Quarantine tank

[kcfehring]

I have heard alot about not having live rock or sand in a qt, but I still don't get why. I am not going to use the qt for a hospital tank - I have a 10 gallon for that and as soon as a fish or whatever showed any signs of sickness I would move them strait to the hospital tank and medicate them there.

Someone told me that with a qt or ht the nitrogen cycle would never cycle fully because all the anaerobic bacteria that changes nitrites to nitrates live in a dsb. With no dsb - no anaerobic bacteria. But I don't see how that can be right because there are some people who do bare bottom tanks and surely they don't have high nitrites and nitrates for ever.

What do you think?

[corrado007]

Many people use a QT tank not only as a hospital tank but as a quarantine area for all new fish. This is done so you can be sure you don't introduce any parasites or diseases into your display from a new and unfamiliar fish. New fish are susceptible to many issues due to stress of shipping etc... and these issues may not immediately show up. As for beneficial bacteria, this is not only in a DSB but in LR as well.
HTH

[Amphibious]

People who do bare bottom reef tanks will have to reduce their Nitrates through frequent water changes, refugium, sump with DSB, a combination of things or some other method. Nitrates will climb and get out of control otherwise.

Dick

[prow]

anaerobic bacteria grow and live in LR. you dont need a DSB for this, just a surface area with a anoxic zone, like found deep in LR. you can put LR and a sandbed in a QT tank. i have full blown little reefs for my QT's. the reason i think most dont is because they use their QT as a hospital too. in a hospital tank if you use medication it gets into the sand and rock and you have to treat it before putting back into the main display.

for a hospital tank you really dont need to allow the anaerobic bacteria to grow. the nitrates are not really that much of an issue for fish. they would have to be really high to bother fish, inverts and stuff are a different story. besides if your using meds you will be doing enough water changes to deal with the meds and whatever die off. its mostly the ammonia we worry about in a hospital tank.

[Woodstock]

(moved to saltwater fish forum)

Check out this thread: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...step-step.html

[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!