The Puffer Forum

I have often heard people talking about hospital tanks.

I think I understand the concept of separate tank to remove sick fish to, to isolate and treat.

Should this be basically a normal tank with filtration, decor, heat, light, substrate, cycled?

If so how do you keep it cycled when no fish are in it?

We use snails in ours to keep it cycled. Yeah, needs all the basics like filtration, heat, light, etc. Its a combo hospital/quarantine tank.

Great article on QT/Hosp tanks in our Library.

I don't keep my setup and cycled. Basically, if needed, I toss together a tank with plants and filter media "stolen" from one of my other tanks (actually, I tend to keep sponge filters hidden behind decor in my big tanks so they are always seeded and ready to go).

Then, since I figure on a Qtine or hospital tank with a sick or injured fish, I'm going to be doing daily water changes anyways to get their health up to 100% ASAP, I'm not overly concerned about ammonia/nitrite buildup.

Of course, if there is any disease you were dealing with, do NOT put the decor/media/filters back in your main tanks without sanitizing them, or just throw them out.

This is on marine QT tanks; http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/s ... /index.php

But the logic/reasonning/basics are fairly similliar to FW/Brackish.