6 Gallon... what do I need?

[Andyvette]

This thing is the screwiest sized aquarium ever.... anyways.... 6 gallon. I am going to use it as a quarantine for new fish to check for disease and behavior prior to stocking the tank (good idea? What else am I gonna use it for? )

Anyways, it has a (dont know name) filter on it, and no heater. I think I am going to get a 25 watt submersible heater. Should I just order the filter media online to the current filter, or do something better?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[YuccaPatrol]

For a quarrantine tank that you can easily change the water at a moment's notice, I'd just use any old filter that I had available and rinse/re-use the filter media until it fell apart. I probably wouldn't bother spending the extra $$$ on the submersible heater if I wanted to save a few bucks.

 

[Andyvette]

For a quarrantine tank that you can easily change the water at a moment's notice, I'd just use any old filter that I had available and rinse/re-use the filter media until it fell apart. I probably wouldn't bother spending the extra $$$ on the submersible heater if I wanted to save a few bucks.

So it will cycle with just a few fake plants, gravel, filter, and water? I can just leave the water in there for pretty much ever, filter going, with no fish?

I think I might put a 25 watt heater in there and only plug it in when I have a fish in there.

 

[fearlessfisch]

It won't cycle without a source of ammonia, so if there are no fish in there, no. Even if you cycle it, it won't stay cycled without a constant source of ammonia.

I keep an extra, small hang-on-back filter going all the time on my regular tank. That way when I need to start up the quarantine tank, I can fill it with new water and just move the filter from the cycled tank over. The bacteria will already be in the media and will handle any ammonia the sick fishies produce.

 

[fearlessfisch]

also, keep in mind that, even if you do move a filter from a cycled tank over, some medications will kill some or all of the good bacteria in the filter media, making ammonia spikes likely and partial water changes necessary anyway. also, it's a good idea to do water changes along with repeated dosing of many meds, to keep levels of the meds constant and safe for the fish. a side benefit to water changes when you are treating for parasites like ich is that you end up pouring out many of the nasties and replacing with good water. I agree with the other poster that water changes are easy in a six-gallon, so it is not necessarily critical even to have a cycle as long as you are vigilant about water quality (ammonia and nitrite levels, and med levels) and ready to do water changes as needed.

 

[Andyvette]

also, keep in mind that, even if you do move a filter from a cycled tank over, some medications will kill some or all of the good bacteria in the filter media, making ammonia spikes likely and partial water changes necessary anyway. also, it's a good idea to do water changes along with repeated dosing of many meds, to keep levels of the meds constant and safe for the fish. a side benefit to water changes when you are treating for parasites like ich is that you end up pouring out many of the nasties and replacing with good water. I agree with the other poster that water changes are easy in a six-gallon, so it is not necessarily critical even to have a cycle as long as you are vigilant about water quality (ammonia and nitrite levels, and med levels) and ready to do water changes as needed.

Awesome... thanks fearless.
So pretty much....
Set up my tank like I want it, but put no water in it. Other than that, have a heater and filter there ready to go, but leave it empty?
Or should I keep water in there and just let it sit without the heater and filter running?

 

[willowthepoet]

i may get boos and hisses for this, but for just a quarantine tank that's only gonna be used a couple weeks at a time (at most), wouldn't it just be easier to not bother with cycling the tank or using any substantial filter media (just some filter floss) and doing lots of PWCs to keep the water safe for the fish? if you take all that time to cycle, test the water, retest the water, wait some more, and then only have the fish in there for 2 weeks... you'll lose your cycle as soon as you take the fish out and then you'll have to start over again. IMO it's easier to just keep doing PWCs (which is only like 3 gallons in such a small tank anywy) and spend your time and money on getting your fish healthy and ready to go back into your main tank.

 

[toddnbecka]

You could also set up the tank with a couple of snails to keep it cycled. Either 2 good-sized apple snails or a dozen or so MTS would work. Just remember that meds may be toxic to the snails, particularly if they contain copper, although the MTS are tough critters, they may even survive anyway.

 

[Andyvette]

OK....
I think I will just aquascape it like I like. I have a tetra 10 filter on it (cheap, but oh well), and will make sure the filter is clean. I will keep it empty, and not have water in it.

If a fish needs quarantine, I will put the filter on the big tank and let it run while I do a PWC and empty about 5 gallons into the 6 gallon tank. I will turn on the heater, put the filter back on it, and put the fish in. Although this wont have hardly any bacteria, I will just PWC it daily.
Cool stuff guys, thanks!