5gal hospital tank
- Thread starter geekrockgirl85
- Start date
I like my biofilters processing 2 ppm ammonia per 24 hours. An easier method though is to keep a sponge in your maintank which will house the bacteria and setting up the hospital tank using that sponge in the filter. That way you have an instantly cycled hospital tank that as long as you don't overstock it, will handle your fish easily.
thanks for your response rrkss. the tank in question is an eclipse corner 5 with built-in penguin mini filter. i don't think i have enough room in the tank (or the adjoining electrical outlet.. i've already got a full surge strip running with my other tank and that)for an additional sponge filter (they require an air pump, right?)... and besides, i'm worried about worst case scenarios... (i.e. i buy new fish needing to be quarantined and come home to find a surprise outbreak of some sort in the established tank i would be using to seed the sponge).
so it seems like fishless cycling would be a better bet for me. i did have the tank cycled, as i upgraded it to the current maintank i have now, and i have been throwing a bit of flake food in there to "feed" my bacteria every so often while it is empty, but i'm not sure if that has worked to maintain the cycle (and i haven't tested parameters lately), but i'd like to get on a regular ammonia-dosing schedule to make sure the tank is ready for the next sick fish or new friend.
perhaps i'm just being bad at math, but i have no idea how to translate teaspoons or milliliters of ammonia into parts per million... is there some kind of formula based on the percentage content of ammonia? and if not, is it possible to overdose? how do i avoid that?
thanks in advance. =)
so it seems like fishless cycling would be a better bet for me. i did have the tank cycled, as i upgraded it to the current maintank i have now, and i have been throwing a bit of flake food in there to "feed" my bacteria every so often while it is empty, but i'm not sure if that has worked to maintain the cycle (and i haven't tested parameters lately), but i'd like to get on a regular ammonia-dosing schedule to make sure the tank is ready for the next sick fish or new friend.
perhaps i'm just being bad at math, but i have no idea how to translate teaspoons or milliliters of ammonia into parts per million... is there some kind of formula based on the percentage content of ammonia? and if not, is it possible to overdose? how do i avoid that?
thanks in advance. =)
echoofformless
Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
I believe what was suggested was to keep a piece of sponge in your main tank's filter (or else some polywool/ filter floss). Then when you need a QT move that piece of sponge into the QT's filter, just cram it in. Instant cycle. That is what I do and when the QT isn't needed it gets drained and put away. Less work that way.
echoofformless
Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
But the suggestion of the sponge filter is not the question she is asking. :OT:
I had a feeling this would happen when I first read the thread, I thought to myself, "Oh jeez girl, all anyone is going to do on here is suggest that you keep a sponge filter in your tank....you should mention on here that you don't want to hear about sponge filters."
I wish I had the answer she is searching for, but I don't.
But no more of this sponge filter stuff....if anyone has the answer please post it, as I am very curious about it as well.
I had a feeling this would happen when I first read the thread, I thought to myself, "Oh jeez girl, all anyone is going to do on here is suggest that you keep a sponge filter in your tank....you should mention on here that you don't want to hear about sponge filters."
I wish I had the answer she is searching for, but I don't.
But no more of this sponge filter stuff....if anyone has the answer please post it, as I am very curious about it as well.
yes... as i mentioned in my second post, i just don't have the room for a sponge filter. i have a feeling that everything i have set up in that corner is already an electrical hazard, without trying to add an air pump to the menagerie.
so i was asking how to maintain a fishless cycle. while i appreciate the sponge filter suggestion, it's just not doable.
so i was asking how to maintain a fishless cycle. while i appreciate the sponge filter suggestion, it's just not doable.
Fine. You have to dose every day or the bacteria will die. 24 hours without food and the bacteria just start to die off. And as was mentioned dosing 2ppm per day is fine to keep a suitable bacterial level for a QT, assuming that is you don't go and overstock it with fish.
There is no real answer to this question as we can never determine the load of sih we will be keeping in QT. If you know this ahead of time great, but we rarely do. If you end up puting fish in that will creat 5ppm of ammonia in waste then bacteria that can process 2 ppm won't do.
Figure out how much ammonia it takes to create 2ppm (or 3 or 4 or 5) and then redose everyday.
And to once again clarify it isn't a sponge filter with an airpump. It is a piece of sponge or similar media placed into your exisiting filter that will get full of bacteria and then you can place into your filter on the QT. No air pump at all. No extra plugging in. Otherwise skim some gravel from the main tank off the top layer and it will be covered in bacteria. Place in mesh bag and drop in your QT. There are tons of options.
Good luck.
Oh and echoofformless , your suggestion about your cat was very good. I am glad you added to the thread.
There is no real answer to this question as we can never determine the load of sih we will be keeping in QT. If you know this ahead of time great, but we rarely do. If you end up puting fish in that will creat 5ppm of ammonia in waste then bacteria that can process 2 ppm won't do.
Figure out how much ammonia it takes to create 2ppm (or 3 or 4 or 5) and then redose everyday.
And to once again clarify it isn't a sponge filter with an airpump. It is a piece of sponge or similar media placed into your exisiting filter that will get full of bacteria and then you can place into your filter on the QT. No air pump at all. No extra plugging in. Otherwise skim some gravel from the main tank off the top layer and it will be covered in bacteria. Place in mesh bag and drop in your QT. There are tons of options.
Good luck.
Oh and echoofformless , your suggestion about your cat was very good. I am glad you added to the thread.
This isn't about a sponge filter! Or a cat.
Just an option -- I keep a mystery snail in my QT tank to keep it cycled.
Roan
Just an option -- I keep a mystery snail in my QT tank to keep it cycled.
Roan
echoofformless
Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
:OT: It's always about the cat.
Yey sleep! That's when I'm a Viking.
Over there is where I saw the leprechaun; he told me to burn things.
I bent my wookiee.
The pointy kitty took it.
It tastes like...burning.
Yey sleep! That's when I'm a Viking.
Over there is where I saw the leprechaun; he told me to burn things.
I bent my wookiee.
The pointy kitty took it.
It tastes like...burning.