My First Quarantine Tank

[BarbMazz]

Originally Posted by goldenmean

The corner filter has been running with the air pump in my sump for 10 days now. I have some other sponge material that has been there for 2 weeks.
I have the QT set up next to the display tank. No water in it yet.
PVC pipes have not been glued together yet and Right now I have too much pvc in the QT. I will be taking some of that out for sure. The back and both sides have been covered.
Here are a few pics.

I just bought my 10g kit (probably the same exact one!) yesterday!

So, you put the entire filter into your sump? Did the corner filter come with the sponges, or did you buy them separately?

And thanks for the pictures... it really helps me see what I need to do to setup.

[goldenmean]

No the corner filter did not come with a sponge. I bought an a little filter foam for a couple of bucks and cut it up to fit in the corner filter.

I do not planning on using the whisper power filter that came with the tank set up but I did put those filters in my sump too so incase of a problem I could quickly get the power filter running.

I am hoping to get the QT with water in it over this coming weekend.
I will post some pics of the corner filter and sponges in operation.

[goldenmean]

I put water in the QT today.
I did a WC on the display and put that water in the QT.
The sponges and the corner filter has been in my sump for just over 30 days.
I moved them into the QT and got them running.
The air pump cause some splashing in the hood and onto the lights so I cut a small piece of acrylic to cover just above where the filter is at. Then the hood is on top of that.
Added pvc, plastic plants, heater and thermometer

First pic show the corner box filter with an air pump running.
There is some extra sponge on to of the filter.

[BarbMazz]

Looks good, Jeff! I especially love the cheesy plastic plants you have in there!

It's good to see what you've done; it will help when I set mine up, hopefully SOONer rather than LATer.

[cracker]

Looks good to me! Please let us know what the water parameters are in a few days. I using the "watch the deli shrimp melt" method to cycle my qt. Thanks!

[leebca]

Less piping is an advantage. You want the fish to feel like it has a safe place, but you don't want it to totally disappear from your view nor hide from you.

Otherwise I think it is a very good setup.

[goldenmean]

I am a little confused.
I have seeded the sponge with bacteria by leaving them in my sump for a month. Do I now need to grow these bacteria out (cycle the tank)?
I am planning on getting some 100% pure ammonia and adding a couple of drops to the QT after I get home from work today. Then I will add some protein (food) for the bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates.

Am I correct that the sponges are not be sufficiently colonized by bacteria just because they were in my sump for over 30 days?

[leebca]

You need to keep feeding the bacteria. Not only ammonia but some organics. I would add some frozen fish food periodically.

[goldenmean]

Lee,
thanks again for all your help!

[goldenmean]

I added 0.5 ml of ammonia to the tank.
Tested with Marine Basic MultiTest
Free ammonia (NH3) was .3
while NH4 was much higher - near 2.

Salifert NH3 = <0.5

I also added a little bit of frozen fish food (in a cup for easy removal)

[goldenmean]

Tonite's test results
Marine Basic MultiTest
NH3 = .2
NH4 = 2.5
NO2 = 2.5
NO3 = 0
Salifert NH3 = <.05 I tried a little experiment on the salifert test.
I measured the 1ml of sample water and removed 3 drops then added the remaining to the test vial. I then added 3 drops of ammonia and performed the test. Results NH3= 1.0 so I did get the salifert test to react.

I had to go to 3 stores to find ammonia that was not lemon scented. My local grocery store had clear ammonia but it must be really watered down.

I am thinking I need to add more ammonia to get the cycle moving but I want to do a little reading first on free ammonia (NH3) and its relationship with Ionized ammonia (NH4)

[BarbMazz]

Boy, who knew this hobby would be a chemistry lesson?! Not me! It's a good thing because chemistry and me sure didn't mix in my schoolin' years.

Thanks, Jeff, because you posting these parameters goes together nicely with the post-newbie thread that prow posted really help me put the chemistry picture together nicely.

[cracker]

I'm with You Miss Barb, chemistry, physics, plumbing, marine biology, lighting spectrums,economics, etc. Geez, all I wanted was an aquarium with a couple of fish!

[BarbMazz]

Originally Posted by cracker

I'm with You Miss Barb, chemistry, physics, plumbing, marine biology, lighting spectrums,economics, etc. Geez, all I wanted was an aquarium with a couple of fish!

We can do this, Cracker, WE CAN DO THIS!! LOL

[goldenmean]

Chemistry was never this interesting in school plus the carrot is not the threat of failing at a test but rather the well being (and life) of your livestock.

I am glad this thread is helping you Barb. That makes it worth while! I .was hoping it would be useful to others setting up and using a quarantine tank.
There are some great threads here about QT and hospital tanks but I found the more research I did the more simple questions I had (like what the heck is a corner filter?)

WE CAN DO THIS!!!