My 29 gallon QT/Hospital Tank

[Kazzy]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

BTW, they are worth hanging onto!

Couldn't agree more!

[Woodstock]

EDIT: This QT is 29 gallons (30" x 12" x 18") not 25.

Aquarium Sizes and Weights

[BigAl07]

Hey how come you get your "thread name" modded?

[Woodstock]

'cus Travis gave me a little wand

[Woodstock]

Yippie!! The nitrItes & nitrAtes are rising

Ammonia = HIGH
NitrIte = .25
PH = 8.2'ish
NitrAtes= 10ppm

To speed up the cycle, today I added 90 new bioballs to the 'sump' to provide more surface area for bacteria, another aged sponge from the main display, and replaced @ 20 gallons of water with aged reef water.

Bag of new balls

[Woodstock]

Yippie! The ammonia finally dropped from "off the charts" 8.0 to zero It took 18 days for it to reach zero!

Lastnight (10-18-07) testing:
Ammonia = zero
NitrIte = .50
PH = ???
NitrAtes= off the chart


When the nitrItes fall to zero, I will do a 50% water change daily until the nitrAtes are at 10ppm or less. Hopefully, that will be this weekend. Then I will start putting the fishes in it! yay! This morning I placed the acrylic fish trap in the main display for the fish to get used to. I will begin feeding them soley from it until they are all captured.

[lcstorc]

Good luck catching everybody. Fish traps are so useful.

[Woodstock]

I don't think catching all of the fish will be difficult Less than one day and they are already going in and out without thinking twice

[lcstorc]

Everybody present and accounted for. That was fun. My cupid is getting big. I am so glad he is working for you.

[Woodstock]

I just ordered a new ReefKeeper2 for this hospital/QT! It will help me to monitor and control it! My fish deserve it

[Woodstock]

Just a few details on the cycling method I am using on my hospital tank.

seahorse.org - Cycling a Marine Tank

I also add thawed mush along with pure ammonia per Leebca's suggestion. Doing that will cycle the thousand other types of bacteria

Cycling with the ammonia method

Another method of cycling a tank that is increasing in popularity, is using 100% pure household ammonia. Instead of utilizing ammonia-producing organisms to start the cycling process, the ammonia method involves directly adding bottled ammonia along with a starter culture of bacteria.
The ammonia must be clear, unscented, 100% pure, and with no additives. However, you may find typical household ammonia to be mostly water with an actual strength of only 5–10%. Since the concentration may vary, you will need to experiment a little to find the right amount needed to cycle your tank.
When using the ammonia method, the necessary bacteria can be introduced to your system a couple of different ways. If you have access to an established and healthy tank, obtain a small amount of sand or gravel or even used filter media. This can then be placed in the tank to be cycled and will provide a starter culture of bacteria. Another option is to use a commercial preparation of bacteria, such as Hagen's Cycle, to introduce the nitrifying microbes.
After the tank has been set up and the bacteria have been introduced, begin to add the ammonia. If the tank is on the smaller side, start with only a couple of drops. Let it circulate in the water for a short time, and then test for ammonia. You want to raise the ammonia level to about 1–2 PPM Continue adding drops of ammonia and testing, while keeping track of how many drops total it takes to get to 1–2 PPM
Once you've reached the desired level, you now need to wait for the bacteria to multiply and do their job. It may take several days to a couple of weeks for your ammonia test to register zero. Once it does, add the same number of drops of ammonia again. Keep repeating this many times, each time waiting until ammonia reads zero, until finally the ammonia test goes to zero within 8–12 hours of the addition of ammonia.
When the tank is able to clear the ammonia within this time frame, that means that there are large numbers of bacteria present. At this time, test for nitrites. If nitrites are present, perform 3v4 more ammonia cycles to further establish the second group of bacteria. If the nitrite test reads zero, perform a very large water change and then you can begin slowly stocking your tank.
It's been suggested that elevating the temperature of the tank to the mid-80s F during cycling with the ammonia method can have beneficial effects. Just make sure that there are no animals in the tank being subjected to this temperature extreme (and ammonia), and also make sure to lower the temperature again prior to stocking.
Also, tanks with low alkalinity may experience pH spikes with the addition of household ammonia. These spikes may also hinder the growth of the necessary bacteria. To counteract the problem, use a good buffering product prior to cycling with ammonia, and perform a large water change after cycling (prior to stocking) to get pH levels back on track.

The ammonia cycles from 2.0 ppm to zero in 8 hours and the nitrItes are close behind. During the last few weeks, I have probably created about 6 or 7 'mini cycles' by adding ammonia; meanwhile waiting for my nitrItes to reach zero. The nitrAtes are of course off the chart but a 90% water change will remedy that.

I expect I will begin moving my fishes into it in the next day or so!

[Woodstock]

I had to do 7 huge (50-90%) water changes to get the nitrAtes down under 20 ppm. After cycling it SOOOO many times, the trAtes were OFF the charts
Good thing I purchased TWO buckets of salt

Update: I've been slowly adding fish to the hospital tank every 12 hours; alleni damsel, citron goby, both neon gobies, copperband butterfly, pair of picasso clowns are all in and appear okay. If the ammonia remains zero, te achilles tang will be added either tonight or tomorrow morning.

I test around 6:30 am and again at 6:30 pm for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte... and every few days I test the alkalinity and keep it at 10 dkh.

This mornings testing:
Ammonia = zero
NitrIte = zero
PH = 8.08
NitrAtes= less than 20ppm

[ScubaDrew]

Karma to you for all that hard work. ugh!

[ScubaDrew]

Um, never mind about the karma... hahah

[Gina]

Originally Posted by Woodstock

I had to do 7 huge (50-90%) water changes to get the nitrAtes down under 20 ppm. After cycling it SOOOO many times, the trAtes were OFF the charts
Good thing I purchased TWO buckets of salt

Nice quarantine tank! Do you prefer using this way of cycling?