hummer41269
Active Member
If quarantine is empty sw only do you still have to cycle it
Hospital tank
- Thread starter hummer41269
- Start date
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
If you have time, seeding the QT with a sponge from the main tank is the best route to go, give the tank two weeks to get nitrifying bacteria to build up. Then you can add fish. Sometimes you don't have this luxury, like when you have a sick fish, in this case get the QT going and get the fish in there as soon as you can.
The bottom line is that you have to monitor ammonia. In both a tank that is newly set up and in a tank that has only cycled two weeks, ammonia can be an issue. Never let it get high, using one of these really helps not having to test water twice daily (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255R5G/?tag=reefsanc-20) If ammonia creeps into unsafe levels, do a water change.
This is what I usually have on hand for QT and hospital tank (note there is a difference between a quarantine tank and hospital tank, one you use to observe the fish in and the other you use medication in):
* Some type of filtration (a hang on the back of the tank power filter will work, just use filter floss without the carbon since carbon will remove medication from the water, being counter productive or you can get a simple sponge filter driven by a cheap air pump).
* Heater and a thermometer for obvious reasons.
* Aquarium test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
* An ammonia alert badge, this will give you constant readings on your ammonia levels which need to be monitored frequently, the QT is not an established bio system and you will see ammonia levels creep up on you. This item is super simple and easy to use, it will indicate if you have ammonia and will need to do a water change. Once you see this indicate you have ammonia, then use the test kit to confirm level of ammonia. Then do a water change.
* Fish Net
* Having a bottle of Seachem "Prime" on hand is very useful. If your ammonia gets high, this will lock up the ammonia and keep it from becoming deadly to your fish. This saves you time until you can make up some new salt water for a water change to reduce the ammonia levels. NOTE: if you are going to use medication, please know that there are issues using PRIME and some medications, read here and here.
The bottom line is that you have to monitor ammonia. In both a tank that is newly set up and in a tank that has only cycled two weeks, ammonia can be an issue. Never let it get high, using one of these really helps not having to test water twice daily (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255R5G/?tag=reefsanc-20) If ammonia creeps into unsafe levels, do a water change.
This is what I usually have on hand for QT and hospital tank (note there is a difference between a quarantine tank and hospital tank, one you use to observe the fish in and the other you use medication in):
* Some type of filtration (a hang on the back of the tank power filter will work, just use filter floss without the carbon since carbon will remove medication from the water, being counter productive or you can get a simple sponge filter driven by a cheap air pump).
* Heater and a thermometer for obvious reasons.
* Aquarium test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
* An ammonia alert badge, this will give you constant readings on your ammonia levels which need to be monitored frequently, the QT is not an established bio system and you will see ammonia levels creep up on you. This item is super simple and easy to use, it will indicate if you have ammonia and will need to do a water change. Once you see this indicate you have ammonia, then use the test kit to confirm level of ammonia. Then do a water change.
* Fish Net
* Having a bottle of Seachem "Prime" on hand is very useful. If your ammonia gets high, this will lock up the ammonia and keep it from becoming deadly to your fish. This saves you time until you can make up some new salt water for a water change to reduce the ammonia levels. NOTE: if you are going to use medication, please know that there are issues using PRIME and some medications, read here and here.
hummer41269
Active Member
Wow that's way more than I knew or even considerd thanks