Need to set up a quick quarantine tank - Ich problem

B

Boris

[Recently, I had a bad outbreak of ich in the tank so I set up a makeshift quarantine tank (10 gallon) with a live rock. Unfortunately, my amonina levels are through the roof every few days until I give it an almost full water change. Does anybody have any ideas on how to set up a quarantine tank without all the cost of a fully running tank and not enough time to let it cycle? Would live sand help? Any advice would be appreciated!]
 
[You don't want sand or rock in a tank you will have to treat for ich.

The biological filters don't exist in QT tanks so you have to do big water changes very often. Depending on how many fish you have and how small your tank you may have to do up to 25% EVERYDAY.

They should be very easy to set up and cheap. They need a smal filter, a heater, a couple pieces of PVC for hiding places and if you want a cheapy light and that is it.


Here are a couple things to read.

http://www.dfwmas.org....kwl1763

Scroll down to the bottom of this!

http://www.dfwmas.org/newslet....04.html]
 
[
The biological filters don't exist in QT tanks said:
Not so if the QT has completely cycled and stable. I use an Emperor 280 on mine and never do extra water changes other than what you would normally do on any other tank. As long as that bio wheel is kept wet by turning, I never see any AMO. Right now, the SG of the water in my QT is 1.009 with no AMO and I have never experienced any in all the times that I done hypo in this fashion.

Now if this is a quick setup QT the statement is correct. That's why mine is always up and running. This takes a bunch of the work out of hypo!]
Click to expand...
 
[Do we ever know how you feel!! We're doing 20% water changes twice a day just to keep the ammonia out of the deadly area. We're going to try adding a cheepy, make shift sump this weekend to get the levels within reason with only one water change a day. Of course, our 30 gallon QT tank is terribly over loaded right now which makes our water quality harder to keep under control. Our blenny is not eating and our juv. emperor believes he's the only one with the rights to swim or eat in the tank. We also lost our stop light cardinal. However, the good news is, we've made it one week with only 5 more to go :). Time sure flies when all you do is change water :D. As soon as our freshwater fish are in their new home, we'll most likely put our juv. emperor and possibly our clowns in a different tank, I think that will help our situation tremendously. Will's done a lot of researching on cycling the tanks faster, but as of this afternoon he hasn't found anything that looks like it will help us out any. Hang in there and keep changing water, that's what we're doing.

Melissa]
 
[737mech you are correct. Sorry to mislead there. What I meant was the capacity of the systems is much lower. If you have adequate volume and a very light bioload (which you should) then the bacteria of a biowheel of sponge filter can handle the nitrification process. Also keeping it going is a good idea as that helps.

What I should have said is that due to no liverock or substrate the nitrification ability of the QT tank is very limited but by no means zero as you point out! Thanks]
 
[Keith
No apology needed. I just wanted others to see that there is a huge advantage to having a QT always running. I hate all those water changes. I remember when I set my 1st QT up in a hurry. I was stressing out as much as the fish, trying to keep the tank from cycling. Never again for me.]
 
[Quick question George.

If you keep your QT at 1.009 for hypo how long do you acclimate your new arrivals (I would think it would need to be quite lengthy)?

Or do you raise it up when you know a new one is coming then take it down over time?]
 
[This is what I do. I have set the SG of the QT to the same as my other displays. I acclimate the fish to the tank as if it were a display tank. If ich appears, then I lower it to do hypo-salinity treatment. I'm in the middle of hypo right now because of a LMB :rolleyes: After 3 wks in hypo conditions I'll very slowly raise the SG back to normal display levels. Then if the fish still look good they go into their new home. The QT stays at normal SG and awaits another fish. Eventually I'll be done buying fish and I may improve the lighting so I can quarantine corals and inverts. I am going to catch my green chromis one of these days and keep him in the QT just for some bio load.

PS. Once I start hypo, I never buy any more fish until I complete the process. Which can be any where from 4 wks - 6 wks or so. HTH]



Edited By 737mech on 1109346152
 
[Good Info, Thanks

I do the same sort of thing but have begun to do hypo on my new arrivals as a preventative. Let them acclimate for a week or so then slowly lower over a few days. Leave them in hypo for 3-4 weeks the slowly bring up and leave at "full strength for a week. Takes 6 weeks but I think it's worth it.]
 
[I agree Keith. Ich will usually start showing itself by the 2nd week. I've had some fish that never show signs, but I let them hang out in the QT at normal SG for 4 wks, just a precaution. Your way, you're covering the bases better than I. :idea:
It definitely takes some patience and restraint.]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top