IMO a 10g is way to small to quarantine much of anything.....and even a 20 is too small to quarantine tangs.....I briefly used a 33g as a q-tank and even that was too small for tangs...........the fish were extremely nervous and stressed and with nothing but a single piece of rock the fish never felt secure enough to start eating....I then stopped using a q-tank as I felt that the extra added stress of a) the size of the tank and lack of hiding places and b) having to chase/net/move the fish another time was not worth it.... JME

You should look at a quarantine tank that is 25% of the size of your tank that the fish will end up in. A 10 gallon tank should be good enough for a main tank that is 40 gallons or smaller. I have a 29 gallon for my 125 gallon main tank. It is just under the 25% rule. Larger fish should be kept in larger tanks, so the size of the quarantine tank should go up with it. What is the size of your main tank? If you are putting in smaller fish to start with (least aggressive/smaller fish should be added first to a new setup), the 10 gallon should be fine.

Actually, I don't waste my time either with a QT... As I have stated many times, I don't believe in it, and in many ways doing a QT can stress livestock out more than its worth. Basically the less you fiddle with things, IMO the better.

So, I too recommend not using a QT, but as others stated, to each their own. This will be something that you will have to decide on yourself.

I don't think you can say that is bad advice, it is open to interpretation and to what one decides they want to do.

The main tank is a 75
gal. Unfortunately with everything that I have bought to switch my tank over to saltwater, a new tank that will be used intermittently just for quarantine purposes is not in the budget. I have an unused 10 gal with everything I need. As well, I don't have space for another setup. it is only going to be used for a couple of clowns.

This thread is getting off topic though. My original question was regarding whether I needed live rock to maintain the tank through the initial quarantine.

A couple of clowns should be fine in a 10 gallon. Just make sure you do regular water changes, test for ammonia and don't overfeed. If there is food floating around after 5 minutes, you've overfed and cut back next time.

No you don't need live rock as long as you follow the advice given regarding water changes, siphoning out uneaten food & fish waste and a few hiding places for the fish.

In fact you will kill or contaminate your live rock if you medicate your QT tank.

/

I have a few smaller pieces of live rock in my quarantine that is there permanently. If I ever treat anything in quarantine, the rock would be removed and completed dried out for months to ensure whatever disease that was in the system dies on the rock as well. Otherwise the rock is no good for another system ever again.

As VFX pointed out though, it is not a necessity. I just had extra rock rubble that I used.

Or if possible you can boil your live rock thereby killing it. Then stick it back in your system for a few months to make it "live" again.

I'm going to throw in my 2 cents.

I feel that regardless of whether you choose to quarantine or not, it is irresponsible to advise someone else not to quarantine. Especially someone relatively new to the hobby. We should all at least pretend to have the best interest of our livestock at stake and suggesting that you shouldn't quarantine because it's difficult to do properly is really inappropriate.

I understand the debate between the stress of qt vs. a parasite that a healthy fish can fight, but the advice should be limited to ensuring success while in qt -not stating that it isn't necessary because "ich is everywhere". Anyone capable of logic, reason and critical thinking can be certain that ich is not everywhere. Perhaps it's not unreasonable to recommend against qt for a tang in a 10G tank, but let's be clear on what we are saying. If a 100G tank was available, this would not be so unreasonable?

Really, it's a question of cost. If we could afford a large and healthy qt tank, then for sure it's a good idea. Who would say otherwise? By advising against qt, we are really saying "don't worry about it - it costs too much money to set up a viable qt tank".

I think it's a question of experience.

Novice = I don’t quarantine
Intermediate = I don't quarantine but I know I should
Expert = I wouldn't put a fish in my tank without quarantine

In any event – none of the true experts – people who get paid to maintain public aquariums or who write the books we read would ever recommend against quarantine.

There are of course many experienced reef keepers that don't quarantine, but perhaps they aren't as experienced as they think they are when it comes to fish. Ask these same people if the qt their corals?

Personally, I’m at the Intermediate level but I am aspiring to be an “expert”.

- Brad

QT tank setups are so cheap that i cant possibly understand why you wouldnt QT your fish.

I have read a lot about QT'ing and here what my combined research says...


brand new ten gallon bare tank - $25
aquaclear 50 - $40 - you dont need a powerhead - the aquaclear has 200gph flow so that would be 20x tank turn over in ten gallon.
jager 50w heater - $24

thats $90 - whats most of your fish and corals cost? Whats the current value of the livestock/corals in your tank?

still feeling cheap? jump on kijiji and pick up all that stuff for less than half that.

in your sump put some rubble on eggrete spread out 1 layer thick (so it looks like a checkerboard) - this will prevent the buildup on dietrus in between the rocks and causing issues. You could even GLUE the rock to the eggcreate to make it easier!

throw that into you QT tank when needed - remember surface area is more important that rock weight so large rocks wont be as effective as this method.

the filter pads within those hob filters are only good for 1-3 months so dont throw it into your sump until shortly before you get your fish.

Do a water change in your main tank - use 5 gallons of that water along with 5 gallons of new water to fill your QT. That should have enough "goodies" for your water. May wanna run the water through a filter sock if its got some particulate it in it though.

do new saltwater changes every week - 25% - vacuum/clean the bottom of tank for debris.

QT for 21-30 days. Remove rocks from tank when using any type of medication. Put some PVC elbows in there to provide some hiding places but keep it simple and clean.

thats my 2cents :)