New tank setup- question

[Forsaken77]

I see, so get the tank wet, add a raw dead shrimp and begin the bacteria in a bottle program. Once the program is done and the tank is cycled, as tested by adding some pure ammonia and making sure it drops to 0 ppm, I can keep the shrimp in the tank until ready to add the clowns.

As for a QT, I was reading that people will "seed" their QT filter with biospira that will act as biological filter?

You don't need a bio filter in a QT tank at all. Some people, myself included, treat the fish for diseases when they get them, assuming they are carrying something (whether ich, velvet, flukes, parasites, or have a bacterial infection).

Keep your QT tank small (10-20 gallons) and use it when needed, then break it down again. Because if/when you treat the fish with antibiotics, that's gonna wipe out the bio filter anyway. See what I'm saying?

You get a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge that hangs in the tank and will alert you to any ammonia rise so you don't have to keep testing. They're $10 and last a year.

You have the tank, filter (no carbon or anything to remove meds), heater, small powerhead, thermometer, air pump and bubbler, and a dedicated net just for QT. No substrate or rock, just some pvc pipes for the fish to hide.

Whenever you see the Ammonia Badge show the slightest change in color, you change out anywhere from 50-90% of the water and add back any meds you removed. The tank is small so it's 2-3 buckets of water, tops. I prefer changing almost all of the water because it gives a longer time between changes and gets rid of any dead or dying parasites, ect...

A tank with two small fish should average a water change every 5-10 days (depending if it's 10 or 20 gallons). Personally, I use the Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank for my QT tank. It's a perfectly small size, lengthy for fish to swim, and isn't an eyesore of equipment and is the perfect size for its functionality. But you don't need something so expensive.

You keep it running as long as you're QT'ing stuff, then you break it down and box it up when you're done. Again, it's easy because the tank is small. You don't have to worry about bacteria in a QT tank as long as you watch the ammonia level badge. I treat every fish for the most common illnesses and then monitor them for a few weeks after all meds are done.

Why would you want to have to maintain another tank that will remain empty 90% of the time?

 

[Slayvoff]

You don't need a bio filter in a QT tank at all. Some people, myself included, treat the fish for diseases when they get them, assuming they are carrying something (whether ich, velvet, flukes, parasites, or have a bacterial infection).

Keep your QT tank small (10-20 gallons) and use it when needed, then break it down again. Because if/when you treat the fish with antibiotics, that's gonna wipe out the bio filter anyway. See what I'm saying?

You get a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge that hangs in the tank and will alert you to any ammonia rise so you don't have to keep testing. They're $10 and last a year.

You have the tank, filter (no carbon or anything to remove meds), heater, small powerhead, thermometer, air pump and bubbler, and a dedicated net just for QT. No substrate or rock, just some pvc pipes for the fish to hide.

Whenever you see the Ammonia Badge show the slightest change in color, you change out anywhere from 50-90% of the water and add back any meds you removed. The tank is small so it's 2-3 buckets of water, tops. I prefer changing almost all of the water because it gives a longer time between changes and gets rid of any dead or dying parasites, ect...

A tank with two small fish should average a water change every 5-10 days (depending if it's 10 or 20 gallons). Personally, I use the Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank for my QT tank. It's a perfectly small size, lengthy for fish to swim, and isn't an eyesore of equipment and is the perfect size for its functionality. But you don't need something so expensive.

You keep it running as long as you're QT'ing stuff, then you break it down and box it up when you're done. Again, it's easy because the tank is small. You don't have to worry about bacteria in a QT tank as long as you watch the ammonia level badge. I treat every fish for the most common illnesses and then monitor them for a few weeks after all meds are done.

Why would you want to have to maintain another tank that will remain empty 90% of the time?

This makes a lot of sense, and thanks for the in-depth response. I just see people talking about how they seed their QT tanks with a foam filter that was soaking in their sump or something, so I figured that is standard/what you're supposed to do. But it makes sense how the chemicals will destroy that anyway.