So, I used to use my 5g as a quarentine tank, but it's got bbgs now, and someday my fish will get too big for that. Right now, I have only 1 gsp and 4 bbgs; but I just got a 75g saltwater, so I will be stocking that eventually. The biggest fish I plan to stock will be 6" max. What would be the best way to make a hospital/quarentine tank?
There is a stripped bare 10g at wal-mart for $10 or something. I was thinking that, an an adequate aquaclear filter. Or the aqueon - I've heard good things about them; but I know no carbon.
I've also heard of people using a tuperware bucket.
What's the best option?
Quarentine tank
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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billysgirl4e
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:34 pm
- My Puffers: 75g FOWLR My GSP, "Ryuu"
55g Nothing yet.
10g Fresh. 1 Betta, Elvis. 1 Platy, Mickey.
5g BBGs
QT: Yellow Tang. - Location: FLoRidA!!!
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Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Quarentine tank
A ten gallon is a good quarantine for your situation. Just make sure the quarantine filer is on the main tank except when in use, or it will not stay cycled, and that if a fish does have an illness, you completely clean out the quarantine filter before returning it to the main tank.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
-
billysgirl4e
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:34 pm
- My Puffers: 75g FOWLR My GSP, "Ryuu"
55g Nothing yet.
10g Fresh. 1 Betta, Elvis. 1 Platy, Mickey.
5g BBGs
QT: Yellow Tang. - Location: FLoRidA!!!
Re: Quarentine tank
I always wondered how that worked!
Thanks, Nick!
Also, you can't overfilter, right? So would it be okay for me to stick an extra 10g on each of my different tank salinity levels- specifically for transferring over to the hospital tank, or how would I do that? Can I use the same tank for all the different levels?
Thanks, Nick!
Also, you can't overfilter, right? So would it be okay for me to stick an extra 10g on each of my different tank salinity levels- specifically for transferring over to the hospital tank, or how would I do that? Can I use the same tank for all the different levels?
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cobra1713
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 316
- Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:26 am
- Location: Apple Valley, CA
Re: Quarentine tank
well the easier way to do it, is if you have an aquaclear filter for the quarentine, you could just put the filter media from your the tank you need to quarentine into the quarentine tanks filter. that way you dont need three filters just three filter medias and one filter.
60g with 2 angels, 1 yoyo loach, Upside down catfish, Clown Loach, 1 leopard Ctenopoma, 12 black skirt tetras and a L201 Pleco
30g GSP tank (soon to be 35 gal Hex)
30g GSP tank (soon to be 35 gal Hex)
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billysgirl4e
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:34 pm
- My Puffers: 75g FOWLR My GSP, "Ryuu"
55g Nothing yet.
10g Fresh. 1 Betta, Elvis. 1 Platy, Mickey.
5g BBGs
QT: Yellow Tang. - Location: FLoRidA!!!
Re: Quarentine tank
Also, since I'm trying to save money here....lighting would not be necessary for the q-tank right? As far as I've always understood, it can stress them out and is just for our benefit. Is that true? Could I just get an open 10g w/ the filter situation I talked about? Should there be any substrate in there? Crushed coral? Since all are brackish/saltwater?
Thanks!
J Bishop
Thanks!
J Bishop
-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Quarentine tank
I don't usually use gravel or a light on a QT.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
-
billysgirl4e
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:34 pm
- My Puffers: 75g FOWLR My GSP, "Ryuu"
55g Nothing yet.
10g Fresh. 1 Betta, Elvis. 1 Platy, Mickey.
5g BBGs
QT: Yellow Tang. - Location: FLoRidA!!!
Re: Quarentine tank
Will do; Thanks, Nick!