Help Setup Quarantine Tank

[SuperWade2]

I bought a used 25 Gal (used to be freshwater) Aquarium from a Co-Worker and thought I might set it up as my quarantine tank for my 46Gal Main Tank. I am thinking that I would prefer to keep it running all the time if possible as I don't really have the time to bring up and down every few weeks when I'd want to use it (I have 1 year old twin girls <See Avatar> that keep me busy). I also don't have a sump in my main tank, so would have to cycle the thing every time I wanted to use it.

It's a "Tall" 25Gal I think (24"L x 12"W x 20"H) and came with a Eclipse 2 Filtration and Illumination System (in desperate need of some cleaning, new filters, bulbs, etc). I can toss that Eclipse system if it's not going to be needed (or cost more in parts to get fixed up).

What else am I going to need;

75W Heater
Light Fixture of some type (if I toss the Eclipse)
Filter ?? (What type/brand/size, etc?)

No LR/LS... Some PVC, or Clay Pots or something for the fish to hid in (I have some Freshwater decorations and fake plants that came in the tank).

And How do I "cycle" the Quarantine take if I don't have any rock or sand or whatever in it? I have some Blue/Green Chromis (5) in my main tank that I was thinking that I had to get rid of (at least a couple) as I start stocking my main tank that could live in there when it wasn't being used as a Quarantine maybe?

Thanks in advance for the help!
SW2

 

[ellisz]

Cant really cycle without LR/LS. You could hide a filter pad in the display to have a seed colony it the QT was needed. If you are starting a new tank, you could just put some LR in the QT to help with ammonia and then take it down once you stop adding fish - this could be awhile as you should not add all the fish at once. The LR would have to be thrown out if you had to dose with copper or other meds.

I had a 29 gal tank that started as a QT but I ended leaving it up for a few fish additions over the year I started my tank. I tore it down last year as I did not need it any more.

 

[tecwzrd]

What I use for my qt tank is extremely easy. I keep a 20 gal long tank with a 130w PC 30" light (qt corals).

I have a Magnum 350 Pro which I run empty most of the time which has two bio-wheels spinning on the main tank at all times. I have a HOT Magnum 250 Pro on my qt tank running at all times without fish.

When it's time to qt any stock I just transfer one of my bio-wheels from the main to the qt tank for instant bio-filtration. I also have 90 lbs of lr a sump & refugium but even without those things and assuming you have a regular bio-load just removing one bio-wheel if your sole bio-filtration will have little effect if you keep up with weekly pwc.

I wouldn't recommend keeping it set up with fish since you wouldn't want to keep medicating the fish over and over if needed. It takes about 1-2 weeks to build up the bacteria on the bio-wheels if used on a cycled tank. It can take as long as 2 months on an un-cycled tank.

Also make sure if you do go this route to clean the canisters weekly or every other week to keep waste from accumulating and causing your no3 to rise.

If you medicate your tank with copper trash the bio-wheel when finished qt stock. The replacement bio-wheel is only $6 and I keep two extra on hand at all times.

 

[revhtree]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=17
HTH!

 

[tecwzrd]

Forgot to add:

New fish are already stressed from being captured, transferred, & keep in sub-standard conditions. Why add to it with trying to quickly acclimate them to a sg/ph change that can be as much as 0.006 in sg and 1+ in ph.

IMO keeping the qt tank sg the same as the main can be too stressful for newly acquired fish/inverts unless you keep your main at 1.019-1.022 sg which is where most fish stores/online places keep their sg at.

If you keep your main closer to 1.025 sg then even drip acclimating for 2 hours can be stressful and can possibly cause osmotic shock in fish/inverts with the rapid change in sg/ph leading to sickness or death depending on the change in sg/ph that the fish was kept in.

Personally I keep my qt tank at the same level as the lfs (ph 8.0 sg 1.019) and slowly raise the sg/ph to the main sg/ph of 1.025/8.3 over the course of 3+ weeks per first & second articles in advancedaquarist.com.

The use of a refractometer is highly recommended while performing any sg changes whether if it's matching lfs sg level or main sg level to the qt tank. Adjusting the sg down is less stressful to fish coming from that environment and slowly raising it a little bit every other day gives them time to adjust. Since you have to keep them in the qt tank for 3+ weeks anyways it just makes sense to me to provide a less stressful environment.

Also checkout A quarantine tank for everything.