Hospital Tank Question

[CCXGT]

Okay, so if I'm not using my hospital tank, do I need to be doing something to keep it going?

I've been under the impression that because it's cycled I can just leave it until I need it.


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[keegster803]

No, the bacteria will die if there is no ammonia present to feed them, I would recommend putting something little like shrimp to put in there so the tank will stay established


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[Mebbid]

Its safe to completely break down the hosital tank and just move some of the cycled media from your display when you need to treat a fish. Insta cycled tank and youre good to go.

 

[CCXGT]

No, the bacteria will die if there is no ammonia present to feed them, I would recommend putting something little like shrimp to put in there so the tank will stay established


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You mean live shrimp?
Or the food?

The tank is completely bare with just one tube thing for shelter.



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[keegster803]

Live shrimp, like RCS, or a couple ghosties, just so ammonia still gets created and fed to the bacteria


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[CCXGT]

Live shrimp, like RCS, or a couple ghosties, just so ammonia still gets created and fed to the bacteria


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And they'll be fine in an empty tank?


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[keegster803]

You could add java moss, but yes they will, as long as you have a filter


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[Mebbid]

The point of a hospital tank is to treat sick fish right? Many treatments for fish are lethal to shrimp. Why keep them in there temporarily just for an ammonia source? You would have to remove them any time you wanted to treat a sick fish and risk pulling bacteria or parasites along with them to whatever tank you move them to.

Hospital tanks are meant to be temporary things that you can pull out, use as needed, and then sterilize anything so it doesnt pass along whatever you were treating.

 

[PB_Smith]

Hospital tanks are meant to be temporary things that you can pull out, use as needed, and then sterilize anything so it doesnt pass along whatever you were treating.

Yup.
But if you are doing a quarantine tank for new livestock then it's best to keep it going with some critters in there.

 

[CCXGT]

The point of a hospital tank is to treat sick fish right? Many treatments for fish are lethal to shrimp. Why keep them in there temporarily just for an ammonia source? You would have to remove them any time you wanted to treat a sick fish and risk pulling bacteria or parasites along with them to whatever tank you move them to.

Hospital tanks are meant to be temporary things that you can pull out, use as needed, and then sterilize anything so it doesnt pass along whatever you were treating.

Okay.. I get that.
I just have no easy way of keeping the tiny HoB cycled continuously.


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[CCXGT]

If I took out my 306 and squeezed it's sponges into the hospital, would that kick start a cycle?


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[Mebbid]

Yup.
But if you are doing a quarantine tank for new livestock then it's best to keep it going with some critters in there.

It depends on how you look at a quarantine tank. I look at my qt tank ad a makeshift hospital tank. In either case, imho its best to treat a qt as a hospital. With a small amount of cycled filter media you can easily have an instantly cycled tank that can handle the bionload of any fish.

If I took out my 306 and squeezed it's sponges into the hospital, would that kick start a cycle?


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I just keep some loose bits of filter media in my filter to move over to the qt tank. It hasnt failed me yet.

 

[CCXGT]

Okay.. New question.

Is it more beneficial to place the cycled media in a bag within the tank itself or individually in the HoB?


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[Mebbid]

Okay.. New question.

Is it more beneficial to place the cycled media in a bag within the tank itself or individually in the HoB?


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I would keep it in the filter itself. It will get better water flow.

 

[BillD]

Yup.
But if you are doing a quarantine tank for new livestock then it's best to keep it going with some critters in there.

I would disagree, for all the reasons mentioned above with regards to hospital tanks.

 

[CCXGT]

Well.. Thanks guys, I just so happen to have a spare bag of Biomax so I'll throw that in my canister on next cleaning.


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[CCXGT]

Third (AND LAST) question.

How long would you say Biomax can sustain a hospital tank without any ammonia coming in.

Is the BB used up in a day? A week? A month?

Anyone know?


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[Mebbid]

Bb can last up to a month but there will likely be a slow die off.

 

[CCXGT]

Bb can last up to a month but there will likely be a slow die off.

Wow, that long?!
I'm surprised.


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