QT tank w/out fish

[jdsunflower]

Hi,
Silly question here...If you don't have fish in QT do you keep the tank up and running to preserve the cycle, etc? I guess the bacteria would die without food, so...it sounds like a lot of trouble...I otherwise have a 40B cycled tank with fish and plants...
thanks,
JD

 

[Purrbox]

For a QT aquarium you can either keep it running and add ammonia to keep it cycled, or break it down and only set it up when needed. You can always run the filter in another aquarium and just move it to the QT when needed for an instantly cycled QT. Of course if you have to medicate the QT then you'd want to disinfect the filter before placing back on a main aquarium after you're done with the QT.

 

[jdsunflower]

thank you,
JD

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

You could always keep a tiny population of fish in the QT--something that could go into the community tank when needed but something that would like the extra space normally. A pair of honey gouramis might be a fragile choice, but you can see the thought process there (small and peaceful enough to go to the regular tank, likes privacy, could handle a 10 g or the size of the quarantine, not so small as to be bullied in your regular tank).

 

[gheitman]

Since I use a sponge filter in my quarantine tank as well as several other of my tanks I set up the QT only when needed. The sponge filter in the QT uses two sponges and I borrow one from a tank already set up.

 

[jdsunflower]

thanks for that
I really like the idea of keeping a small fish pop there and think I'll go with that...
jd