When can I add fish

Bruce7267ad · Feb 27, 2019

My tank is in the middle of the quarantine process and so is my quarantine tank can I start to add a few fish or clean up crew to the quarantine tank while it's in the middle of the beginning cycling stage or do I have to wait until all I see are nitrates from my water test no ammonia or nitrites? Thanks in advance guys I'm new to the saltwater community answer this forum

Meat locker · Feb 27, 2019

ScottR · Feb 27, 2019

Bruce7267ad said:
My tank is in the middle of the quarantine process and so is my quarantine tank can I start to add a few fish or clean up crew to the quarantine tank while it's in the middle of the beginning cycling stage or do I have to wait until all I see are nitrates from my water test no ammonia or nitrites? Thanks in advance guys I'm new to the saltwater community answer this forum

Welcome to R2R! How long have you had water in the tank? I’d add bacteria and maybe something small like a snail. There are many options. I started with a snail and dropped in tiny pellets to put food and nutrients into the water. I got bacteria from LFS. The snail and food will start the ammonia in the tank. The bacteria help to start the nitrate cycle from the ammonia. Test your ammonia and nitrates. Once nitrates are low, close to zero - add in livestock or fish slowly. In my tank, I never got nitrate readings above zero for some reason. So you may not see a difference depending on what you have.

ShaunRobinson · Feb 27, 2019

Hi Bruce, welcome to R2R. How are you cycling your tanks? Personally I would wait until you have no ammonia or nitrite readings before you add anything to the tanks and your nitrates start dropping. It is all too easy when starting a new tank to want to get some movement in there as soon as possible because hey, wheres the fun in looking at an empty box full of water! However this is the most important stage of your tank in my opinion and it is best to have a little patience and avoid any of the common pitfalls that can and do plague new reefers. If you have live rock in the tank, get a red torch and have a look around after lights out and see if you can spot any life on the rock. There is always stuff happening.

Meat locker · Feb 27, 2019

Are you saying... your main tank is cycling and you have started a separate quarantine tank? Show us what you have up.

Bruce7267ad · Feb 27, 2019

I'll have to take some pictures for sure. I'm cycling both tanks. And obviously I'll be using my quaritine tank first but it has ammonia readings and nitrite reasons with no nitrates so I think I might hurt the fish. I used that Dr. Tims one and only and added for drops of ammonia from the same company

ScottR · Feb 27, 2019

Bruce7267ad said:
I'll have to take some pictures for sure. I'm cycling both tanks. And obviously I'll be using my quaritine tank first but it has ammonia readings and nitrite reasons with no nitrates so I think I might hurt the fish. I used that Dr. Tims one and only and added for drops of ammonia from the same company

I see. You added ammonia. Have you added bacteria? How about live rock?

Meat locker · Feb 27, 2019

Bruce7267ad said:
I'll have to take some pictures for sure. I'm cycling both tanks. And obviously I'll be using my quaritine tank first but it has ammonia readings and nitrite reasons with no nitrates so I think I might hurt the fish. I used that Dr. Tims one and only and added for drops of ammonia from the same company

Ok that is great for a new reef tank!

What is your qt set up? Usually qt set ups are bare bones...

tank...heater...and some type of small filter. No live rock or sand. If this is what you have set up then I would say no need to cycle a qt. By adding bacteria it's going to "instant cycle" after a day and ready for fish. However, without a proper media, the bacteria isnt going to have something to colonize to. That's where frequent water changes can help combat ammonia/nitrite while fish are in a small qt.. you can definately run a qt while your main is cycling

Bruce7267ad · Feb 27, 2019

ScottR said:
I see. You added ammonia. Have you added bacteria? How about live rock?

Just bacteria and I put in dry rock

Bruce7267ad · Feb 27, 2019

Meat locker said:
Ok that is great for a new reef tank!

What is your qt set up? Usually qt set ups are bare bones...

tank...heater...and some type of small filter. No live rock or sand. If this is what you have set up then I would say no need to cycle a qt. By adding bacteria it's going to "instant cycle" after a day and ready for fish. However, without a proper media, the bacteria isnt going to have something to colonize to. That's where frequent water changes can help combat ammonia/nitrite while fish are in a small qt.. you can definately run a qt while your main is cycling

I just have it bare bones but not filter except for a sponge filter and heater

ScottR · Feb 27, 2019

Bruce7267ad said:
Just bacteria and I put in dry rock

I kind of overlooked this is a qt. rock isn’t really needed. Bacteria is going to be key here.

Bruce7267ad · Feb 27, 2019

Also what meds should I be using for the invertebrates the clean up crew I know I can't use copper how does that work? And is there a simple medication to put in the quarantine tank that'll cover all the bases I see a lot of complicated quarantine methods that seem a little overloading to a new guy

sfin52 · Feb 27, 2019

lapin · Feb 27, 2019

Your QT serves 3 purposes
1) to let fish relax and get used to eating
2) to observe any signs of disease
3) an easy way to treat those diseases

There is no cure all med to fix everything.
There are different methods to treat different diseases.
Wild fish were healthy when caught.
You can be proactive if you know of diseases that normally get introduced to the fish while in holding tanks.
Remember meds can be hard on the fish. This is one reason I try not to use them unless necessary.
The TTM method, Prazi Pro and MetroPlex are pretty safe.
I try not to use copper unless its a last resort.
Note:
It will kill the bacteria in your filter.

vetteguy53081 · Feb 27, 2019

Welcome to the group.

Set the quarantine tank with live rock and bacteria as you would with the display tank, just the QT tank does not have to be elaborate or complete.
Continue bacteria and testing with main tank and try to keep parameters the same in both systems ( mainly temp and salinity) without chasing numbers.

Bruce7267ad · Feb 28, 2019

lapin said:
Your QT serves 3 purposes
1) to let fish relax and get used to eating
2) to observe any signs of disease
3) an easy way to treat those diseases

There is no cure all med to fix everything.
There are different methods to treat different diseases.
Wild fish were healthy when caught.
You can be proactive if you know of diseases that normally get introduced to the fish while in holding tanks.
Remember meds can be hard on the fish. This is one reason I try not to use them unless necessary.
The TTM method, Prazi Pro and MetroPlex are pretty safe.
I try not to use copper unless its a last resort.
Note:
It will kill the bacteria in your filter.

Wow this send simple great! I have the prazi pro that seems to be agreed by everyone as a good med