How to Setup a Quarantine Tank
The following are the bare essentials:
- Aquarium (10-30 gallons seems to work for most people. Bigger QT lets you house more fish and gives you more wiggle room when it comes to ammonia. Smaller QT is cheaper, easier to maintain and can be setup/broke down quickly.)
- Heater and thermometer
- Small powerhead or air pump and sponge filter, for circulation & gas exchange.
- Freshly mixed saltwater which has been fully dissolved and circulating for at least 24 hours.
- Light (can just be a simple, one bulb fixture)
- Hang on the back (HOB) power filter, where a “seeded” sponge (explained later) can be added
- Egg crate (used on lighting panels), which can easily be cut with snips to build a custom top to prevent fish from jumping
- PVC elbows (see pic below) used as “caves” in which the fish hide
- Seachem Ammonia Alert badge (see pic below)
Scenario 1 (Simple QT with air pump + sponge filter):
Scenario 2 (More elaborate QT with HOB power filter - Seachem Tidal, Aquaclear and Bio-wheel are all good options):
A small amount of sand is fine in QT, but rock is best avoided as it will absorb many medications. However, one or two small pieces of live rock may be added for ammonia control, so long as they are coming from a disease-free tank. The live rock will need to be removed once a disease is spotted and before medications are used. Furthermore, the live rock must be considered “contaminated” once exposed to a fish disease, and sterilized in a chlorine:water (1:10 ratio) solution. Using a lid is very important to prevent fish from jumping out. As mentioned previously, egg crate can be used, but sometimes it is necessary to sew screen under the eggcrate top to prevent small fish from jumping through the holes:
Ammonia Control & Oxygen
Toxic ammonia, caused by fish urine/poop and uneaten food, needs to be closely monitored in QT. You can use a test kit (so long as no medications are present) or a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge (works even in the presence of medications.) Even the smallest traces of ammonia are toxic!
In Scenario 1, performing water changes is your best option for controlling ammonia. You can also use an ammonia reducer such as Amquel or Prime provided no medications are present in the water. Copper, in particular, can be converted from a stable form to a more toxic form when mixed with an ammonia reducer. If you need to condition tap water, do so 48 hours prior to dosing copper.
With Scenario 2 the use of “seeded” bio-media can help to break down ammonia. I personally use a Seachem Tidal power filter, utilizing the "Matrix" bio media that comes with it. Similarly, Aquaclear contains a foam insert and the Bio-wheel itself can be seeded with nitrifying bacteria for use as biological filtration in QT. Bio media can be seeded with live bacteria in one of two ways:
- Place it in a high flow area of your DT’s sump (or you can put it behind the rocks) for at least one month prior to QT. This one month allows time for enough beneficial bacteria to transfer over.
- Dose a "bacteria in a bottle" product, such Bio-Spira, Seachem Stability or Dr Tim's Nitrifying Bacteria, into the QT a few days before purchasing fish. Below are pics of bio-media discussed which can be seeded with live bacteria - Seachem Matrix, Aquaclear's foam insert and the Bio-wheel, respectively:
It is also crucial to provide sufficient gas exchange (oxygen) in QT, especially when using medications. One can accomplish this by creating a "disturbance" at the surface of the water by using a sponge filter, pointing a powerhead upwards or via HOB power filter:
