Quarantine tank question

[SmokeOneLV]

Hi I'm just running regular water right now in the Qt just to make sure filter and air pump is working. I'm going to add some pieces of pvc and a all black back ground. I'm running a whisper 10-30 internal power filter.

I get my salt is in the mail next week so I plan on starting my cycle of the main tank then. My question is can I buy 10 gal of ocean water from the Lfs for the Qt and start my quarantine of the first couple of fish while I wait for the main display to finish it's cycle?

Thank you!

 

[SmokeOneLV]

Don't know if I really want the Qt next to the display

 

[Barrett]

You will want it at least 10 feet away to prevent aerosol transition to your DT.

 

[Maritimer]

Barrett's right about the ten feet - but yes, you can QT fish while waiting for your display to cycle. (Of course, that may tend to make some folks impatient about dropping that fish into their display - make sure the cycle is done first!)

~Bruce

 

[Cment]

Hi I'm just running regular water right now in the Qt just to make sure filter and air pump is working. I'm going to add some pieces of pvc and a all black back ground. I'm running a whisper 10-30 internal power filter.

I get my salt is in the mail next week so I plan on starting my cycle of the main tank then. My question is can I buy 10 gal of ocean water from the Lfs for the Qt and start my quarantine of the first couple of fish while I wait for the main display to finish it's cycle?

Thank you!

yes you can buy ocean water from your LFS for your QT. Never hurts to get a few more gallons in the event you need to do an emergency water change to control ammonia and still do not have your salt in. Depending on where you are getting your fish, the specific gravity of the water they come in will probably be lower like 1.016-1.023. Typically setting your QT somewhere in between that range is best. I leave my QT at 1.018 then slowly over the next 6-8 weeks bring it up to match my display. And as others have stated, keep your QT at least 10ft away to avoid aerosol contamination.

 

[Cment]

double post

 

[SmokeOneLV]

Thank you i had no idea about the 10ft. I will move the Qt to a better location. Do i need to add live rock or live sand or any special lighting.

 

[Barrett]

No live rock or live sand, they will absorb any meds you put in the water. I would add a bottle of bio spiral or dr tims, and a seachem ammonia alert badge to monitor ammonia, since meds will make most ammonia test read falsely.

 

[Cment]

Thank you i had no idea about the 10ft. I will move the Qt to a better location. Do i need to add live rock or live sand or any special lighting.

Typically people will leave a sponge or other media like seachem matrix or marine pure spheres in the DT to build up bacteria which is then transferred to a QT to avoid large cycles in them. In your case you'll need to stay up and monitor ammonia often and adding some live Bacteria works well. Seachem ammonia badges work well but are not always 100%. No need for rock as it absorbs meds, sand maybe needed if you have a sand burrowing wrasse or the like otherwise omit. Ambient light usually works if in a sunny room. If in a dark room you can use anything which illuminates the tank.