I’m going to pick up a small 3 gallon tank, filter, and an airstone for my QT tank. Now I was wondering what I gotta do about the water in it. Do I need to cycle that tank or should I just stick old water from my existing display tank and a piece of live rock in there to have it cycled basically right away? I’ll obviously do water changes every few days in it when I have fish in there but other than that should it be good to just chill on it’s own? New to the QT so anything helps! Thanks!
How to setup a QT?
- Thread starter Hetts
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WIReefer
608 MOD SQUAD
I would suggest a larger qt tank like a 20g long. No need for the rock in the tank. I use sponges that I have in my DT sump to help speed up the cycle for the qt. Are you running medications in the qt?
KStatefan
2500 Club Member
This is a great thread on a QT system
www.reef2reef.com
My Current QT Process
UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...
www.reef2reef.com
RobB'z Reef
2500 Club Member
Like @WIReefer said, consider a larger QT tank. If you end up medicating a larger volume is easier to control anyhow, not to mention your fish will be in there a while and 3 gal is a pretty limiting size to what fish you can keep in there for weeks on end. From what I've read nitrifying bacteria primarily lives on surfaces and not in the water column. keeping spare media that you can sterilize after use in the sump of your main tank can reduce cycle times in your QT like bio balls etc...
Rock can certainly be brought over, I'm not certain, but i feel paranoid about using anything that can absorb parasites, pests, eggs etc that I can't easily sterilize between uses. I would cycle your QT tank like any normal new tank between uses with an accelerator or by bringing in sufficient media that's been in your main tank long enough to have the ammonia processing bacteria you need if you have to shorten your cycle say for emergencies. In the case you already have a problem they're gonna be stressed enough, better to plan in advance, why fight tank chemistry and disease at the same time. just my 2cents, there are others far more versed in this stuff than me here tho.
RobB'z Reef
2500 Club Member
If you are going to proactively treat with meds, they are going to be in there far longer than a week.
RobB'z Reef
2500 Club Member
keep in mind these meds don't kill the parasites on the fish, they disrupt the life cycle of the parasite after they drop and try to reproduce in most cases. This dictates the longer treatment to ensure effectiveness as you have to wait for that to happen on its own... I'm still learning this stuff but it's really interesting.
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