Keeping a QT tank cycled

[nsx]

I recently set up a QT tank while my main tank is being treated for ich. In a couple weeks, when the QT tank inhabitants rejoin the main tank, it will be empty.

I've read about various ways to keep the QT tank cycled, and was wondering what everyone's collective opinion on the best and/or easiest way to do it is.

It would be nice to have a fully cycled tank on standby ready to accept fish at any time.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi nsx. It really isn't worth the effort. The only way a tank remains cycled is to have fish feeding the nitrifying bacteria. You're actually better off setting up a QT tank when you need it. I like to keep an extra sponge filter on my working tanks. I can always use it to help seed a QT tank.

HTH

 

[Christmasfish]

I keep an extra filter and a wee bag of gravel in my larger tanks for QT and hospital tanks time. I use those stackable 5 gallon and 8 gallon kritter keepers.
Throw a air run corner filter, a fakeplant and the bag and the used sponge filter voila instant QT.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Or, you can keep adding ammonia to the cycled QT tank.

 

[TankGirl]

I don't keep a quarrantine/hospital tank cycled, because especially after treating an illness I like to tear it down and clean it thoroughly anyway. Then, as mentioned above, use a sponge filter running in another tank, along with a decoration or fake plant to jump start the cycle in the Q-tank. If it is being used as a hospital tank, in general you do daily water changes anyway while dosing meds so the cycle is not such an issue.

 

[Menagerie]

I don't keep my QT tank up either. Especially since after treating with certain meds, all the beneficial bacteria are gone anyway :?
Plus, I don't have the space to leave it up!

 

[contactpsb]

sponge filter

What is a sponge filter? I have several tanks, but they are all filtered by either bio-wheels or fluval canisters. I don't know what a sponge filter is or looks like.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Sponge filter

A sponge filter is a sponge with a uptake coming out of the the sponge ran either by a air pump or powerhead. Water is pulled in thru the sponge and then returned to the tank. They provide good mechanical and biological filtration and are especially good for fry rearing tanks as fry cannot be sucked up into the filter. Can be found in various sizes/shapes.

 

[deli_conker]

I keep my QT cycled. I haven't actually used it for sickness yet. But I have used to keep fish that I am adding to my tank in to make sure no sickness has been introduced. I have also used it as a holding tank while I do work on the main tank.

It's also nice to have a bio-wheel and all that gravel teeming with nitrifying bacteria that I can user elsewhere. You can never have enough good bacteria...

Once a week, when I'm feeding my fish frozen bloodworms, I'll dump a few into my QT tank. I do a small water change in the tank every other week (it's only a 10 gal tank) to keep the nitrAtes down. All said I spend about 10 minutes over a two week period on it. And I'm usually doing something with the main tank at the same time, so it's not really a big difference for me to have it cycled...

 

[ChileRelleno]

QT

We usaully keep one of our male bettas in there to keep it cycled and remove him to a bowl when needed. we keep it setup in the bathroom, its nice to have something in there to look at and enjoy.

 

[ChileRelleno]

QT

Please delete.
Ok, sorry about this yet again. I thought I've been double clicking but this double-posting is happening when I try to go "back" to the previous page and hit refresh :x