Who uses quarantine tanks?

[marie]

Originally Posted by 'Ol Nobodaddy

Yeah thats the idea....

Worked so far for me (knock on wood)

I haven't been quarantining snails and hermit crabs, I'm praying that bad habit doesn't come and bite me in the butt one day but I'm 2 years ich free

[Doo]

Hi all

Can someone explian in detail how to do this and what products you need - if any?

Maybe this should be a new thread...

Thank you

[Lance]

I QT all fish and inverts. Never want to go through Ich in the DT again! (The QT is a permanent set-up with live rock, sand bed, HOB filter, etc.) All new fish go in here for 3 weeks. If I spot a problem the fish goes into a 10 gal treatment tank, and is treated accordingly. This way new healthy fish have a decent place to spend their QT time. If treatment is required, the treatment tank is set up with seeded filter media for the HOB and a few pieces of PVC hiding places on the bb. I haven't been QT'ing corals; just a dip with Seachem Reef Dip.

[michika]

Originally Posted by Doo

Hi all

Can someone explian in detail how to do this and what products you need - if any?

Maybe this should be a new thread...

Thank you

Do you mean for fish, or corals? Its different for each. Can you be more specific?

[Buccaneer]

So I was reading a thread on RC of a guy setting up a 600G tank and he linked to a QT process explained in detail .. I would say they make a compelling arguement to QT every fish

here is a exerpt from the QT thread ...

A QUARANTINE PROCESS FOR FISH

There are almost as many different quarantine processes as there are aquarists in the hobby for more than 10 years. About the only thing there are more of are uninformed hobbyists who claim a quarantine is bad for fish, or who don't want to spend the time, or inaccurately claim not all fish can or should be quarantined, or who don't want to spend the $40. for a quarantine kit, or who don't believe it is necessary, or who believe that a healthy fish can survive any disease or parasite.

We, the Old Guard, for the most part know better. I wrote . . .more than 10 years because if you've been in the hobby that long, you've come to realize that performing a quarantine process is essential to good marine husbandry. The smarter aquarists know this from the outset and began using a quarantine process from the first day in the hobby!

What good is a quarantine process? There's a whole list that a quarantine process will:
1) Further acclimate the fish to captive life without being bothered by other fishes;
2) Get the fish to eat without it 'running away' and hiding;
3) Get the fish on the right foods and nutrients;
4) Allow the fish to eat without competition;
5) Give the fish a chance to recognize and become acclimated to the aquarist;
6) Give the fish a chance to heal any capture or travel injury or trauma;
7) Give the fish a chance to recover from any condition or disease;
8) Prepare the fish for a more competitive life in the community/reef tank; and
9) Protect the health of the display tank livestock.

Maybe you can think of more advantages/benefits of a quarantine process? I think the best phrase I have ever seen another person post was, "Quarantine provides a new fish sanctuary."



you can read the entire thread here ...


http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...e-process.html

and stocking the marine fish medicine chest


http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...e-cabinet.html

[BlueAbyss]

Originally Posted by EmilyB

No, not according to the results of the poll. However, it is difficult to condone not Qt'ing or whatever that dipping thing is..

I don't QT. In fact, I bought a fish with full blown ick and threw it into my reef tank, knowing that good food, good water quality, etc. would cure it in a hurry. And it did, because my existing fish were healthy.

However, for the new people, who rarely let their tank mature before adding yet another fish, or adding fish that do not suit the environment, this is not an option.

This is what I would do, I'm sort of a risk taker... But I totally am with you, almost any illness can be cured with high quality food and water and an otherwise healthy environment.

Originally Posted by Pier Pressure

It is quite interesting that everyone writing in is all for QT and dipping and yet the results of the poll suggest most people do not do it.

If you only use a tank for QT - how do you keep the cycle running and the water quality good?

By keeping a few resident fish in there? Something cheap, like a couple chromis or something else that's not territorial. I'm pretty sure that if I had a QT or ever need one it will also have to be attractive, unless I someday have the space for a fish room. So live rock, a few fish, some macro, well lit. New fish would go in there for no less than 6 weeks.

Originally Posted by whosinpower

Hi all;

Newbie here just in the process of setting up a saltwater tank - reef with a few fish.
I'm filling the tank as we speak with RO water.
Liverock arrives late next week.
I'm going to cycle with liverock and had anticipated 4-6 weeks wait time, give or take.

I read all the posts about quarentine and it got me to thinking that perhaps I should have a small tank set up as well as a quarentine tank when the day comes that I can finally have livestock. I think I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Anyhow - my question is this - would it be wise for me to set up the quarentine tank at the same time, so that when my display tank is cycled, then the quarentine tank will also be cycled and ready to receive stock????

Or....would it be ok if I put some filter media in the sump of the display tank while it was cycling and when the cycle was complete....then drain some display tank water into the quarentine tank with the seeded filter media? Would that work, or would I still have a cycle to deal with in the quarentine tank????

Hey man, just a thought... if you are just starting out, you aren't at the point that you need a QT yet, since there are no fish in your display yet. If you are just cycling the tank with your live rock, I would recommend that you wait 4 weeks, get your clean up crew installed, wait another 2 weeks and then add your first fish (or 3). Test, test, TEST after you add anything new to your tank... and then once everything is established, start your QT tank using stuff from your tank. Do maintain the water in your QT to the standards of your display, your fish will thank you for it by surviving any infections (some of which take weeks to show up after you bring the fish home).

And where's your build thread? WE WANT PICS!

[BlueAbyss]

Just another thought for everyone to ponder... would it be a good idea to purchase some Flatworm Exit and dip my live rock in it, to exterminate them before they even get into my tank? Or since I plan to cycle my tank with my rock, do you think that flatworms can survive a cycle? I don't ever want to have to deal with them...