[leebca]

To go back and answer your questions, kcfehring, most are addressed in the link Woodstock provided. However, I can say this:

The quarantine tank is for holding specimens until they are acclimated, and healthy. In the event the specimen will need treatment, any calcium based materials (live rock, substrate, rocks, etc.) may interfere with the medication. Also, living rock and living substrate will suffer die off as part of their natural maturing. This die off creates wastes the aquarimst doesn't want to deal with while the fish is finishing its acclimation or being healed. Lastly, the QT, when used for fish should not allow the fish to hunt for its food in the normal manner. The aquarist is trying to train the fish to eat prepared foods and not putting the fish in with LR is one means of getting the fish to pay attention to introduced foods.

You might want to turn the question around. . .WHY would you want LR and substrate in the QT? Answers such as: makes the fish comfortable; or provides the fish some foods; or provides biological filtration are not good answers.

The above applies if the tank will just be used for hospital purposes. In this case you are saying for sure the animal needs treatment so all the above reasons where those things interfere with medications or creat die off come into play.

Someone told me. . .

Someone told you misinformation. Gather up good advice from those here! Keep on reading!