AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
How Do You Acclimate New Fish, coral, and anenomes into your aquarium? Holding tank? float the bag just as in freshwater? slowly change water over the course of an hour? Any help is appreciated!
Holding Tank
- Thread starter AngelFishFan
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reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
So I dont need a hospital tank? or do i? if so, how do i set it up to be on the same system as my regular tank?
e-cat
Aquarium Advice Addict
yes a qt tank is a very good thing, use water from the main tank too keep the water perimaters near the same readings
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
is there a way to connect the two? Do i really need a quarantine tank, since i am just a beginner?
S
steve-s
Guest
Never share anything with the QT. Any equipment, nets, filters and such can either infect the main tank or possible add meds that may have been used and destroy an otherwise healthy ecosystem in the main display tank...AngelFishFan said:
From beginner to advanced hobbiest, don't go fish shopping without one
Cheers
Steve
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
For a 75 gallon tank, what size tank should I use as a qt tank? Also, when I buy new fish, should i add them straight to my aquarium? or put them in the quarantine tank for a few days? What kind of filter should i have in the qt tank? just a filter? aeration? just an empty tank? or with live rock? I need all of the help i can get. Thanks
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
If you do a search on quarantine tank here you should find some information, also I think that there is an article in the articles section. Basically a QT (recommended for all new fish) can be nothing more that a standard 10G tank. I will tell you what I have so you can get an idea of how this works. I bought a 10G starter kit from Petco for about $50. That included tank, HOB filter, hood, light and heater. Now I also use a FW dip for all of my new fish livestock, but basically, you have to consider all new fish you acquire and the water they are in as having parasites and all sorts of icky stuff in it (at least the mental image of it 
) With that said the goal would be to not contaminate anything else with that. I have utensils (nets, buckets etc.) that I use specifically and only for the QT tank. So my procedure is to fill up the tank with either water from your main tank, or fresh pre-mixed saltwater, check and adjust the temp and salinity. If you use a FW dip, there is a whole procedure for that, if not, follow the usual acclimation procedure for new fish and then net the fish and place in the QT tank. Avoid getting any of the transport water in the tank. I also keep a spare filter for the QT tank in my diaplay tank sump so that after I set up the tank and before I introduce the fish, I swap out the existing filter for the seeded one. This is necessary because at the end of the quarantine period (minimum 2 weeks) the QT tank should be cleaned and sanitized before adding new fish to it. It is also recommended to keep the lights low initially to help de-stress the fish. There are a variety of ways to do this. So by keeping a spare filter in the main tank I always have a bed of bacteria ready. Simplistically this is about it. You should also add some hiding places for the livestock in the tank and nothing else, no sand or gravel etc. It is recommended and I use, cut sections of 2" PVC pipe for this and it works well.
So in summary, it is recommended to:
Quarantine all fish
Quarantine for a minimum of two weeks
Use display tank water or fresh seawater for filling the QT
adjust temp and salinity
Acclimate fish
Add to QT (do not add any shipping water)
When ready to add to the display tank, acclimate with display tank water and add fish to the main tank (do not add QT water to the display tank)
HTH 8)
) With that said the goal would be to not contaminate anything else with that. I have utensils (nets, buckets etc.) that I use specifically and only for the QT tank. So my procedure is to fill up the tank with either water from your main tank, or fresh pre-mixed saltwater, check and adjust the temp and salinity. If you use a FW dip, there is a whole procedure for that, if not, follow the usual acclimation procedure for new fish and then net the fish and place in the QT tank. Avoid getting any of the transport water in the tank. I also keep a spare filter for the QT tank in my diaplay tank sump so that after I set up the tank and before I introduce the fish, I swap out the existing filter for the seeded one. This is necessary because at the end of the quarantine period (minimum 2 weeks) the QT tank should be cleaned and sanitized before adding new fish to it. It is also recommended to keep the lights low initially to help de-stress the fish. There are a variety of ways to do this. So by keeping a spare filter in the main tank I always have a bed of bacteria ready. Simplistically this is about it. You should also add some hiding places for the livestock in the tank and nothing else, no sand or gravel etc. It is recommended and I use, cut sections of 2" PVC pipe for this and it works well.So in summary, it is recommended to:
Quarantine all fish
Quarantine for a minimum of two weeks
Use display tank water or fresh seawater for filling the QT
adjust temp and salinity
Acclimate fish
Add to QT (do not add any shipping water)
When ready to add to the display tank, acclimate with display tank water and add fish to the main tank (do not add QT water to the display tank)
HTH 8)
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
wow. Thank you so much for that. That painted a really good picture as to what i should do. One more thing, do you recommend a sand base? or gravel? And any rock? or just a barren tank? Thanks Again
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
For the QT, nothing except some pieces of PVC and if you have it (I use it) a couple pieces of aquascaping rocks (You can find these cheap in like a Walmart). Remember the reason for this is that this all has to be sanitized after you transfer the livestock into the display tank, so keep it as simple as possible.
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
Any particular filter you like? or just an emperor to filter the water until i can move him to his new big house
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
any old filter would do. Emperor is fine, just something to maintain water quality until you move him to the palace. Even something as simple as a sponge filter is fine.
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
any old filter would do. Emperor is fine, just something to maintain water quality until you move him to the palace. Even something as simple as a sponge filter is fine.
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
Do you filter at all with carbon? Zeolite? Or no chemicals at all?
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
I use a little carbon, otherwise it is just a particulate filter. But no for the QT you do not need anything except the particluate filter. Just make sure that you keep up the water quality. Remember that during this time, you get a chance to observe the fish and if any parasites or diseases develop, you get to treat it as aggressively as you need to without danger to your display tank inhabitants, as some of these treatments would destroy corals and LR. The QT is really just a down to earth basic set up. 8)
AngelFishFan
Aquarium Advice Activist
Excellent. Thank you. I already have a 10 gallon with flourescent lighting and a filter with a heater... ill add instant ocean and get the qt tank started. Thank you so much!
Sam
Aquarium Advice Freak
Absolutely my pleasure. Good luck with it all.
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