How does this sound for cycling quarantine tank?

[charnkiat]

So I was wondering ... while cycling the display tank, could I start quarantine my first fish in the quarantine tank at the same time?

I have a 24"x12"x18" tank that I'm planning to use as the quarantine tank. (The display tank will be 34"x22"x26"). I think I'll be using a hang on filter for the QT. And since the QT should be bare bottom with no rocks and no sand, so pretty much majority of the bacteria will be in the hang on filter, right?

1. What do you think if I get the hang on filter before hand and have my friend run it in his established tank? Will this give me enough bacteria for me?
2. How long should I let my friend run my filter?
3. After I install the filter, and have the fish in the QT, how often should I do water change in the quarantine tank?
4. Should I also install a hang on skimmer in the QT?

[Frick-n-Frags]

having your friend run the hang on is a great idea IMO. probably a normal cycle time+ would be what i would try, like 5-6 weeks? that is a good solution for the occasional qt needs: have the hangon prepped, then clean it and put it away, or clean it and re-prep it, after the qt session is over.

if you put prepped hang-on + fish in qt, probably NO3 would be the waterchange factor after some time. and IMO a skimmer never hurts regardless...

[RegalAngel]

If you wish to cycle your QT you only need to add the fish and then add Seachem's Stability as directed and you are done.

I do that with my QT each time I start it up for new fish, and never have any ammonia.

My most recent two angelfish QT additions were added two weeks ago, and there has been zero ammonia!

Try it out, you'll like it....

[IslandCrow]

Man, here goes the Stability thing again. Charnkiat, it sounds like you have a good plan. RegalAngel's suggestion may very well work just fine, but your method eliminates many unknowns, whereas I don't think any of us here can tell you exactly what bacterial cultures are in Stability, whether or not they're alive, the correct type, or if there are any chemicals in there that could mask your ammonia readings. People have used it with success, but I'm a big fan of using processes where I know for sure what's going on.

As for how long you should keep the filter in your friend's tank, a couple weeks should be just fine. To test it, once you've got it in your QT, just add some fish food as if you were feeding your fish for a few days, and you shouldn't get any ammonia readings.

[usctrack]

Hey guys - similar question. I have a newer tank and didnt realize my water was not ready for bubble tips that came with some live rock. Can I or should I set up an NEW quarantine tank to give me a little more time with my display.

Sorry to hijack the thread but I have been trying to figure out if that was a good idea or not since it will have to start from zero.

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by charnkiat

So I was wondering ... while cycling the display tank, could I start quarantine my first fish in the quarantine tank at the same time?

I have a 24"x12"x18" tank that I'm planning to use as the quarantine tank. (The display tank will be 34"x22"x26"). I think I'll be using a hang on filter for the QT. And since the QT should be bare bottom with no rocks and no sand, so pretty much majority of the bacteria will be in the hang on filter, right?

1. What do you think if I get the hang on filter before hand and have my friend run it in his established tank? Will this give me enough bacteria for me?
2. How long should I let my friend run my filter?
3. After I install the filter, and have the fish in the QT, how often should I do water change in the quarantine tank?
4. Should I also install a hang on skimmer in the QT?

1. No, you should not plan to get enough bacteria by running a medium in a DT, in general, unless you are QTing a very small bioload vs that of the DT. A medium for a QT should be cycled, period. Such a medium should be exposed to accumulation of ammonia in a container dedicated to cycling. At the later third of the cycle, the medium should be, ideally, exposed to ammonia of several ppms several times. Think about it, in DT ammonia is very low as nitrification activity is at equilibrium with ammonia excreted by livestock.

Robbing bacteria from a DT to use in QT is a resource in desperation, not a design when you are planning in advance. Running a filter in DT briefly is an excellent way to seed the medium, but cycling has to take place elsewhere. For a HOT filter box, a $4 18 gal rectangular container will work well. A smaller one will work also for your size DT and QT.

3. Not any more WC or more often than in DT. This is as long as you are not using any drug that affects nitrification bacteria. In general, as long as there is no concurrent external bacterial infection during QT, you do not need to use any drug that affects nitrification. Copper or hypo (gradual) to treat ich does not impact nitrification materially.

4. No skimmer in QT.