I see folks recommend using the Seachem Ammonia Badge but i am sure that would still show that there is ammonia in the tank after a day or 2.
Assuming you start with DT water, there isn't usually much build up - not in <72hrs (which is the max a single tank will be full). The idea is to not over-feed and to be sure to siphon out any food that settles to the bottom/remains uneaten.
I've currently got a 10gal QT tank that has been up for 3 days (transfer today). It's got a ~4" coral beauty, two 3" wrasses, a 1.5" cardinal, and a coral banded shrimp - overloaded, basically. Because it's the first QT, I've done some heavy feeding to encourage good eating. And while I've siphoned out food, I've not done a great job at it. And yet; ammonia is not a problem. I don't have any filtration at all - just a heater and powerhead.
My QT/TTM round before this included a mandarin (as well as a cardinal and a hawkfish), so I pretty much kept frozen cyclopods in the tank the entire time (no siphoning). Even then, no ammonia problems.
I think the key is to start with water from your DT and not fresh-mixed water. If you do that with each new tank and are good at not over-feeding, then there shouldn't be an issue in the brief time that the tanks are up.
Keep a bottle of
Prime around. If I see a problem start to arise, I add a capful to my 10gal QT and it knocks it back down. I've only had to do this in the "observation stage" (after all the transfers are done and you're just watching for issues for the remaining two weeks). Note that Prime and some other meds (eg; Prazi-Pro) are not compatible, so if you are using anything in the QT, be sure it's safe with Prime.
do i need to add an airstone in the tank during TTM, or would a HOB filter be enough?
More oxygen is good, but you may not need it for the short duration of each transfer. It's absolutely critical that anything you pull out of one tank
does not go into the next one. So if you are using a HOB filter and/or an airstone, then you'll want to ensure that you have two of those. Airstones take a long time to dry (longer than 24hrs in my experience), so when I've used them I've considered them "single use" and just thrown them away after using them in a QT. A $0.50 airstone and a foot or two of airline is not worth even a single fish getting sick, much less an entire QT of fish. Same goes for HOB and/or other filter media - they take a while to dry, so you'll be going through a lot of them if you're putting one in each tank during the TTM.
Soaking a filter sponge in the DT (or sump) takes a month to really seed with enough bacteria to make a difference.
i do have a few marinepure balls/sphere in my display tank's sump. would dropping one or 2 of those in TTM tanks help with ammonia at all?
If you do use those, be sure to give them plenty of time to dry - likely weeks. Those things are (intentionally) very porous and will have a higher potential of soaking up a lot of bad stuff in a QT. I wouldn't use them, myself. As a general guideline, I don't use anything in my QT that I wouldn't be willing to throw away if needed. I usually
don't throw stuff away - but that's the gauge I use.
What temp is recommended during TTM?
Lower than your DT is okay - I've been recommended to use 76/77F. At these temps, there is more oxygen in the water, which is then easier for the fish to absorb. The lower temps, as I understand it, also lowers the metabolic rate of the fish, which gives you more time to notice/react to any issues that might occur. Just be sure to raise the temp up (slowly, of course) in the final stretch of QT so that the fish are ready for your DT.
TTM seems really intimidating and daunting at first - or it did for me, at least. I've actually only done two full TTM cycles (on my third now), but I feel like I've learned a lot from just the few I've done. The stress level on this round is much lower, at least. ;-)
