Hospital tank set up?

[missyintx]

My hubby just rebuilt a 10 gallon tank that I want to use strictly as a hospital tank since I have so many cichlids and injuries are bound to occur.
Do I need to have this tank up and running 24-7 just as I would any other tank? Or can I just pull it out, use water from the tank the fish is in with basic filtration and aeration as needed?

 

[Allivymar]

You can do either; up to you.

Keep in mind a tear down QT will not be cycled unless you add cycled material (mature filter media, bunch of gravel) from an established tank. That being said, most medications will kill the bacterial filter anyway. I have a QT tank thats cycled and running now; I use it to quarantine new fish, and as none of them up until now have been ill, I haven't needed to be concerned about tearing it down and disinfecting it. However, I just got some new cardinals which are in QT in that tank, who brought ich with them. I WILL have to tear it down this time.

An uncycled tank will need a close watch to keep nitrogen levels in check. The same goes for adding meds which destroy the bio-filter. If you have room to leave it up and have some fish to spare, you can keep it cycled (or add a little ammonia to keep the bacteria fed and alive). If not, sticking in the closet until you need it is also ok