Seeding a sponge filter

[Cearbhaill]

I'm wondering how long to let a new sponge filter run in an established aquarium to get some bacteria going?
It will be going into a new 15g quarrantine tank (learned the hard way) and will not need to support a large load.
I figure to keep 3-4 cories in the q-tank permanently in order to keep the bacteria alive (gotta keep something, right?), plus the odd new purchase.
It will contain only a sponge filter, a slight bit of gravel to keep the cories occupied, maybe an easily removed rock, and whatever plants the temp occupants need to feel secure.

So the sponge filter has been gurgling away in my main tank for 5 days. How much longer?

[OrionGirl]

I would leave the sponge in your main tank, and just setup the q-tank as needed. The entire point of quarantine is to isolate the fish, so having a resident school of cories defeats the purpose. I use AC's with 2 sponges, so I just pull a sponge from the main tank and set it up as needed. I replace the one in the main tank with a clean one, since this needs to be done sometimes anway. If the new fish never develop an illness, the sponge gets cleaned and re-used. If something nasty develops, I treat it and throw the sponge out afterwards. If you keep cories in there, they will really restrict your treatment options for new fish--not a good plan, IMO.

[JSchmidt]

I agree 100% with Oriongirl. If you really want to keep the tank set up and running (and I'm not sure why you'd want to...), you should keep the biofilter fed with ammonia, rather than keeping fish in the tank.

Personally, I think it's way easier to keep an extra sponge filter running in a known-healthy tank (or steal one from that tank's primary filters) than it is to keep a Q-tank up and running.

Good for you, though, for learning the value of quarantine!

Jim

[Cearbhaill]

I want to keep it up and running because.... because.... I don't know why.
I clearly understand your reasoning. I'd just find keeping it running easier than looking at a sponge filter in my big tank :eek: all the time.

[OrionGirl]

Then use ammonia. A true quarantine tank will not contain other fish. If you want a tank with just cories, that's great, but don't use it for new fish.