QT tank

[Wickednix]

What does a QT tank consist of. I want to make one as i am adding new fish and don;t want my new tank to be disease infested. Did a search and cant find the proper info on setting up a QT.

[xoshagsox]

You can just set up a 10 gal FOWLR tank.

[bennyinca]

My QT:

20gallon tank barebottom
heater
1.5 PVC 90s for fish to hide in
Small powerhead
Sponge filter (using sponge that was in display tank)

[Jean-yus]

All it needs is:

Water
Heater
Some flow
PVC or Clay Pots for fish to hide in...

A lot of people put too much into it. They make it out like its another tank. Same with Prop systems, Some have it full of LR and LS and it might as well be another reef.

[integlikewhoa]

I just got mine. I went to wal-mart and got a complete setup for 50.00 bucks. They have one for 30.00 which is 10 gallon glass tank, hang on filter, flip open top with dual incandesnt bulbs or the one I got was 50.00 for 10 gallon glass tank, 18" or 20" florsent bulb, hang on filter, 50w heater, temp gauge and fish net.

I spray painted the back both sides and bottom of the tank blue. Leave it bear bottom with a few PVC pieces for the fish to hide and that it. NO sand or rock.

[NicoleC]

In a strictly QT tank (i.e. a holding tank), rock and sand is okay. In a hospital tank, it is not. A heater is a must and a small light on a timer is nice to get the fish used to your schedule. Also stock up on premium/attractive foods for fish that are WC and may be tough to get eating.

Now, if you've added live rock and you have a diseased fish, the rock is infected, too. Ooops.

A nice solution for both is to be to keep the tank itself BB with PVC, then have a HOB filter you can put media in. Leave the sponge in your sump and when you want to fire up the QT, set it up and throw the sponge and carbon in the filter. Then if you need to treat for something, toss out the sponge and carbon (it's now infested with whatever the fish had) and add fresh ones after treatment.

(The exception is hypo -- if hypo is done properly for enough time, any parasites in the filter sponge will also be dead by the end of the treatment so you can leave it in for bio filtration.)

I wouldn't use clay pots in a hospital tank; they are too porous.

Nanocubes make great QT's for small to medium fish, but there's no need to be so fancy. Tangs and other large fish need a bigger QT. Anything that holds water will do, but having a clear view will greatly improve your ability to see the health of the fish and also get the fish used to you. Right now I have a nanocube QT with rock and sand that has been up and running for about 6 months now: no diseased fishes have been in it since it was last bleached. It goes fallow between fishes just in case, but has enough light and flow to QT corals as well -- which is where the QT stsrts to pay for itself. I also have a hospital tank BB with PVC and HOB (like described above) with a fish in hypo.

[Wickednix]

So when my cube gets here (today) and I finish the cycle on the cube i can use my 25g as QT for my 115g Cube? Or should i get me a lil 10 g tank with some filters?

[Tachyon]

your 25g will do, I use an old 55g, just put alot of PVC parts in there for hiding spots. I believe there was an article in reefkeeper a couple months back, you can go check that out. Basically what Nicole said is a nice solution. I keep two cheap 10 dollar sponge filters in my sump to have ready in case of an emergency. This will allow you to not keep cycled water in your QT until necessary.

[NicoleC]

A 25g is a nice sized QT, even for larger fish that you may want to put in your 115g. If you want to use your current setup, that seems pretty cost effective to me. Congrats on the tank upgrade!

Beware the temptation to turn your QT into another reef tank! This is a really good side benefit to keeping a sponge in the sump -- you can toss the tank into a garage or closet and avoid having it turn into another project because you are looking at it filled with water all the time...

[bill624]

hey do you think you can put a cleaner shrimp in the QT tank for more assurance?

[NicoleC]

Don't. Almost any fish medication will kill the cleaner, and if you transfer him back and forth you are breaking quarantine. Also, there's nothing the cleaner can do to actually CURE a parasitic infection.

[alphaferret]

do you have pix of 10 dollar sponge filter you speak of-
i would like to have my qt tank serve as something of another tank- but i am realizing that might not be the best thing-
does anyone use rubbermaid for qt
i heard that copper will leach into the silicon in glass-true or false
is there anyone that has thier qt tank serve another purpose
jus' some?'s-th\x

[NicoleC]

Any small Whisper filter (or similar) will do.

The downside with Rubbermaid tanks is you can't see the fish to tell if they are healthy or not. I would stick with a cheap 10g glass tank.

Yes, copper will leach into silicone and plastic, but not as much as is sometimes feared. You can de-copper the tank, but i'ts harder and more expensive than buying a new tank, and a little tiny bit of copper contamination will be not problem as long as you don't ever put inverts in the tank.

[bill624]

i thought cleaner shrimp clean the parasites off the fish?

[deadmanh]

yes, those shrimp will help clean the fish if healthy. BUT those medications that you put into your QT will generally kill the shrimp.

im just rephrasing what was already said.

[alphaferret]

gotcha thx

[NicoleC]

Originally posted by bill624
i thought cleaner shrimp clean the parasites off the fish?

Cleaner shrimp will clean SOME parasites off the fish. They won't erradicate them.

Also, many small reef fish seem to be afraid of cleaners, so they won't let the cleaners work on them.