CherJDH
Goldfish Fry
Posts: 6
Posted: 4/10/02 11:05 pm
Hospital/quarantine tank
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Has anyone here set up this type of tank for "just in case?" All my goldfish and bettas are doing fine but I'm one of those people who always likes to be prepared so I picked up a 10 gallon set up at nnnnnn tonight. It has one of the generic Aqua-tech 10-15 filters in it but it just doesn't seem like an adequate filter. Any recommendations for a better filter for a tank to be used for this purpose? Also, has anyone ever done a successful fishless cycle using pure ammonia? Any tips??
I'd be grateful for any input.
Thanks,
Cher
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Lahela
The 10G rule is stressing me
Posts: 163
Posted: 4/11/02 8:50 am
Re: Hospital/quarantine tank
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First off, quarantine tanks don't really need really good filtration. The one that came with it from nooppee will work fine. After all, for a quarantine tank, most of the time sick fishies are going to be in there. And if you are adding meds to the water with the sick fish you can't use the carbon in the filters. Thus there really is no reason to have an extremely good filter.
Also it's a good idea for a quarantine tank to have a bare bottom, no gravel. This means that it will be difficult to near impossible to cycle the tank. So there is really no point in worrying about it.
Besides after the quarantine tank has been used once for a sick fish, you have wash EVERYTHING, and that would just destroy any good bacteria grown anyway. This is why most people do daily to every other day water changes when the quarantine tank is in use. Unless there are meds in the water.
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Cyprinus
I buy my fish at nnnnnn
Posts: 30
Posted: 4/11/02 2:18 pm
Re: Hospital/quarantine tank
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The best filter for a quarantine tank is a sponge filter. You can leave the tank broken down, and put the sponge in the canister or filter box on your main tank. When you need the quarantine tank you just do a water change on the main tank and canibalize the water for your QT. Use the sponge that has been building up a huge population of bacteria in your main tank whenever you need it. Make sure to bleach it before putting it back in your main tank though. When your fish gets well just break the tank down and sterilize it for next time. You don't even have to leave it running in between times. Pretty slick I think.
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staceyjo2
I built my fish tank
Posts: 248
Posted: 4/11/02 2:28 pm
Re: Hospital/quarantine tank
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I have the exact same tank for my hospital tank, and what i did, (which i keep it running at all times in the den) I used cycle to help cycle it just to have a back up in case one tank broke down, and beware, the only filters you can get for your system have carbon in them, so what i found is if you use the whisper carbonless (meaning ones you add the carbon packets too, in the box, the singles already have carbon) you can fold them to fit and then you dont have to worry about your meds.... it works great, because usually you never have more than one fish at a time anyway and its nice to have it set up if you need to move fish, be it a tank stops working or springs a leak.... hope this help, but good choice for hospital tanks....
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