Quarantine tanks setup

Joe Batt · Aug 18, 2017

When setting up a quarantine tank should you add bacteria to the water or just leave it as fresh salt water?

Its just very basic, small pump with foam filter, very small basic skimmer, no heater since the room is 26C (I live in the desert so better with a chiller )

(ignore the temperature it's just a sticker I didn't remove)

Reefer1978 · Aug 18, 2017

You need to cycle it just like other tanks. If you are going to add fish, especially compromised fish, you don't want ammonia to bother them in addition to what ever else they have.

Labridaedicted · Aug 18, 2017

I usually throw in a piece of LR and keep sponge media in the sump of the dt to put in the qt filter when it's active. If you don't keep some biological filtration in there, you will likely run into ammonia related issues. I also use dt water to fill my qts so the fish is used to my usual water params when it gets transferred out.

Joe Batt · Aug 18, 2017

I hope it's not compromised, just a new blotchy anthias and quarantining it to be sure.
I will use water from the main tank and put this fresh salt water in the main tank then like a partial water change

I will add a small rock from the main tank sump also.

Joe Batt · Aug 18, 2017

I have used the tank water as the 'seed' water for the quarantine plus added a small rock. Also, put the filter sponge in the sump for an hour whilst I go get the new fish (would have preferred it longer obviously) Also added stability to the quarantine tank to help out as well.

Smo · Aug 18, 2017

Get a Seachem ammonia alert badge and watch it closely. Be ready for big water changes. DT water has very little bacteria free floating. It has to attach to something to work. It typically takes 30 days to populate a sponge in a high flow area of your sump.
Recommend you add some "bacteria in a bottle" soonest to reduce the ammonia bloom you are about to have.

Reefishness · Aug 18, 2017

I agree. Nitrifying bacteria and ammonia to prepare the tank first, approx 8 days. You're still going to be performing lots of water changes unfortunately. It's a PITA, but it is what it is.

Joe Batt · Aug 19, 2017

It's only a small tank so water changes shouldn't be too bad. I already added the Seachem Ammonia alert disk and I added bacteria....lets see.

I will leave the filter sponge in the DT sump in future and just give it a clean every week so it does not turn into a nitrate factory. This way hopefully next time I set up the quarantine its ready to go.

Bob Escher · Aug 29, 2017

Does anyone keep a QT going for weeks on end or do you just fix it up when you need one
If you keep one running what do you do to maintain it

Joe Batt · Sep 7, 2017

Bob Escher said:
Does anyone keep a QT going for weeks on end or do you just fix it up when you need one
If you keep one running what do you do to maintain it

Personally, I rig it up as and when needed. Some keep one running all the time, I don't see much point. Keeping a sponge and some rock ready in the main tank is a good idea for when you do need to set up a QT tank quickly.

Bob Escher · Sep 7, 2017

So you maintain salt water all the time. Do you run a small pump in the saltwater to keep circulating it?

Saltwaterwannabe · Sep 7, 2017

The beneficial bacteria from cycling cover surfaces of your tank, rock, and equipment - there is very little of it in the water. Since the vast majority of new surface area in a tank is new rock, sand, etc. in a QT, there is little to no benefit from cycling a QT . You are likely doing heavy water changes in a QT anyway, which will control ammonia and nitrates. Biological filtration can reduce your water changes to reduce salt usage, which is beneficial in a large QT.

Here is my normal QT operation:

1) rinse QT tank with saltwater
2) perform WC on main DT (to use in QT)
3) begin drip acclimation with DT water for new stock, sometimes I will use the QT to drip acclimate the fish or coral by propping the QT so the water is all at one end until there is enough water to lay it flat again)
4) add water from DT WC to QT
4) add heater and biowheel filter with fresh clean sponge filter over intake - in this use, the sponge is only to screen big stuff from the water column and is is not intended as a biological filter. It is possible to use a sponge that was in use as a biological filter on another tank, but I do not use sponges for biological filtration.
5) move a little Matrix or live rock from sump to the biowheel box - sometimes I will skip this step if I am using a very small QT and doing water changes every 2 to 3 days.
7) if there are a lot of fish in the QT, I add Prime and an air bubbler
8) add fish, coral, etc. to QT if not added already
9) monitor tank: every 2 to 3 days max, vacuum any detritus and rinse sponge so it does not block up
10) perform a big WC weekly - 20 to 50 percent depending on amount of stock in tank and what meds are being run, if any.

Remember to replace meds in the WC water so the QT meds concentration is maintained. If the fish show any signs of distress I add Prime with the water changes to aid in protecting their slime coat. I always use DT water for the last couple of WC.

After QT operation, discard Matrix or other biological filtration, use vinegar or bleach to clean QT and all equipment then allow to fully dry before next use.

Bob Escher · Sep 7, 2017

Saltwaterwannabe said:
The beneficial bacteria from cycling cover surfaces of your tank, rock, and equipment - there is very little of it in the water. Since the vast majority of new surface area in a tank is new rock, sand, etc. in a QT, there is little to no benefit from cycling a QT . You are likely doing heavy water changes in a QT anyway, which will control ammonia and nitrates. Biological filtration can reduce your water changes to reduce salt usage, which is beneficial in a large QT.

Here is my normal QT operation:

1) rinse QT tank with saltwater
2) perform WC on main DT (to use in QT)
3) begin drip acclimation with DT water for new stock, sometimes I will use the QT to drip acclimate the fish or coral by propping the QT so the water is all at one end until there is enough water to lay it flat again)
4) add water from DT WC to QT
4) add heater and biowheel filter with fresh clean sponge filter over intake - in this use, the sponge is only to screen big stuff from the water column and is is not intended as a biological filter. It is possible to use a sponge that was in use as a biological filter on another tank, but I do not use sponges for biological filtration.
5) move a little Matrix or live rock from sump to the biowheel box - sometimes I will skip this step if I am using a very small QT and doing water changes every 2 to 3 days.
7) if there are a lot of fish in the QT, I add Prime and an air bubbler
8) add fish, coral, etc. to QT if not added already
9) monitor tank: every 2 to 3 days max, vacuum any detritus and rinse sponge so it does not block up
10) perform a big WC weekly - 20 to 50 percent depending on amount of stock in tank and what meds are being run, if any.

Remember to replace meds in the WC water so the QT meds concentration is maintained. If the fish show any signs of distress I add Prime with the water changes to aid in protecting their slime coat. I always use DT water for the last couple of WC.

After QT operation, discard Matrix or other biological filtration, use vinegar or bleach to clean QT and all equipment then allow to fully dry before next use.

So if you have a ich breakout are you going to use anything from the DT
I.e. Water, the sponge or whatever other media your using to seed the QT?
I myself would not think of doing that since ICH can and does live in the water column

Saltwaterwannabe · Sep 7, 2017

Bob Escher said:
So if you have a ich breakout are you going to use anything from the DT
I.e. Water, the sponge or whatever other media your using to seed the QT?
I myself would not think of doing that since ICH can and does live in the water column

Great point! I wrote this around QT for newly acquired fish.

The only ich outbreak I have had was when I first started in saltwater. I did all sorts of things wrong and did lose all of my first fish over the next few months. I then left only inverts in the system for 3 months and started a lengthy QT for new fish using only fresh salt water at about month one.

I assume that the copper kills off the ich and that half DT water would reduce the shock of new water parameters, but not having been there I really cannot say.