Hello,
I am going to be setting up a quarantine tank for the first time. My fish are not large, so I'll be buying a cheap 10-Gallon glass aquarium from Petco, and I just wanted some confirmation on the other parts.
I plan to disassemble it when it's not in use instead of attempting to maintain it indefinitely.
I currently have a green chromis with popeye and a white patch on his side and have nowhere to treat him or segregate him from his tank mates.
1)
Filtration: I figured I'd grab a cheap power filter (
Whisper Power Filter 30 (30 instead of 10 or 20 to be on the safe side - also noticed that the foam pieces are larger with that model for more bacteria cultivation). Also getting a couple extra
Bio Foam Kits.
I would soak the foam in my main tank for at least a week before placing it into the quarantine tank's filter, yes? I don't have a
sump, so I figured I'd just throw it behind the rocks with a corner held down by one of the rocks.
Also, I don't think I should be using the activated carbon cartridge that comes with this filter in the quarantine tank, especially while medicating, but also because it may decrease the amount of bacteria in the system, yes?
2)
Temperature: I like
fully submersible heaters, and this one appears very durable, so I will get a 50-Watt
Visi-Therm Stealth Submersible Aquarium Heater. I'll also get a cheap
Floating Glass Thermometer since I won't be sharing any equipment w/ the main tank.
3)
Aeration: I will use an airstone and air pump rated for a 30-gallon aquarium that I already have on-hand instead of a small powerhead (since I don't already have that on-hand).
4)
Miscellaneous: A
small, dedicated net, cut sections of large
PVC pipe for hiding places, and a mini
siphon again so the quarantine tank has one dedicated to its water.
Questions:
a) I read conflicting reports on whether to put a piece of
live rock in here. Once in the quarantine tank, I wouldn't want to put the rock back in the main display, so I would have to have (at least) one piece of
live rock dedicated to the quarantine and then lose the freedom to disassemble and clean the tank between uses. Should 10% (1-gallon) water changes (source water being the main tank) every other day while the quarantine tank is active be a good enough means to maintain water quality in the quarantine tank w/ the only active biological filtration being the sponge in the filter? I have a test kit, so I will be checking the water, but I'd just like to have an idea ahead of time.
b) Some people medicate new fish just for preventative measures? To me that comes off as overkill and I was just planning on using the
QT for observing new fishes for a month. Do any of you do freshwater/medicated dips or medicate new arrivals just in case?
c) I'm not planning on buying lights, since I read they're unnecessary and fish are calmer in the dark. Does anyone think I
should buy lights? I don't have any coral - just fish, inverts, and
live rock.
d) Is there anything I need that I forgot to list?
Thanks!
