The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Quarantine-discussion thread

[kveeti]

Article found here:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...ad.php?t=46875 (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46875)

Great article, Harlock. I also have a separate bucket and cheap WalMart gravel vac for my q-tank, I didn't see those mentioned there with the supplies along with the net, etc.

[katfood]

Great great job, Harlock.

[Harlock]

Great article, Harlock. I also have a separate bucket and cheap WalMart gravel vac for my q-tank, I didn't see those mentioned there with the supplies along with the net, etc.
Thanks for the compliments, both of you. Heh, you can purchase the extras. Did I mention I was cheap? I siphon and fill my main tank first, then use the same Python to siphon and fill the Q-tank. After that it's a simple matter of having a 5 gallon bucket with a bleach solution in it. I siphon it through (5 gallons through a Python takes hardly any time) and then fill it with a couple of gallons of water with more Prime than normal and siphon it. This, plus drying kills anything in it.

[TrickyD119]

Great post indeed Harlock, extremely useful. I have a QT, but I've never had to use it yet since I stocked my entire tank at once (combination fishless cycle +Bio Spira) and haven't had any sickness.

My question for you in addition to all the great stuff you've already provided is this...

I put gravel, clay pots and artificial plants in my QT, can I clean it by adding bleach directly to the tank or must I remove everything and clean them separately?

If you could expand on this part of the topic a little bit I think it would be extremely helpful.

Thanks!

[Aqualung]

Great article Harlock! A quarantine tank is something every hobbyist should have and use.

[RTR]

Some of us who are particularly neurotic and/or have central systems/circulating ranges quarantine everything, not just fish. If it is alive, it is QT'd. To do otherwise is just not worth the risk.

[Harlock]

Some of us who are particularly neurotic and/or have central systems/circulating ranges quarantine everything, not just fish. If it is alive, it is QT'd. To do otherwise is just not worth the risk.
Heh, I was thinking specifically of you, RTR, when I said, "When should I use a Q-tank? Always. Anytime you bring home something new to put into your tank you should use quarantine." emphasis added.

If I ran a central circulation I would be crazy with the QT!

[Matak]

Top drawer, Harlock.

When quarantining plants, how would I know if there was anything that might be detrimental to fish or other plants? Also, quarantining plants is useful in avoiding snail infestations that can be near impossible to get rid of in a main tank filled with plants and landscaping.

[Watcher74]

Awesome, Harlock.

For a small difference of an opinion(on an otherwise wholly agreeable stance) is that instead of using gravel, to modify a few plastic plants to have suction cups on the bottom.

Gravel is hard to clean well after medication or disease outbreak. Often the best solution would be to throw the gravel away. Why not, not even use it?

This is a pic of my QT.

http://img186.exs.cx/img186/1677/gt0nz.th.jpg (http://img186.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img186&image=gt0nz.jpg)

Also, a point that I picked up on one of RTR's articles, is to do partial water changes in the QT using water from the main tank leading up to introduction of the new fish. This will help ensure that the water parameters are very closely identical.

Good job on the great info!

[RTR]

I use gravel to make the fish more secure - many fish are much spookier in bare-bottom tanks.

Then of course some of us also have snail breeding tanks, and have snails in all their planted tanks - except of course the puffer tanks.

[redbucket]

you mentioned the spousal/significant other "excuse" some give for not having a QT tank -- i congradulate you if you have a significant other who adores your hobby, but the "one tank" spousal rule applies to many of us. unfortunately, declaring "it's not really another tank, it's on the same stand, and it's small, and it's only temporary, and it's really just a big tupperwear dish" doesn't fly with everyone's families.

and an interior closet space seems optimal to most, but those of us in a small 1bdrm apartment don't have the closet space to spare.


that being said, anyone who can, i encourage you to use a QT tank. but for those who can't; i hear you.

[chrisinha]

great article, harlock!
i just have one question... can i leave the qt tank running, even without fish or the benefitial bacteria would die? or maybe i can out my nasty pond snails in there? :rolleyes:

[Matak]

If there are no fish in the tank, and you don't anticipate any new arrivals for at least three days, and if the tank is truly cycled, then you could always add a few drops of ammonia per week to keep the bacteria fed.

Am I correct in saying that some light over the tank will help to keep other beneficial micro-organisms alive?

[chrisinha]

well, "truly clycled" is a good point. i just set it up using the filter media from my goldfish tank (actually i had three HOB filter running in there, so i moved one to the QT tank). How can I know if it's cycled?

[Matak]

well, "truly clycled" is a good point. i just set it up using the filter media from my goldfish tank (actually i had three HOB filter running in there, so i moved one to the QT tank). How can I know if it's cycled?Do you have a test kit? When the Ammonia and nitrite levels read '0' after both have peaked, you are good to go.

[chrisinha]

yes i do. :)

EDIT: should i add ammonia?

[chrisinha]

duh! i forgot to say that right now i have .5 ppm of ammonia.

[Matak]

Keep the ammonia at 5ppm (without fish) until the ammonia & nitrite levels taper off to 0. Don't forget to test before adding ammonia.

[chrisinha]

you mean 5.0 ppm or 0.5 (which is where my readings are now)???

[RTR]

Give it an ammonia challenge. 2-3ppm will do. If cleared in 24 hours of detectable ammonia and nitrite, you are good to go. That is my standard test when I set a "new" tank with an established filter from another tank.

[chrisinha]

RTR!! :)

Should I add ammonia then? If so, How much?

[chrisinha]

i never get this thing with fishless cycling straight... i didnt add dechlorinator to the water because i thought that it would remove the ammonia in the water and then the bacteria wouldnt survive. Now, people are telling me that i should have added it to the water and that now my bacteria might have died because i DID NOT add the dechlorinator!!

i feel sick.... :(

[chrisinha]

well, i added ammonia and now my readings are 8ppm! :shock:

if necessary i'll buy bio-spira tomorrow... :rolleyes:

[Matak]

You can dilute it with a 30% de-chlorinated water change and that should bring the levels to where you want them.

[Harlock]

Okay, I clarified what I intended to after the initial round of questions. I hated to get too into QT of plants so much as I actually do use prophylactic treatments on mine and even without getting into that the article is fairly long, and I think that would carry it into a new direction that I honestly want to avoid. If someone wants to write an article on prophylaxis in aquaria, that would rock and be a good read, though I imagine a controversial one at that. I don't feel knowledgable (or brave) enough for that topic yet. ;) I also left the general topic of cycling alone, as I figure that is a different topic as well. I suggested how to keep QT media cycled and feel that is sufficient for a QT article.

So, any other suggestions, critiques or money-saving tips for QT that I might incorporate into the article?

[FISHMAN81]

I have few questions on how to set up a qt tank? Let's say I have a 10gallon qt tank. I got to my lfs and see a fish I like and buy it bring it home. Then set up my qt tank, do I just take the water out of my main tank and put it in there with some gravel a heater stick a powerfilter on there with a sponge media from my main tank? Or do I have to cycle it like I did with the main tank?

Ravi

[Raskolnikov]

There are different schools of thought on this one. Personally, I keep my Q-tank cycled with the addition of ammonia when there are no inhabitants. If I do have a problem w/ disease from a fish that i quarantine and a i need to break the tank down, I have enough colonized media on-hand that I can just add it to the tank after setting it up again to avoid toxin spikes.

I recommend setting up the Q-tank like any other tank w/ decorations and hiding spots as well as a substrate to make the fish feel at home in the 4-6 weeks that it will be spending there. I don't need to exacerbate the move by having a stressful Q-tank.

Definately have the tank setup and ready to go before you get the fish.


.

[Dragon Queen]

What about using plants that are from your main tank. Would they have bacteria on them? I have some fast growing plants that I have to toss some about once a month, if I have lights on the qt can I use a few strands to float in the qt tank?

[OrionGirl]

Yep--just treat the plants as disposable if you need to use the quarantine tank for treating a sick fish--those plants should not be transferred back into the main tank, since they may carry disease spores (like ich), or traces of medication that you don't want introduced to the main tank.

[Dragon Queen]

I do dispose of some about once a month and I am trying to find some slower growing alternatives, but I would keep some of it around for a qt tank if it would work.

[MMarr]

Ok, i'm sorry for being ignorant, but what exactly do u mean when you say "media"? do you mean take out the gunk from the sponge and throw it into the tank, or do you mean take the sponge from your community tank and insert it into your q-tank, and put the spare sponge in the community? sorry! :S

[Raskolnikov]

Filter media is whatever substance that you put in your filter, be it sponge, foam, floss, plastic balls, beads, ceramic structures, rock...etc.

"Mature" or "seeded" media is that which has been in your filter long enough to be colonized by nitrifying bacterial colonies.

There's nothing ignorant about asking questions, in fact it's rather quite the opposite.

[MMarr]

Ok, so I have 3 filter medias, sponge, beads and a bag of rocks. If i was to get a quarantine tank (which i should) do I switch all of them, or the one closest to the bottom?

[Swimfins]

It doesn't really matter what you switch. Any of the medias inserted into your new filter will work. Media is what the filter uses to culture bacteria. (Ceramics, bioballs, sponges, floss..for example) What I have done is, take a sponge from the new filter and put it in my old filter then, take an old sponge from my present filter and put it in the new one. New tank cycled in a couple days. You can do the same with rings, noodles, bioballs, whaterver as long as you can fit it to the filter you intend to cycle. It doesn't necessarily have to come from the bottom of the filter. In my canister filter, I'll remove part of my fiberfill floss and replace with new floss. The old floss I remove is full of beneficial bacteria and great to start up new filters. I feel bad when I throw the stuff out each canister cleaning time. I've started up tanks, fully cycling in less than a week by doing the above.

[MMarr]

Wow! That's crazy that you can cycle a tank so quickly, just by switching media. Anyways, thanks alot for the info!

[Swimfins]

very nice poem :clap:

[MMarr]

lol thank you swimfins!