Hospital Tank Design

[Yellow_Fin]

Hi everyone, before anything else. I'd like to thank everyone here in Reefland for the support and dedication. All of your tanks are fantastic.

Id like to ask if anyone can show me how to setup a hospital tank. Do I need a pump and a sump for circulation and filtration? or just an air pump?

How long should I put my fish in the Hospital Tank?

I only have a 5 G glass aquarium which Im not using. What else do I need. I have a Copper Cure which I just bought.

Please I do appreciate if anyone could show me a diagram of a Hospital Tank.

Thanks for giving your time at this forum.

Yellow_Fin

[Reefland]

Hi Yellow_Fin!

The Q-tank can be very basic. A heater, some water circulation and some type of hang-on filtration will be fine and some type of rock or soemthing in the tank to give the fish a place to hide would be nice. All your wanting to do is set-up a very basic tank that you can put a sick fish in to safely medicate it away from your other fish and inverts.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[srfmon]

Hi Yellow_Fin!

The Q-tank can be very basic. A heater, some water circulation and some type of hang-on filtration will be fine and some type of rock or soemthing in the tank to give the fish a place to hide would be nice. All your wanting to do is set-up a very basic tank that you can put a sick fish in to safely medicate it away from your other fish and inverts.

Regards,
Scott Z.

Scott, he said Hospital tank.
For some people a q-tank & a hosptial tank are the same thing.
What you have described sounds like a q-tank. That's a place to add new arrivals for observation. If they get sick during this time then they can go to a hospital tank. A true hospital tank contains a heater, some type of water pump for circulation, bare bottom, no rock, it's own equipment nets, dosing cups, etc. (all tanks should have their own equipment - especially hospital tank).
Also, a critical difference (for me at least) is that I always have the Q-tank cycled while the hospital tank doesn't even have water in it. If fish were to go into the hospital tank it would probably mean lots of water changes. Maybe that's the reason people have a q-tank do double duty as a hospital tank - less work!?

[kenn157]

Hey everyone! I just set up a Q-Tank/hospital tank. Its a 20gal tank. Heater, cover and light, bare bottom and two fake pieces of coral for the fish to hide behind. When I do purchase a new fish should I add a stress coat and some sort of medication as a preventative maintenence thing? Also how long should I keep him in Q-tank before adding to the main tank, 2 weeks?

Kenn

[Reefer769]

woops

[kenn157]

Cool reefer but as a new fish prior to introduction to main tank should I add anything even if the fish appears to be healthy the day he goes into the q-tank?

[Reefer769]

i would suggest doing a search for "quarantine tank" in the search option at the top.

[Reefer769]

here i found something:

New arrivals stay in quarantine for at least 3 weeks

*sorry about the mix up*

[kenn157]

Right I get the 3 weeks part. Still dont know if I should add anything to the q-tank upon the new arrivals intro to that q-tank. Even if it shows absolutley no ich or fin rot. Preventative medication. Maybe if its not broke, dont fix it right?

[Reefer769]

i wouldnt add anything, the qt is just to see if your fish will break out with some parasite or sickness, and IF they do, then you can treat them in there, or put them in a hospital tank.

[patsfan1130]

i wouldnt add anything, the qt is just to see if your fish will break out with some parasite or sickness, and IF they do, then you can treat them in there, or put them in a hospital tank.

I hypo all of my new arrivals for 6 weeks

[Reefer769]

whats the point of that? isnt that a procedure used in hospital tanks to cure ICH, not in a QT? a qt is to see if your new fish have a parasite or sickness and then if they break out with something you either transfer them into a hospital or treat them in there(not sure about treating them in a qt, i need a pros advice to clarify that one).

[patsfan1130]

whats the point of that? isnt that a procedure used in hospital tanks to cure ICH, not in a QT? a qt is to see if your new fish have a parasite or sickness and then if they break out with something you either transfer them into a hospital or treat them in there(not sure about treating them in a qt, i need a pros advice to clarify that one).

Well..to me a hospital tank is a Q tank. I dont keep both. I have 1 20g tank I keep empty and only fill when I need it. such as when I am going to purchase a new addition. whether it be fish/coral etc. (I have never had to remove a fish from the display due to illness) **knock on wood**

I realize this thread is for "hospital tank" advice & I apologize for my original post as it was off topic.

I treat all new fish arrivals with hypo because all fish basically have parasites. we dont always visually see them because the fish can fight them off. Treating with hypo for 6 weeks assures me that they are healthy and free of parasitic infection prior to adding them to my display. I take nothing to chance....ever. I am also probably one of the most anal people you will ever want to meet when it comes to my fishtank.

[Reefer769]

haha alright, now knowing that your qt is also a hospital tank makes sense, i guess hyposalinity is a good way to make sure that your fish dont ever bring anything bad into the tank.

[patsfan1130]

haha alright, now knowing that your qt is also a hospital tank makes sense, i guess hyposalinity is a good way to make sure that your fish dont ever bring anything bad into the tank.

Aye

It is

[kenn157]

The man knows!


I'm looking forward to the Salisbury Aquarium to get marine livestock. Pretty soon!

[patsfan1130]

The man knows!


I'm looking forward to the Salisbury Aquarium to get marine livestock. Pretty soon!

I'll have to check them out myself

[nasek718]

I give all of my fish a quick (no more than 15 min) freshwater dip before I put them in qt

[Samper]

No MORE THAN 15 MiNutES?

[Samper]

I've never seen a SW fish stay in FW for more than 4 and a half minutes without stressing out bad.