Need help - QT questions

Seachelle

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I'm thinking of setting up my quarantine tank before getting my display tank, but I have a few questions. Since I don't have any existing bacteria to start the cycle, I'm going with Fritz Turbo 900 bacteria and bottled ammonia. If I'm not going to have any fish in the tank for awhile, how will I maintain the correct cycled levels? Do I have to keep adding ammonia? How much in a 10 gallon tank?

I also read that you shouldn't use carbon in a QT . I was planning on using a HOB filter since it's only a 10 galllon tank. All the HOB filters I've seen have carbon cartridges. Do I just leave out the carbon? Or do i need to put something else in there?
 

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Carbon is ok as long as you are not adding meds of any kind. It will remove most meds.
Once the tank is cycled the bacteria will always be there. Maybe a week before the fish come add a bit of ammonia to jump start the bacteria population. Some people ghost feed a few flakes or pellets once a week
If you put some rock in the tank it will help add surface for the bacteria to grow on.
 

Rmckoy

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Things have changed over the years when it comes to setting up quarantine or hospital tanks .

Once upon a time it was setup when needed and monitored for ammonia .
Large water changes preformed daily to lower ammonia

no rocks , sand or anything in the particular tank and no decor that is moved from qt to dt as it’s possible to contaminate your dt

now more so than ever . Most lfs have a quarantine program to monitor and medicate new arrivals before you take them home .

I for one will say I have never had a quarantine tank setup and running for all livestock but have used a small 25 gal as a hospital tank .

The thing I have a hard time understanding . Moving a fish causes stress ?
so why am I going to put a fish I just bought in a tank that’s too small and alone Just to move it to a bigger tank with other established fish knowing it will cause more stress
 
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Seachelle

Seachelle

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Carbon is ok as long as you are not adding meds of any kind. It will remove most meds.
Once the tank is cycled the bacteria will always be there. Maybe a week before the fish come add a bit of ammonia to jump start the bacteria population. Some people ghost feed a few flakes or pellets once a week
If you put some rock in the tank it will help add surface for the bacteria to grow on.
So from what I've read on this site about quarantining, you will probably need to treat your fish with copper, which a carbon filter will neutralize? I've also seen people say no rock or sand - just a pvc pipe for fish to hide in. But if there's nothing in the tank, where will the beneficial bacteria colonize? In the filter?
 

Lost in the Sauce

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So from what I've read on this site about quarantining, you will probably need to treat your fish with copper, which a carbon filter will neutralize? I've also seen people say no rock or sand - just a pvc pipe for fish to hide in. But if there's nothing in the tank, where will the beneficial bacteria colonize? In the filter?
Most of your bacteria will colonize the filter but will also colonize every other surface of the tank.
 

LaloJ

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It is possible to cycle a 10 or 20 gallon tank, but I have read that they have poor biological filtration, I am noticing it with my 20 gallon QT tank. I use an HOB filter, I have a sponge and ceramic rings that I seed in the main tank, I also have a small wave generator, I use amguard to neutralize the ammonia that I have never had below 0.25 ppm, I have a bare bottom, pvc and a couple of rocks that I had in my main, the idea of the quarantine tank is to observe the fish and feed them as best as possible to condition them for life in the main tank, a big and strong fish will do better than a stressed fish, fresh out from the store and with several colleagues who will surely harass and stress him even more, you should not confuse the QT tank with the hospital tank.
 
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Seachelle

Seachelle

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Things have changed over the years when it comes to setting up quarantine or hospital tanks .

Once upon a time it was setup when needed and monitored for ammonia .
Large water changes preformed daily to lower ammonia

no rocks , sand or anything in the particular tank and no decor that is moved from qt to dt as it’s possible to contaminate your dt

now more so than ever . Most lfs have a quarantine program to monitor and medicate new arrivals before you take them home .

I for one will say I have never had a quarantine tank setup and running for all livestock but have used a small 25 gal as a hospital tank .

The thing I have a hard time understanding . Moving a fish causes stress ?
so why am I going to put a fish I just bought in a tank that’s too small and alone Just to move it to a bigger tank with other established fish knowing it will cause more stress
Thanks for your reply. I guess from what I've read people quarantine fish to avoid having pests or diseases infect their display tank because it's harder to get rid of these problems once they're there. I'm a complete newbie so I'm trying to get as much information as possible before I start. I definitely see your point about stressing the fish out, too. I definitely don't want to kill my fish by stressing them out either. I've read that you should quarantine fish for 30 days. Do lfs do this? It seems like it would be very impractical for them.
 

Forty-Two

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I’m probably running against the grain but I’ve setup a QT tank with rock and sand. The reason being is I’m not planning on treating any fish in the QT. It’s strictly for observing for 30-40 days - and if infection free then moving to the DT. Also I don’t want the fish to be stressed out with PVC pipes and a bare bottom, and spikes in ammonia and the like.
Lastly I don’t want the constant hassle of large water changes and needing to preserve filters e

if I find infection - I may setup a hospital tank
at that time or take it back to the LFS.
 

Rmckoy

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So from what I've read on this site about quarantining, you will probably need to treat your fish with copper, which a carbon filter will neutralize? I've also seen people say no rock or sand - just a pvc pipe for fish to hide in. But if there's nothing in the tank, where will the beneficial bacteria colonize? In the filter?
This is what I was explaining in my reply earlier .
The old school way to set up a quarantine was to treat or isolate new fish .
This is why testing ammonia daily is important same as a new system .
but there would be medicine also being partially removed just to add a new dose .

so if a quarantine tank is set up . With rock , sand , essentially .. you’re running another system Fowlr ?

so to research … adding copper or other medications to any system with rocks , sand . What will happen if those rocks or sand is used in a future build ?

the copper will leach and there will most likely be posts about unhealthy or dying inverts
 

Rmckoy

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Thanks for your reply. I guess from what I've read people quarantine fish to avoid having pests or diseases infect their display tank because it's harder to get rid of these problems once they're there. I'm a complete newbie so I'm trying to get as much information as possible before I start. I definitely see your point about stressing the fish out, too. I definitely don't want to kill my fish by stressing them out either. I've read that you should quarantine fish for 30 days. Do lfs do this? It seems like it would be very impractical for them.
Some lfs do yes .
but again , it’s a added fee.
 

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