Quarantine Rest/Restart

[StPatrick89]

What do y’all do when you’re done quarantining, and how do you start the tank back up when you need to quarantine if you break it down? Say you’re out and see a fish you want how do you cycle it quickly for fish to be put in?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Personally, I keep my QTs running all the time - just in case I need them for an emergency fish isolation. The only time I strip one down is if I have a batch of fish in quarantine and I lose them due to some unknown agent (rarely happens). As long as the fish coming out of the QT were cleared, the QT itself would be as "clean" as your DT. I house small fish in the QT to keep the biofilter active.

Another option, if having space for the QT is an issue, is to run a good sponge filter in the sump of your DT all of the time. Then, you can set up a QT on the fly, and use that as an instant biofilter.

Jay

 

[Quietman]

I don't keep my quarantine/hospital tank cycled. I have a extra bag or two of Pond Matrix in my sump and I'll put that in my HOB filter I use for the Q/H. Then I do water changes until everything catches up. I have used fast cycle additives before as well...then again....I haven't used them all the time.

Edited to add: I do have ammonia strips, in tank indicators since I don't have it cycled I watch that pretty closely. As long as it's just one fish (two small is as much as I've done in my 20), I've had no issues changing water before ammonia is a problem.

 

[StPatrick89]

Personally, I keep my QTs running all the time - just in case I need them for an emergency fish isolation. The only time I strip one down is if I have a batch of fish in quarantine and I lose them due to some unknown agent (rarely happens). As long as the fish coming out of the QT were cleared, the QT itself would be as "clean" as your DT. I house small fish in the QT to keep the biofilter active.

Another option, if having space for the QT is an issue, is to run a good sponge filter in the sump of your DT all of the time. Then, you can set up a QT on the fly, and use that as an instant biofilter.

Jay

Okay so if your media is seeded it’s good enough as bio filter media? Also how long does the media have to be seeded? I’ve got some PVC and sponge sitting in some tank water in a bucket. It’s been about a week and a some change.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Okay so if your media is seeded it’s good enough as bio filter media? Also how long does the media have to be seeded? I’ve got some PVC and sponge sitting in some tank water in a bucket. It’s been about a week and a some change.

Passive activity isn't very good at all - an operating sponge filter pulls water through it and then, the bacteria preferentially colonize that. Static material, just sitting in a tank is not colonized to a very high degree.

I've found that it takes at least a month for a sponge filter to pick up a good population of bacteria, and I prefer 2 months or longer for a really solid population to have grown.

Jay

 

[StPatrick89]

I don't keep my quarantine/hospital tank cycled. I have a extra bag or two of Pond Matrix in my sump and I'll put that in my HOB filter I use for the Q/H. Then I do water changes until everything catches up. I have used fast cycle additives before as well...then again....I haven't used them all the time.

Edited to add: I do have ammonia strips, in tank indicators since I don't have it cycled I watch that pretty closely. As long as it's just one fish (two small is as much as I've done in my 20), I've had no issues changing water before ammonia is a problem.

Do you use the fast cycle additives in conjunction with your seeded media?

 

[StPatrick89]

Passive activity isn't very good at all - an operating sponge filter pulls water through it and then, the bacteria preferentially colonize that. Static material, just sitting in a tank is not colonized to a very high degree.

I've found that it takes at least a month for a sponge filter to pick up a good population of bacteria, and I prefer 2 months or longer for a really solid population to have grown.

Jay

Wow ok, glad I asked. What about bio rings? And what would you suggest if you had a new fish, but wanted to QT? I have the QT but the media isn’t seeded enough.

 

[Quietman]

Do you use the fast cycle additives in conjunction with your seeded media?

I have yes, but honestly, only if i have them on hand. It's not critical to me. What is critical is my seeded media (got a bag been in sump for a year or more) and salt water ready to go.

In dire needs I would plan on 25%-50% daily water changes if I had to quarantine.

But if it's not an emergency (friend left me a fish or something I had no control over) I'd take a bit of time and set it up before getting new fish.

 

[StPatrick89]

I have yes, but honestly, only if i have them on hand. It's not critical to me. What is critical is my seeded media (got a bag been in sump for a year or more) and salt water ready to go.

In dire needs I would plan on 25%-50% daily water changes if I had to quarantine.

But if it's not an emergency (friend left me a fish or something I had no control over) I'd take a bit of time and set it up before getting new fish.

So i thought my media sitting in a bucket of tank water would suffice but I’m hearing otherwise

 

[Quietman]

So i thought my media sitting in a bucket of tank water would suffice but I’m hearing otherwise

Well...no not really. Bacteria gots to eat an need a good environment. It'll keep them alive for a short time, but you have to have the media in a running tank for I suppose as little as 2 weeks but agree with above weeks/months better. But anything is better than nothing (well...anything more than a week or two).

Also forgot to mention, I also keep Poly Filter on hand as well. It's good for those emergencies. You cannot treat with medicines as it will remove that as well.

 

[Quietman]

So i thought my media sitting in a bucket of tank water would suffice but I’m hearing otherwise

Also...the bacteria we're looking for to handle ammonia isn't really present in large quantities in the water column. And your tank already (hopefully) has a stable amount of bacteria in balance with your bio load so there's no extra ammonia to support quick population increase to your media. That's why it takes a bit of time to seed the media.

Good luck!

 

[StPatrick89]

Also...the bacteria we're looking for to handle ammonia isn't really present in large quantities in the water column. And your tank already (hopefully) has a stable amount of bacteria in balance with your bio load so there's no extra ammonia to support quick population increase to your media. That's why it takes a bit of time to seed the media.

Good luck!

Dag ok thanks