Need a quarantine tank - emergency set up

[mdpitts]

Hi Everyone,

I'm being wiped out by brown jelly right now. I'm so sad - 3 beautiful torches, a hammer on its way out and a duncan retracting. The dumb thing is about 10 days ago I thought it would be really neat to group all my euphyllia together in one part of the tank. The kiss of death.

I used bone cutters to try to shear off the definitely bad head of one of the torches and the whole inside core was brown jellied. It was horrible and smelled horrible. I'm wondering if high phosphates contributed to one getting ill and passing it along. Once I tested the high phosphate level I just quit testing and did a big water change.

Anyway to the question, I have a few new 10 gallon tanks that I picked up on sale at Petco years ago and I can turn one into a quarantine tank but do I have to let it go through a cycle first. I have fresh mixed saltwater, Microbactor 7 and the Fritz 9 or 900 or whatever it is for saltwater tanks. Then keeping it up and running what do I do? I have a 40 breeder display so I only have smaller fish and corals and the reason I mention this is that I have a little 5 gallon and even a 2.5 gallon tank I can clean up from the freshwater days.

Advice so, SO appreciated.

 

[TX_REEF]

sorry you're dealing with that...set up a 10g with proper flow and light, move in some live rock from display or sump for mature bio-media and you're good to go.

 

[kvansloo]

Take 10g of Main tank water and put into 10g tank cycle complete. Add filter and pump. Start QT.

 

[TX_REEF]

Take 10g of Main tank water and put into 10g tank cycle complete. Add filter and pump. Start QT.

disagree with this - use new water. beneficial bacteria is contained in the rocks, substrate and surfaces of the system, not the water.

 

[kvansloo]

disagree with this - use new water. beneficial bacteria is contained in the rocks, substrate and surfaces of the system, not the water.

Main tank water is cycled. I have done this before with no issues. Do you remove the water and test for nitrates or do you remove the rocks and test?

 

[TX_REEF]

water doesn't cycle or not cycle...

 

[kvansloo]

If you test the tank water, does it have nitrates?
If you test new water, does it have nitrates?

Remove 10 gallons of main tank water, and put it in the 10-gallon tank, and check for nitrates. Add a hang on the back filter-pump add some fresh RO and the tank is cycled ready for QT. put 10 gallons of fresh salt water back in main tank and you have done a small water change.

 

[Spare time]

If you test the tank water, does it have nitrates?
If you test new water, does it have nitrates?

Remove 10 gallons of main tank water, and put it in the 10-gallon tank, and check for nitrates. Add a hang on the back filter-pump add some fresh RO and the tank is cycled ready for QT. put 10 gallons of fresh salt water back in main tank and you have done a small water change.

Nitrates present in the water doesn't mean the bacteria producing it are there. Nevertheless there is bacteria in the water column but what they use/produce I can't say.

 

[Spare time]

You don't really need to cycle a coral QT. However, it might be nice to take one small rock or so from the display and put it in there

 

[fishyjoes]

If you're just putting coral and no fish you don't really need to worry about "cycling"

Setting up QT tanks for fish I have used fritz turbo start and caribsea bio-spira with success. There is a detailed bottled bacteria thread

Not all Cycling Bacteria are created equal. Who's who, and what do they need?

My hypothesis is that there are very different types of Bacteria that are being used to "cycle" tanks to prevent ammonia accumulation, and it's not entirely clear which products contain which group, and it's also poorly understood what the requirements are for one of these groups to do their...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[WvAquatics]

I hear chemiclean is helpful for brown jelly. Just what I have heard.

 

[TX_REEF]

If you test the tank water, does it have nitrates?
If you test new water, does it have nitrates?

Remove 10 gallons of main tank water, and put it in the 10-gallon tank, and check for nitrates. Add a hang on the back filter-pump add some fresh RO and the tank is cycled ready for QT. put 10 gallons of fresh salt water back in main tank and you have done a small water change.

I don't mean to argue with you, and I certainly don't mean to be rude, but your logic is simply not correct. I'm happy to hear that the method has worked for you in the past with a QT, but putting water from a cycled tank into a new tank does not mean the new tank is cycled.

 

[mdpitts]

Thanks y'all. I didn't even think about utilizing a currently running tank to set up the quarantine tank. I'm going to do this tonight. I've got some rock that is just hanging out in my 40b and my little Fluval 13.5 and I was going to do a water change on the tank that didn't have the sick euphyllia so I'll use 5 gallons from that tank and 5 gallons of freshly mixed. BOOM! Done. I appreciate your input @TX_REEF @kvansloo @Spare time @fishyjoes @WvAquatics

As of this morning everything that hasn't died is holding strong. It will be a big relief to actually have a quarantine tank.

 

[kvansloo]

I don't mean to argue with you, and I certainly don't mean to be rude, but your logic is simply not correct. I'm happy to hear that the method has worked for you in the past with a QT, but putting water from a cycled tank into a new tank does not mean the new tank is cycled.

It's all good. He was asking for an emergency method. I have done it this way before for a fast QT adding live rock is just as good unless you are using something that would contaminate the rock, and you don't want it back in your tank. I have never used live rock in a QT at all because I can't replace the FUJI live rock I have. I have used packs of ceramic rings from my refuge in the back of the HOB or canister filters for the bacteria if QT needs to be longer such as for fish. I only use new saltwater in the main tank. Old used tank water can still be used for other things. There are many different ways of making things work in this hobby. I don't use filter socks except just before I feed the tank and 30 minutes after.