Hospital tank/isolation tank

[Jmlorfam]

I believe I understand the premise of a hospital tank. Keep sick fish away from healthy, & acclimate new tank mates. ( im sure im glossing over this) But I am weighing the pros and cons. What is an acceptable size for a hospital tank? If one tank has to be maintained two is twice the work, and in a smaller tank even more labor needs to be invested. If it is used for acclimation how do you ensure your water is consistent with both tanks? My question to the forum is.... is it worth the extra time and commitment? Lastly, if I have a 55 gal now what would be a adequate hospital tank (ie 20 gal???) I know this is alot of questions but the caffeine is really kicking in now. Thanks for your input

 

[melosu58]

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

[mdaniel2882]

I use the water from my display tank to fill and do water changes in my hospital and put new water in the display. this will insure all the parameters are the same. I also only set up my hospital tank when I need it. I have a HOB filter that I run on my display tank all the time and transfer it to the hospital tank when I need it.

 

[Jmlorfam]

Ok, thanks for that awesome article and advice. It makes the point very well.

 

[Keith A.]

YES!!!!! It's absolutely worth the time and effort. I have a 75 gal display tank any just use a 10 gal tank for a QT. I only set up the QT when I'm getting something new or I start to see signs of a problem. The QT doesn't have to be anything fancy. All I have is a heater, small powerhead (optional), a hang on filter, and some PVC for hiding spots. No live rock & bare glass bottom. It works great and it saved me a lot of stress. I started using one after I brought home a sick fish then had a mass die off soon after.

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

A 10 gallon hospital tank is usually sufficient, depending upon the type of fish in the main tank. I keep mine read to go at a moments noice, but I leave it empty and I add 50% water from my main tank so when I need it, I just add water - simple. I used to try to keep it running, but I stopped that and just fill it when I need it.