How is your current quarantine tank set up?

Excellent thread! I thought about making one on this topic just to get others talking about/considering a quarantine system.

For fish we use a 20 gallon tank, heater, Marineland Hot Magnum HOB canister filter, and two aerators. We keep a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge inside the tank just as a quick alert. The bottom of the tank is bare and we included a large conch shell for a hiding place. For any new fish we purchase, we quarantine at hyposalinity for a minimum of 2 weeks (this could be longer, depending on the health of the fish) and supplement that with formalin baths (~125 ppm). Picture is below



For coral and inverts we use a 10 gallon tank that is set up with a deep sand bed (~4 inches), 7+lbs live rock, heater, and a CPR Bak Pak protein skimmer. Just set this system up not too long ago so we'll see how this works. Got some corals, snails, and a Tridacna derasa in there currently. Also a nice little breeding ground for copepods and other critters. We set this tank up because most local fish stores in our area tend to keep fish in their coral tanks and we don't really want to risk transferring any encysted Cryptocaryon tomonts into our display tank. See picture below.




Come on people! I know more of you quarantine livestock. Lets see what other types of systems are out there.

I would like to set up a system to run all of our fish through before adding them to our new 180. If you have a set up I would love to read about it as well as what meds you use and for how long. So pretty much your quarentine routine the ins and outs! Following along

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15g column with a Aquaclear 10 on the back, heater, hood light, ammonia badge, powerhead, pvc pipes, 2 thermometers, enough background film to wrap around the tank to keep any inhabitants from getting startled (tank is in the kitchen). I keep sponges in my sump for the beneficial bacteria to grow on.
Old picture- Has since had everything changed but the tank, stand, hood and thermometer. Here is a recent video of my blenny swimming around in the QT- Squishie's 90g Saltwater Tank
I will try and edit this tomorrow with a new picture to show off the system.

Thanks for the replies guys!
Anyone else?

I keep the filter sponges for a HOB in the sump of my DT.
I run a 15G tank with heater, ATO, aquaclear HOB(forgot model), and some 3-4" pvc "T" fittings for hiding places. I treat with nothing if the fish seems healthy and go to hypo or medication if needed. no fish leaves that tank for a minimum of 6 weeks.
I will be setting up my 12G JBJ nanocube as a coral QT running bare bottom & the back filled with rock rubble for filtration since I wont be keeping fish in there.

Here is how the system looks now-

Good lookin' QT's guys!

Squishie89 said:

...enough background film to wrap around the tank to keep any inhabitants from getting startled (tank is in the kitchen).

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Even once people realize how crucial it is to QT, and take the proper steps to do so, this is almost always overlooked, well done Squishie!

A towel, background, or anything to wrap the tank with, especially if it's in a high traffic area is crucial for new QT inhabitants. My QT system is in my office, very low traffic area, so I generally forgo the wrap but am in the habit of not running lights on them for about a week (particularly Fresh Off Plane fish), and have a little Ecoxotic Stunner Strip with dimmer that I can ever so slowly bring light intensity up over the next couple/few weeks.

Bright light(s) and our noses pressed against the glass does a new QT inhabitant no good, ever...

Really neat QT tank Squishie! Any particular reason you went with a column? Just an extra tank?

Want to start off by saying nice QT squishie... your set ups are always top notch! :thumbup:

My QT is a aquion 2.5g bow front with a whisper filter and cheap heater. I modified the hood to use a coral life 50/50 mini compact fluorescent 20w bulb. A lil over kill but it gets everything use to the DT with LEDs. ;) the picture is from when I first started it.

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stunreefer said:

Even once people realize how crucial it is to QT, and take the proper steps to do so, this is almost always overlooked, well done Squishie!

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Thank you! I try to do my very best by my critters (heck, I set up an in-hospital tank for a snail to recover from almost being eaten alive).

GrahamR said:

Really neat QT tank Squishie! Any particular reason you went with a column? Just an extra tank?

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Thank you! Short story- No =P Long story- When I was first looking around for used equipment I came across a 15g column, with stand and hood. I bought it, got a new bulb for it and everything. When I went to clean the tank, found out it leaked. I was not up to fixing it. I saw a 15g column set at petco came with the lighted hood, heater, filter and was the perfect size for the stand I already had. So that is how I have a 15g column =P It also fits PERFECTLY in that little niche so the door can fully open but not hit the tank.

grumpy-crab said:

Want to start off by saying nice QT squishie... your set ups are always top notch! :thumbup:

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Oh my gosh, I am so flattered! Thank you so much! *fans self*

Any other input. This thread can't die this is an important topic!

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ruppertb said:

Any other input. This thread can't die this is an important topic!

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Well lets see I believe you wanted to know what quarantine procedures that different users use

This is what we do for any new fish that comes in:

The fish is immediately drip acclimated to the quarantine system that I posted above (post#2) for no less than 30 minutes to an hour. At all time during the acclimation process you should observe your fish for any signs of rapid breathing/stress as this could be a result of low dissolved oxygen. You might need to add an aerator to the container that the fish is being acclimated in (we use a large plastic salad bowl). For the drip acclimation we use a piece of airline tubing and a clip to regulate the drip rate. I usually just adjust it by eye to what I feel is not too fast or too slow. As the quarantine tank water is being mixed with the water that the fish arrived in, I remove water from the bowl so that as time goes on the water is primarily water from the quarantine tank. After no less than 30 mins, I pour the water and the fish into the quarantine tank and refill the tank with freshly mixed saltwater. The fish remains in the dark for the rest of the day. Ok so we have our fish acclimated and it's in the quarantine system. The next thing that we do is bring the fish to a hyposaline environment (specific gravity of 1.010) to take care of any Cryptocaryon irritans infection.

We use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the water throughout the duration of quarantine as this gives us a more accurate reading than a needle hydrometer (and it's easier). So we begin lowering the salinity by removing a gallon of the water from the quarantine tank and replacing with a gallon of freshwater. After this check the salinity. Remember this is in our 20 gallon quarantine system, so you will have to adjust the volume of water removed so that it scales to your system. We wait an hour and repeat the previous step. We continue removing water and replacing until the hyposaline environment is achieved. The next day is when we begin the use of formalin administered as a bath in the quarantine tank.

To perform the formalin bath, we use the following items:
-large rope bucket (~15 gallons) with premixed and heated saltwater at a 1.010 specific gravity
-graduated pipet or syringe
-100% formalin (37% formaldehyde)
-aerators

Two aerators are on at all times during this treatment since formalin lowers dissolved oxygen in the water. We remove the hang on the back filter and sponge and hang it on the side of the large rope bucket with our premixed and heated saltwater (1.010) and turn it on. I do this so as not to harm any of the bacteria on the sponge. Next we begin by adding 1 ml of formalin to the quarantine tank and proceed until we have added our desired amount (~15-20 ml in my case). The fish is allowed to sit in the formalin bath for 1 hour and is observed periodically throughout the treatment. If any stress is noticed, you make the decision to remove the fish to the freshly mixed saltwater. I have not had any problems yet with formalin baths. After the 1 hour is up, the fish is gently netted and transfered to the rope bucket. I then remove the heater and aerators from the quarantine tank and transfer them to the rope bucket as well. Now I clean the tank.

To clean the tank, I completely drain it and add ~5 gallons of freshly mixed saltwater (1.010 specific gravity). I add the heater back to the tank and allow the temperature to reach the desired temp (78 F in my case). I begin syphoning water from the rope bucket back into the quarantine tank. After I have ~15 gallons in the tank, I net the fish and transfer the fish back into the tank. After adding the remaining water from the rope bucket, I get all the equipment (HOB filter, aerators) hooked back up. Presto! 1 formalin bath down! I repeat the formalin baths anywhere from 5-7 consecutive days. This has worked for me in curing fish with C. irritans.

I will not speak of copper since I have never had a need to use it as a treatment method. I'll leave that to someone else on Reef2Reef that has more experience with it. Though I think I remember from somewhere that copper and hyposalinity do not mix. So don't quote me on that one.

So we've given our fish several consecutive formalin baths. We're confident that there are no visible signs of infection, but we still need to keep the fish at the hyposaline conditions for a total of 2 weeks. If we see indications of white spot (C. irritans) then we need to repeat the formalin baths or seek out copper as a treatment. But ideally what we want is the fish to have no visible signs of infection for at least 2-3 weeks (up to 6 weeks). I then begin raising the salinity by removing a gallon of water from the tank and replacing it with freshly mixed saltwater (what your display tank is). I do this more gradually than when we drop to hyposaline conditions. I probably will do this every 3-5 hours until the normal display tank salinity is reached.

Ok so our fish is back at normal salinity. We don't move it just yet! We keep the fish in the quarantine tank for an additional 1-2 weeks and observe for any signs of disease. This should be sufficient time for them to present. If the fish presents with anything then you will need to continue quarantining and perhaps restart the procedures (I've not been this unfortunate... yet). If the fish doesn't present with any signs of disease then you may begin drip acclimating the fish to the water of the display tank (using the same steps as above). I net the fish and place it in the display tank.

Well that is our fish quarantine procedure in a nutshell. Hope this helps! I'll leave quarantining of live rock and corals to someone else ;)

Those ammonia alert badges didn't work for me. I almost lost two clowns because of them. Just be careful.

jm23 said:

Those ammonia alert badges didn't work for me. I almost lost two clowns because of them. Just be careful.

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interesting! Thanks for the input! I'll keep a watch on it. Luckily we usually do 25-50% water changes periodically (once or twice a week) after we go through the rounds of formalin baths so we've never had an issue with it. And an over-sized filter doesn't hurt either ;)

Nothing fancy, I have a 10 gallon tank but I don't keep it setup and running all the time. I painted the back glass and sides black. I use Hydro-Sponge Pro Filters, I Keep an extra one in my DT sump until needed. Aquarium Internal Filters: ATI Hydro-Sponge Pro Filters at Foster and Smith Aquatics

Also, have a heater/thermometer, but don't use the badge ammonia readers because I found them to be inaccurate so I just do manual ammonia/trate/trite tests.

Best regards,
Frank...

Thanks for all the detail

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Hyposalinity is my preferred choice. Its cheap, easy, and kills most things...its how some animals cure their own ailments by swimming All the way up to brackish water! I don't know any fish that look for penny filled wishing wells to self treat with copper lol. Besides its such a touchy chemical and most of us have at least one scaleless fish that hypo is just safer.

For corals I like to dip in freshwater first a few times and watch the bugs float. I inspect for aptasia or other pesky attached critters and usually smear a glob of superglue gel over any signs of evil. If i still see stuff i don't want than i pinpoint the next course of action.

Some instances I would buy the coral and have to completely remove the rock it came with due to heavy infestations of some nasty beast.

Then there are the animals that somehow manage to hold their breath during the process like a gorilla crab I once had to remove from a fragile (fra-gee-lay) flowerpot coral. He survived just about every attempt I made! He lived in my 10g war tank for a while before I took it down.

I tell ya...people that don't quarantine are just asking for failure unless they have an amaZing supplier.


"Live like tomorrow already happened. Yesterday is only 3 days ahead. Today will be here soon." And a link to my tanks https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123851

for me I buy healthy fish and treat with antibacterial when acclimating.
99% of qt techniques cause more stress, stress causes loss of slime coat and that is what causes a fish to get sick.

think of it like going to the doctor. they treat symptoms, which is great but wont necessarily fix what is causing the problem.

a fish with a healthy slimecoat wont get sick. always buy healthy specimens and cause them as little stress as possible

I tried Melafix once because the lfs said they only use it...curses!!! That was definitely not a good idea. It smelled like a menthol only smoking section in a bottle and killed all my fish in quarantine. Since then I'm scared of pretty much any chemical natural or man made that isn't scientifically proven. Copper and hypo for fish cover pretty much any issue I have had. Speaking of hypo...I found that brackish fish, like mollies for example, can be treated from freshwater with hyper salinity (in comparison to no salinity).

When I get mollies I acclimate them to the same salt levels in hypo and it kills any and all freshwater ailments. But don't try it on a non brackish fish like cichlids. I'll say right now it will end their life. (Hey someone had to try it.)




"Live like tomorrow already happened. Yesterday is only 3 days ahead. Today will be here soon." And a link to my tanks https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123851