QT sponge in my sump...

justinpsmith · #1 12/15/2007, 06:32 PM

I have a sponge in my sump that I want to use in a canister filter to set up a QT. I have a few questions.

1. How long does the sponge need to be in the sump for the bacteria to populate it enough for a QT?

2. Where in the sump is best? High flow? Low flow?

3. Would hypo just kill off the bacteria on the sponge in a QT anyways?

justinpsmith · #2 12/15/2007, 07:35 PM

Bump...

rynon · #3 12/15/2007, 07:43 PM

Yes to number 3. If your using it as a QT to observe then I think this would work, if your using it to treat fish or corals there is no point IMO. I would wait a couple of weeks.

justinpsmith · #4 12/15/2007, 07:46 PM

So what do people do for QT when your doing hypo? Daily water changes???

bobbet43 · #5 12/15/2007, 07:54 PM

water changes work the best

justinpsmith · #6 12/15/2007, 08:25 PM

Ok...Man thats a lot of work over 6 weeks!

discusone · #7 12/15/2007, 08:40 PM

from all ive read,the bacteria will survive,if the lowering of the salinity is done slowly over a few days.It will quickly adjust to the new salinity,unlike inverts.

for the first few days,feed sparinlgy,and keep testing for ammonia.

justinpsmith · #8 12/15/2007, 09:55 PM

Yes, I just did some reading and found that the bacteria can actually adjust all the way from sea water to fresh water if its done over a few days, so thats good news.

Any idea how long it may take to seed the sponge. I know there is really no solid answer but just an idea would be great.