What to do without a quarantine tank?

[Goby Bryant]

Those are way too expensive!

 

[ReefEco]

If you don't have the space for a QT tank, you can at least use SafetyStop to treat them before adding, or, there are some QT fish vendors out there like Dr. Reef, TSM Aquatics, etc. As for the expense, I'm going to guess that over the long term, you probably save money by quarantining. Imagine the cost of losing 10 fish due to a disease outbreak, then add up the maybe $100-200 you can set up a QT system...

 

[Goby Bryant]

I buy them in person.

 

[Jedi Knghit]

Those are way too expensive!

If the $60 I spent on my first QT setup is too expensive, you may have picked the wrong hobby.

 

[Goby Bryant]

$60 dang what tank? That sounds awesome

 

[Spare time]

Those are way too expensive!

All you need is a bin with an internal filter or powerhead and a heater. Biospongea are also necessary, as well as and pvc tubing for the fish to hide in. You could easily get everything you need for less than $100 usd. You don't need something fancy. You can also get by with a small glass tank as long as you put smaller fish in it

 

[Goby Bryant]

Ok thanks.

 

[zwandz]

I buy them in person.

Can you explain why that matters? I’m new but understood that quarantine is because they’re from outside your tank

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Just head to Walmart. They have a 10g kit that is only 30-40 bucks and it includes the hood.

10g tanks is $15 bare tank
Heater $20-30
Hang on back filter 20-30 bucks

And it's open 24 hrs.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Just head to Walmart. They have a 10g kit that is only 30-40 bucks and it includes the hood.

10g tanks is $15 bare tank
Heater $20-30
Hang on back filter 20-30 bucks

And it's open 24 hrs.

And carries superglue!! Lol!!

 

[mdb_talon]

Can you explain why that matters? I’m new but understood that quarantine is because they’re from outside your tank

Buying in person can have advantages. You can see they are eating and outwardly healthy with no signs of disease. Having said that it does not mean they truly are disease free and if the choice is buying what i believed was a fully qted fish vs buying one i can see i would choose the QT one if price and availability were not factors.

 

[Jedi Knghit]

All you need is a bin with an internal filter or powerhead and a heater. Biospongea are also necessary, as well as and pvc tubing for the fish to hide in. You could easily get everything you need for less than $100 usd. You don't need something fancy. You can also get by with a small glass tank as long as you put smaller fish in it

I had two tiny clowns to treat, so I picked up one if these on sale...

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/glofish-glass-aquarium-kit-10-gallon

Priced have obviously gone up a bit since I bought mine (covid, supply chain, inflation, etc). As Spare Time mentioned, just about anything that holds water would work if sized appropriately for the fish.

 

[Miami Reef]

I believe buying from TSM would be way cheaper in the long run.

 

[Max93]

Just buy your fish from TSM.
You still have to get a 10g tank and quarantine your snails/hermits for 76 days and zoas/LPS. Unless you buy zoas from TSM as well lol.

You absolutely need at least two tanks for a reef though. I ALWAYS have a handful of snails in quarantine in my 20g and some los and zoas.

my sticks are coming directly from reputable sellers, nothing local. Unfortunately I’ve gotten velvet, ich, red bugs, AEFW and flukes from my LFS… so I just don’t deal with that anymore. I buy frozen food from my LFS and salt. Maybe if I’m feeling up for the wait I’ll order equipment from them to give them the business versus BRS.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Got all my fish from TSM Aquatics. All healthy and fat. Went straight to my DT after acclimation. They are great with shipping live animals.

If you get your fish from your LFS then I would QT the fish yourself.

 

[Spare time]

@Max93
You can do 45 days at 81F too. That's how I run my invert qt.

 

[EricR]

For QT, PetSmart sells Top Fin "Essentials" starter kits that come with tank, power filter, heater, etc.

10 gallon kit is $63,,, 20 gallon is $89,,, and sometimes seems like they're even cheaper -- just FYI:

Top Fin Essentials Aquarium Kits

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Those are way too expensive!

Seriously, and I mean this sincerely, if the cost of basic equipment and/or supplies seems too expensive for you right now, then you should strongly consider how you proceed.
Even if you don't have a quarantine tank, you should have (or have the ability/funds to quickly buy) some things on hand in case you have an emergency and need to move some things to another tank/container.
Other Basic things that are needed/ should be budgeted for are:
Filtered water or RODI (always have extra water on hand if you don't have a RODI)
Salt (always have some extra on hand for emergency water changes)
Test kits appropriate for what you're keeping (i.e. testing calcium and magnesium aren't normally needed to routinely tested in a fish only tank)

I'm sure I'm forgetting some essentials, but my point is that you should plan to have (or have quick access to) some things and if you can't afford the basics now, it's worth thinking about.

 

[KonradTO]

When my clowns got sick I used a 40l plastic box with an internal filter for biomedia and water movement, with a spare heater. If you keep a spare sponge filter or some spare filter media in your sump/tank than you will be happy to have some once you need it.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Just buy your fish from TSM.
You still have to get a 10g tank and quarantine your snails/hermits for 76 days and zoas/LPS. Unless you buy zoas from TSM as well lol.

You absolutely need at least two tanks for a reef though. I ALWAYS have a handful of snails in quarantine in my 20g and some los and zoas.

my sticks are coming directly from reputable sellers, nothing local. Unfortunately I’ve gotten velvet, ich, red bugs, AEFW and flukes from my LFS… so I just don’t deal with that anymore. I buy frozen food from my LFS and salt. Maybe if I’m feeling up for the wait I’ll order equipment from them to give them the business versus BRS.

Actually, you can get quarantined snails and shrimp from Dr. Reef’s - not sure on their other inverts though (the FAQ page only stated snails and shrimp explicitly), so you might be out of luck on the hermits.

On a more serious note, though, OP, as mentioned there are ways to do a QT for cheap (and, if you’re patient enough and keep an eye out for great deals on classifieds sites, you can do it for almost no cost). At the end of the day, it’s always going to be a good idea to have a spare tank for QT/Hospital Tank use, so I’d strongly recommend getting a cheap, functional setup for that purpose.