Re: Fishless Cycle

boofish2

boofish2

show me your fish
Aug 5, 2006
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A while ago I upgraded my 10 gal. and now want to start it up again as a hospital tank. I still have the filter media from when it was up and running as well as some plants and decorations from my current established tank. I'll be using new substrate however. My question(s):
Do I still have to add ammonia if I have these established elements already in there?
If not approx. how long do you think it will take to cycle?
Also should I keep only fake plants in there just in case I have to do some medicating?
Lastly, what is the reccommended time I should keep a new fish in a q'd tank before it's safe to add them to my big tank?
Thanks!
 
The QT needs a constant source of ammonia in order to feed the bacteria and keep it cycled. You could keep snails in it (and feed them a little bit), or you could just "feed" the empty tank a tiny pinch of fish food every few days.

Live plants may or may not survive medication, depending on how long the meds are in there. I've had plants survive 2 weeks in a tank with Maracyn 2.

Quarantine time is anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, 6 weeks being optimal. The longer you can keep them QT'd, the longer chance you have to catch any illness before it has a chance to spread in the main tank.
 
You can keep the filter from the 10 on your 25, and move it over to the 10 for QT. After QT you can toss the old filter media, and put a new one in and replace the filter on the 25 to get some bacteria growing again. Hospital/QT tanks are best left bare bottomed to make cleaning easier.
 
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