Questions about Quarantine

[SCH14]

I’ve decided to order my own fish and QT them. I plan on doing a 40g breeder and two 20g longs. My 40g is filled with my 310g tank water.
Question: Do my 20g longs need to cycle?
I watched BRS video with marine collectors. I plan on doing a full water change every 3 days with fresh saltwater. Probably would have 2-3 tangs in each one, smaller/medium size tangs.

 

[Timfish]

You do need to establish microbial processes in a QT. Using some sand and rock from your DT will be best IMO. Doing large water changes with water from your DT would be very beneficial. How much of a cycle you see is largly dependant on how much water you use from your DT and how much new saltwater and it's lack of microbial stuff is used.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I answered your other message. Its one or the other Please

 

[nereefpat]

Even if you fill the QTs with water from a cycled display tank, the QTs will still need to cycle. There are likely a lot of specimens that die in QT due to ammonia.

Doing large water changes is an option, but that's a pain for you and stressful to fish.

I would not put sand in a QT, unless you have fish that need sand. It interferes with medication.

 

[MnFish1]

I’ve decided to order my own fish and QT them. I plan on doing a 40g breeder and two 20g longs. My 40g is filled with my 310g tank water.
Question: Do my 20g longs need to cycle?
I watched BRS video with marine collectors. I plan on doing a full water change every 3 days with fresh saltwater. Probably would have 2-3 tangs in each one, smaller/medium size tangs.

So - just to make sure.

1. You have a 40 gallon tank - you filled it up with water from your display - and your display does or does not have livestock in it? And have all of those livestock been quarantined?

2. Your 40 gallon tank is not 'cycled' either so I am not understanding the difference between the 2 20's and the 1 40. Adding water from a display does not cycle it.

The usual protocol is to use fresh saltwater in any QT tank. Generally one does not want to add water from the display for multiple reasons - but one is that the parameters are likely going to be different in the display water than the 20 gallon tanks - and potentially could contain pathogens - especially considering the livestock (if any) in the display tank.

So - to just answer your question, you will need to have some method for testing copper levels and ammonia levels (many people like an ammonia alert badge). If you're doing water changes (which you will need to do for the 40 gallon tank as well) - based on the ammonia readings You will not need to 'cycle' your tanks.

Many people use a sponge filter and bottled bacteria in a QT tank - such that there is aeration as well as some ammonia reducing capability. You could also do this.

Though there are debates about these things, many recommend not using rock/sand in a QT tank as medications can be adsorbed to non-inert items.

 

[MnFish1]

Even if you fill the QTs with water from a cycled display tank, the QTs will still need to cycle. There are likely a lot of specimens that die in QT due to ammonia.

Doing large water changes is an option, but that's a pain for you and stressful to fish.

I would not put sand in a QT, unless you have fish that need sand. It interferes with medication.

We must have been typing at the same time

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

To echo the others, yes, your QT should all be fully cycled. Our quarantine process is here:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[MnFish1]

To echo the others, yes, your QT should all be fully cycled. Our quarantine process is here:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

By 'cycled' I assume you mean 'ammonia-free' (from any method, including water changes?)

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

By 'cycled' I assume you mean 'ammonia-free' (from any method, including water changes?)

I really prefer people not try to manage ammonia through water changes - biological activity is better.
Water changes are usually not done as well as they should, leaving residual ammonia and a yo-yo effect with the ammonia climbing, then another water change. Also, redosing copper after each change can be tricky.

Jay

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I really prefer people not try to manage ammonia through water changes - biological activity is better.
Water changes are usually not done as well as they should, leaving residual ammonia and a yo-yo effect with the ammonia climbing, then another water change. Also, redosing copper after each change can be tricky.

Jay

Curious if copper dissipates at all. If one wanted to ensure proper levels re: water changes, could fresh saltwater with the therapeutic level of copper be kept on hand for this purpose?

 

[MnFish1]

Curious if copper dissipates at all. If one wanted to ensure proper levels re: water changes, could fresh saltwater with the therapeutic level of copper be kept on hand for this purpose?

Yes - thats how it's done. You take out xxx gallons of water - and add xxx gallons with the equivalent copper level

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Curious if copper dissipates at all. If one wanted to ensure proper levels re: water changes, could fresh saltwater with the therapeutic level of copper be kept on hand for this purpose?

Copper gets bound to other materials like calcareous material at differing rates depending on the type of copper. I wouldn’t say it dissipates into the air like formalin does.
Yes - redosing the replacement water is the best way to maintain copper levels if you have to do water changes during a treatment.

Jay

 

[nereefpat]

Just to be clear, it is best to dose the makeup water with Copper before adding to the tank.

I have found Copper Power to be pretty stable in my QT without sand and rock.

 

[Dvir]

I’ve decided to order my own fish and QT them. I plan on doing a 40g breeder and two 20g longs. My 40g is filled with my 310g tank water.
Question: Do my 20g longs need to cycle?
I watched BRS video with marine collectors. I plan on doing a full water change every 3 days with fresh saltwater. Probably would have 2-3 tangs in each one, smaller/medium size tangs.

From my own personal experience I really don't recommend BRS "recommended" QT method. I tried that method for 2 cycles and gave up on it. Doing 100% WC every 3 days is really not that easy as they mention it, especially when you're going to do it for 3 tanks, one of them being 40g. They keep saying how important it is for QT process to be as easy as possible so more people will do it, but the method of 100% WC every 3 days is really anything but easy...

I switched to biological filtering in my QT and not looking back.

 

[Mikeltee]

Don't do that 80/20 BRS cycle... especially with a 40g and 2x 20g tanks! Do it the right way...

 

[SCH14]

From my own personal experience I really don't recommend BRS "recommended" QT method. I tried that method for 2 cycles and gave up on it. Doing 100% WC every 3 days is really not that easy as they mention it, especially when you're going to do it for 3 tanks, one of them being 40g. They keep saying how important it is for QT process to be as easy as possible so more people will do it, but the method of 100% WC every 3 days is really anything but easy...

I switched to biological filtering in my QT and not looking back.

What do you reccomend? Fritz turbostart along with my tank water from the 310 gallon? I have added 2 small rubble rocks for ammonia consumption

 

[MnFish1]

What do you reccomend? Fritz turbostart along with my tank water from the 310 gallon? I have added 2 small rubble rocks for ammonia consumption

I would recommend a large sponge filter - with an ayirstone - or with a tank that large - maybe 2 of them. you can use bacteria like Fritz 9000 as well

 

[Dvir]

What do you reccomend? Fritz turbostart along with my tank water from the 310 gallon? I have added 2 small rubble rocks for ammonia consumption

Ideally freshly made water would be best for QT. Practically, I too used water from my ~300g DT to fill the QT and using 'old' water from my DT WC as 'new' water for QT WC. Since all my DT fish went through QT I'm not very concerned about parasites/diseases coming from my DT water.

For media I use Seachem matrix and bio-balls, put it in DT for a few weeks to establish bacteria and then moved them to QT. Matrix is claimed to not absorb copper and indeed from my tests it doesn't. With new fish I dose some Seachem stability for a few days too, I see no harm in doing it. I have 2 QTs, a cube with backend sump and a long/narrow one (1 meter) for the fishes that demand more room, the long one has no sump, so I added a canister filter for filtration. I started with a sponge filter but after some time realized it's not really enough for QT so purchased a canister filter.

 

[leon.1980]

Keep a few media bags of rubble rock in the sump. This will seed with bacteria. When you run a QT take one of these bags of Robo rock and put it in your QT tank. Do you want to keep multiple bags in your sump and replenish them because once you use a bag of this rock for QT you’re going to want to either sterilize it or throw it out.
Personally, I suck at QT. I now buy all my fish from Marine collectors and let them do the QT for me.

 

[fishyjoes]

When I set up a QT tank I use a few PVC segments with elbows for hiding places, an air driven sponge filter, 100% new water, and a bottle of fritz turbo start.
No pre-seeded rubble, sand, or rocks of any type so I don't have to worry about copper absorption.