sponges in my canister and place a foam filter in there so that it grows the necessary bacteria? Also would a copper treatment kill the beneficial bacteria in the sponge filter.

If it fits its fine. Its a pretty good size sponge filter though and about 5in orbso in diameter. I even use the fluval biomax that has been in my dt tank in a hob filter to help with beneficial bacteria. They will also not absorb medication.

 

[D. Torres]

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[Big G]

Here's my standard QT tank setup. I use an Aquaclear 50 with a sponge that has been soaking in my DT tank sump for a month and a mesh bag with BioMax ceramic media that also has been in the sump for a month. Plus also use a foam bubble filter that has been soaking in the sump for a month. I let the QT cycle for about 30 days. Benefit? No ammonia problems when the fish endup in the QT. Also only feed the fish frozen cube "smoothie" instead of pellets or flake. The pellets and flake make a mess in the tank that even if you are careful, ends up as more work. That being said, with the filter setup and the frozen food, I only do 5 gal water changes in the 20 QT about every 5 days. And that's because I want to, not because I need to. Great water quality. Low stress. Here's a pic of the QT

 

[D. Torres]

Here's my standard QT tank setup. I use an Aquaclear 50 with a sponge that has been soaking in my DT tank sump for a month and a mesh bag with BioMax ceramic media that also has been in the sump for a month. Plus also use a foam bubble filter that has been soaking in the sump for a month. I let the QT cycle for about 30 days. Benefit? No ammonia problems when the fish endup in the QT. Also only feed the fish frozen cube "smoothie" instead of pellets or flake. The pellets and flake make a mess in the tank that even if you are careful, ends up as more work. That being said, with the filter setup and the frozen food, I only do 5 gal water changes in the 20 QT about every 5 days. And that's because I want to, not because I need to. Great water quality. Low stress. Here's a pic of the QT

Thank you for the very detailed response. It is very helpful. Now I have a related question. I have 2 small clown fish about 1.5 inches long. One of them has had a cloudy eye for a little more than week. It is slightly popping out but it's only one eye and the other clown doesn't have it. Is it Popeye? If anyone knows how it is and how I can treat it I would really appreciate the help.

 

[Big G]

Are those white spots on your clown? Sounds like your clown may have a bacterial infection. Here's Humblefish's treatment advisory:

Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

 

[D. Torres]

Are those white spots on your clown? Sounds like your clown may have a bacterial infection. Here's Humblefish's treatment advisory:

Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

Does treatment need to be done in QT? Because unfortunatel as you can tell from my original post, I do not have a QT set up yet.

 

[Big G]

Does treatment need to be done in QT? Because unfortunatel as you can tell from my original post, I do not have a QT set up yet.

You could try a bath with Ruby Reef Rally to help with the infection, since you do not have a QT.

 

[D. Torres]

You could try a bath with Ruby Reef Rally to help with the infection, since you do not have a QT.

By bath do you mean removing my clown fish into a separate smaller container and letting it swim around in Ruby Reef Rally? Or do I treat my whole tank. Also is it reef safe. I have a few corals in my tank. I've been using Dr. G's anti-bacterial caviar. Here is a picture of my clown from today. No spots on his body but eye is still a little swollen and cloudy.

 

[Big G]

Yes. You prepare a bath of water from your tank that you add Ruby Reef Rally.
How To Treat – At present time there are two products on the market which contain acriflavine (dosage information below). Use either in a 75-90 minute bath, temperature controlling the water and providing plenty of aeration by using an air pump & air-stone. Ensure salinity, pH and temperature of bath & QT water match perfectly.

Acriflavine-MS: Add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water.

Ruby Reef Rally: Add 1 ounce per 10 gallons of water. This breaks down to roughly 2/3 teaspoon of Rally per gallon if using less than 10 gallons.

 

[D. Torres]

Thank you @Big G. I will be doing that as soon as I can. Thanks for your help.

 

[D. Torres]

@Big G I wasn't able to get any Rally right away so my next option was hydroplex. I dipped both my clown fish just to be safe. The clown fish still has a little bit of visible bacterial signs but her eye swelling/cloudiness is almost completely gone. She's swimming around just fine and eats normally. Should I do a dip again or just wait it out?

 

[Big G]

Sounds like she's on the mend. I haven't used Hydroplex. I know @Humblefish mentioned it a while back. Perhaps he can give some advice here. When you can get some Ruby Reef Rally for your med kit.

 

[Humblefish]

Supposedly Hydroplex will clear surface parasites/worms the same as using formalin, but I’ve never tested it.

 

[D. Torres]

Supposedly Hydroplex will clear surface parasites/worms the same as using formalin, but I’ve never tested it.

@Humblefish Do you think I should do another dip or just wait it out since she's behaving normally and eating well?

Also another question. I want to introduce Chemi Pure Elite to my system. As of now all I have ran on my system is biological filtration and mechanical filtration by means of a canister filter and recently a protein skimmer. Someone mentioned that I could potentially shock my system by adding too much Chemi Pure at once since I've had no chemical filtration. Any suggestions? I thought about getting 1/2 unit and running that for a week then adding another 1/2 unit and work my way up to the proper amount necessary for my volume of water.
@Big G

 

[D. Torres]

Bump @Big G @Humblefish