Some QT setup questions

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Hello everyone!

I just got word from one of my LFS that they have the fish I've been looking for (Plectranthias inermis) on their list and with any luck they'll be bringing one in within a week or two!

I've been following the BRS/WWC hybrid method to the best of my ability and the DT is going on a little over 2 months and about a month ago I set up the QT and seeded it with several ceramic rings, a small piece of live rock from my bosses fowlr (how I originally seeded the display, will remove it if I need to medicate) and some of the old filter floss from the display. Its nothing fancy, filtration is an aquaclear 20 filled with nothing but the listed media, Tank is an old 10 gallon I had from a freshwater setup, Heater is Aqeon preset (78f) and some 2 inch pvc elbows I thoroughly rinsed with tap water before wiping them off with RODI and a milk crate lid with cling wrap covering half of it to reduce evap (manually topping off).

My main question is related to topping off, as mentioned I'm doing it manually twice a day (morning/evening) but I'm trying to figure out the best place to do it in the tank so that I don't make p pockets of hyposalinity that the fish could get caught in. Right now I'm adding the water to the filters output but looks like its still a little slow to mix. I was thinking of adding a small powerhead and using a funnel to make sure the water lands directly infront of it.

The second question is how would you recommend I make sure the tank is cycled? My current plan is add the seachem ammonia alert badge to the tank, phantom feed and try to catch ammonia on there and once it goes down to zero check the nitrates. I realize that I may not get a reading of ammonia (ideally) but if the nitrate rises above where they have been (5ppm, been doing waterchanges with the DT water to match parameters), do you think that would mean the qt tank could handle the bioload of the incoming fish? I know its a tiny fish but this is my first marine fish so I don't have a "feel" for bioloads in saltwater.

I'll be keeping a very close eye on everything I just want to make sure I'm on the right track, I really want to get this right the first time! Heres a picture of the tank, sorry about the gunk on the bottom- I messed up my slat mix when I first filled it and the Calcium precipitated out. Removing with every water change.

 

[geddavis]

I would cover more of the tank with the plastic wrap and add a bubbler. and for top off I always pour the water slowly into the open part of the HOB filter for my QT

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I would cover more of the tank with the plastic wrap and add a bubbler. and for top off I always pour the water slowly into the open part of the HOB filter for my QT

Thanks!

How much of the tank would you recommend I cover? It's about half covered right now, I figured covering more of the tank would really limit gas exchange (which is partially why the water level is so low, I figured the drop from the HOB would aerate adequately but If I need to add an airstone I have a little airpump on hand. Any tips on how to limit salt creep with an air stone? I found the HOB being high up has resulted in a lot of creep so I imagine an air stone would be much worse. would an airstone not cause a significant rise in ph within such a small tank?

Glad to hear that about the top off, I'll probably just keep doing that, I think a power head would blow the food around too much.

 

[OutsideBrian]

A small powerhead like an aqua clear 20 wouldn’t be bad to help move water and gas exchange at the surface.
If I remember correctly using prazipro is where you really need to worry about oxygen levels.
Copper doesn’t cause oxygen problems that I know of.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

A small powerhead like an aqua clear 20 wouldn’t be bad to help move water and gas exchange at the surface.
If I remember correctly using prazipro is where you really need to worry about oxygen levels.
Copper doesn’t cause oxygen problems that I know of.

Thanks!

Good to know about the prazipro, hopefully I won't need to treat anything but I realize theres a good chance I will. Just to clarify, are you suggesting using a powerhead aimed at the surface instead of an airstone or along with? I think I need a power bar either way;Hilarious

 

[geddavis]

I would think that you could cover %90 of the tank if the water is cascading from the HOB without aeration issue. I would also advise a very weak powerhead as I have had problems with ones that seemed appropriately sized but the fish really stressed out with. BTW great idea with the egg crate covered in plastic wrap as a lid.

 

[Idoc]

Hello everyone!

I just got word from one of my LFS that they have the fish I've been looking for (Plectranthias inermis) on their list and with any luck they'll be bringing one in within a week or two!

I've been following the BRS/WWC hybrid method to the best of my ability and the DT is going on a little over 2 months and about a month ago I set up the QT and seeded it with several ceramic rings, a small piece of live rock from my bosses fowlr (how I originally seeded the display, will remove it if I need to medicate) and some of the old filter floss from the display. Its nothing fancy, filtration is an aquaclear 20 filled with nothing but the listed media, Tank is an old 10 gallon I had from a freshwater setup, Heater is Aqeon preset (78f) and some 2 inch pvc elbows I thoroughly rinsed with tap water before wiping them off with RODI and a milk crate lid with cling wrap covering half of it to reduce evap (manually topping off).

My main question is related to topping off, as mentioned I'm doing it manually twice a day (morning/evening) but I'm trying to figure out the best place to do it in the tank so that I don't make p pockets of hyposalinity that the fish could get caught in. Right now I'm adding the water to the filters output but looks like its still a little slow to mix. I was thinking of adding a small powerhead and using a funnel to make sure the water lands directly infront of it.

The second question is how would you recommend I make sure the tank is cycled? My current plan is add the seachem ammonia alert badge to the tank, phantom feed and try to catch ammonia on there and once it goes down to zero check the nitrates. I realize that I may not get a reading of ammonia (ideally) but if the nitrate rises above where they have been (5ppm, been doing waterchanges with the DT water to match parameters), do you think that would mean the qt tank could handle the bioload of the incoming fish? I know its a tiny fish but this is my first marine fish so I don't have a "feel" for bioloads in saltwater.

I'll be keeping a very close eye on everything I just want to make sure I'm on the right track, I really want to get this right the first time! Heres a picture of the tank, sorry about the gunk on the bottom- I messed up my slat mix when I first filled it and the Calcium precipitated out. Removing with every water change.

You can add your top off water anywhere into the tank... it will mix quickly with the other saltwater. You don't need to worry about pockets of hyposalinity. Your suggestion hob filter will be moving and mixing the water for you.

As for if the tank is cycled... just watch your ammonia alert badge. I usually setup my quarantine tanks about a week ahead of time and start dosing some Bio-Spira into the water daily. By the time the tank is ready and the fish go in, it's cycled enough to handle the bio-load sufficiently. I still test for ammonia, even with the badge, every couple days during the first week.

Also, don't worry abit the nitrates. I feed small amounts slowly so i can ensure the fish is eating each piece delivered into the tank. When the fish is full, i siphon out any remaining pieces as well as any fecal matter that may be in the tank. Doing this daily helps keep my nutrients in check through the whole quarantine process. Fish only systems can handle high nitrates.

The biggest thing is to match the salinity of the fish's bagged water with that in your quarantine tank. Most places will fun slightly hypo around 1.020 or so. Then over the first week, i elevate it to my DT levels by topping off with saltwater instead of freshwater.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I would think that you could cover %90 of the tank if the water is cascading from the HOB without aeration issue. I would also advise a very weak powerhead as I have had problems with ones that seemed appropriately sized but the fish really stressed out with. BTW great idea with the egg crate covered in plastic wrap as a lid.

Thanks! I'll see how much more of the lid I can cover with the clingwrap, I feel like it could become a salty nightmare really quickly if I get it to close. I did it before when I had it setup a freshwater tank to contain the airstones spatter and placed a rock in the centre so the water would collect and drip back into the tank, it worked really well at keeping the eevap down as well so I figured I'd try it on this tank. I have some left over mesh I was going to fit onto the remaining open parts because It would be just my luck to get a perchlet small enough to shoot through sections of the milk crate!

You can add your top off water anywhere into the tank... it will mix quickly with the other saltwater. You don't need to worry about pockets of hyposalinity. Your suggestion hob filter will be moving and mixing the water for you.

As for if the tank is cycled... just watch your ammonia alert badge. I usually setup my quarantine tanks about a week ahead of time and start dosing some Bio-Spira into the water daily. By the time the tank is ready and the fish go in, it's cycled enough to handle the bio-load sufficiently. I still test for ammonia, even with the badge, every couple days during the first week.

Also, don't worry abit the nitrates. I feed small amounts slowly so i can ensure the fish is eating each piece delivered into the tank. When the fish is full, i siphon out any remaining pieces as well as any fecal matter that may be in the tank. Doing this daily helps keep my nutrients in check through the whole quarantine process. Fish only systems can handle high nitrates.

The biggest thing is to match the salinity of the fish's bagged water with that in your quarantine tank. Most places will fun slightly hypo around 1.020 or so. Then over the first week, i elevate it to my DT levels by topping off with saltwater instead of freshwater.

Thanks! I was planning on testing ammonia daily for the first week (I'm sure the badge works great but I like to double check). Good to know about the top off though, I'll just keep doing it the way I have been and try not to freak out about it or the nitrates for that matter but I'll be keeping an eye on them.

No where around here seems to carry biospira but I'll pick up whatever bacteria supplement they have and I'll dose that for the week leading to the fishes arrival. For the salinity I was going to make a batch of hypersalanity water and and have some rodi on hand in case I need to change salinity one way or the other. I was then going to poke a hole in the bag with a pin to get some water out, tape it shut once I had enough and take a reading on my refractometer to see which direction I need to take the salinity and floating the bag while I make any changes. Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[geddavis]

Sound like a solid plan

 

[Idoc]

No where around here seems to carry biospira but I'll pick up whatever bacteria supplement they have and I'll dose that for the week leading to the fishes arrival. For the salinity I was going to make a batch of hypersalanity water and and have some rodi on hand in case I need to change salinity one way or the other. I was then going to poke a hole in the bag with a pin to get some water out, tape it shut once I had enough and take a reading on my refractometer to see which direction I need to take the salinity and floating the bag while I make any changes. Does that sound like a good plan?

Sounds like a good plan! If you are buying the fish locally, you can always take your refractometer to the store and check their salinity without having to puncture your bag. If purchasing from LiveAquaria online, expect it to be around 1.020

BioSpira just seems to be the cheapest option and you can also get it on Amazon. Any bottled bacteria will do, though.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Sound like a solid plan

Thanks!

Sounds like a good plan! If you are buying the fish locally, you can always take your refractometer to the store and check their salinity without having to puncture your bag. If purchasing from LiveAquaria online, expect it to be around 1.020

BioSpira just seems to be the cheapest option and you can also get it on Amazon. Any bottled bacteria will do, though.

I wish we had LA up in the great white north (or maybe I don't because DD is super tempting so maybe its for the best).

I'm not really sure which of these two will happen but either the fish will arrive they'll take it out, set it up and and once its good to go I'll pick it up or I'll just be there when it arrives and get the bag directly from the shipment and take it home. I'm leaning towards going for the second option so that the fish doesn't have to deal with the stress of being caught twice and doesn't get exposed to the other fish from the same order+ the fish they already have. I realize the loss will be on me if I do that (unless its DOA) but if it increases my chances of success by any margin I'm ok with that.