Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but, I currently have a 55 g planted tank and wanted to wait a couple months for the plants to take hold before putting any fish in. My question is I am going to set up a 10 g qt and wanted to know (1) can I just python out water from my 55 into my 10? (2) Do I have to have cycled water each time I get out the qt to put fish in it? I wasn't planning on having it set up except when needed? New to this so please excuse the questions.Thanks.
Does quarantine tank needs cycling?
- Thread starter dough041
- Start date
i think it would need cycled, when first setting it up. i dont think you need to empty it every time you put a new fish in there. but im not sure. i know you need to cycle it, because putting a sick fish in uncycled water will just make them worse.dough041 said:
Yes, it is simplest to just keep some disposable filter floss or sponges in your main tanks filter and steal them when setting up a QT. Less mess and no need to keep it running. Many meds will kill of the bacteria in a filter anyway so it is a wise idea to test QT's for ammonia and nitrite during use.
So, I have an eheim 2026 filter. I was planning to get a cheap hob for the qt. I could then just take out one of the filter sponges from the 2026 and wedge it in the hob when using it, to get the bacteria benefit? Hopefully not too stupid of a question...
Here is the skinny. No tank actually ever needs to be cycled if you are prepared to do water changes between daily and every other day. This is fine for short term needs but impossible to do when you have many tanks and over the longer term.
I have enough assorted cycled tanks to be able to move fish around and free up Q space. However I never have a cycled H tank. For one, many meds kill off the bacteria. Then there is the issue of having a disease you dont win against. You need to sterilize everything in the H tank, including the tank itself. Normally I do big bleaching on everything. But this means no bio can survive.
During treatment I do a 25% wc every other day. WC should be done before any daily dosing and if the change falls on a day that no meds are to be dosed, I will do a 25% dose to replace what the wc removes.
My typical H tank has a heater, thermometer, a sponge filter, a couple of rocks and a few plastic plants. All of it gets bleached before being reused. Sometimes this means replacing the sponge as these dont react well to being bleched.
If, by some chance, I cant free up Q space, I will set up a temporary uncycled something and follow the above wc regimin.
I have enough assorted cycled tanks to be able to move fish around and free up Q space. However I never have a cycled H tank. For one, many meds kill off the bacteria. Then there is the issue of having a disease you dont win against. You need to sterilize everything in the H tank, including the tank itself. Normally I do big bleaching on everything. But this means no bio can survive.
During treatment I do a 25% wc every other day. WC should be done before any daily dosing and if the change falls on a day that no meds are to be dosed, I will do a 25% dose to replace what the wc removes.
My typical H tank has a heater, thermometer, a sponge filter, a couple of rocks and a few plastic plants. All of it gets bleached before being reused. Sometimes this means replacing the sponge as these dont react well to being bleched.
If, by some chance, I cant free up Q space, I will set up a temporary uncycled something and follow the above wc regimin.
Yeah, I have done the same thing a few times. Right now I have 2 - 20L with just heaters and airstones. I use these to Q fish and to house young fish. I don't use a filter on these tanks becuase I change 25-50% of the water every day. Its a little more work, but it is worth it. The baby fish I have in these tanks grow so fast becuase of all the water changes.
like mentioned you can keep cycled media,sponges etc . seed the quarantine tank.
you can run a sponge filter in a main tank and move it over when you ewant to set up a Q tank
if you have a bunch of tanks running you have all the bacteria you need to seed a Q tank.
since you wil be keeping fish in the Q tank for 3-4 weeks minimum..you should have seed material handy.
you can run a sponge filter in a main tank and move it over when you ewant to set up a Q tank
if you have a bunch of tanks running you have all the bacteria you need to seed a Q tank.
since you wil be keeping fish in the Q tank for 3-4 weeks minimum..you should have seed material handy.
While some meds will indeed kill off the bacteria, there is also the use of a qt as a place for new fish to get inspected before heading to your main tank. Very useful to have some seeded sponge material for then.
Try to avoid using anything that goes into your main tanks (equipment etc...) that will be in contact with potential disease. It is much easier to break down a small qt and bleach it when done then try to deal with the potential outbreak of a disease in your main tanks.
Try to avoid using anything that goes into your main tanks (equipment etc...) that will be in contact with potential disease. It is much easier to break down a small qt and bleach it when done then try to deal with the potential outbreak of a disease in your main tanks.