Quarantine Tanks

[ClownieTang]

I am thinking about making a 20g Quarantine Tank for my future Tang's.
First things first : Questions.
1. Would it be okay to just buy a 20g Reef-Ready Tank from like Petco or Petsmart? <--- and is that basically the full Quarantine tank put together?
Is there any added equipment I must put into a Quarantine Tank?
2. When I first get the Quarantine Tank, do I put the Saltwater from my main tank to the Quarantine tank? Even though I am not going to use the Quarantine tank for another 2-4 weeks?
3. Does it need a cycling period? or can I buy the Quarantine tank the day i buy , say, a blue tang, and fill the water into the quarantine tank and use it immediately? (After drip acclimation)
4. Can I drip acclimate directly into the Quarantine tank?
5. After I am done with the quarantining of a new fish, do I dump all the water out?
6. Is a 20 gallon Quarantine Tank fine for a Naso tang that is 5''-6'' long? Can I get a 10 gallon for that? or a 15 gallon?
7. How long is the usual Quarantine time for new fish?

[Reefing Madness]

I am thinking about making a 20g Quarantine Tank for my future Tang's.
First things first : Questions.
1. Would it be okay to just buy a 20g Reef-Ready Tank from like Petco or Petsmart? <--- and is that basically the full Quarantine tank put together?
Yes, thats all you really need.

Is there any added equipment I must put into a Quarantine Tank?
Something for alittle water movement and a filter. You have to feed them them in QT. But don't run any carbon on it.

2. When I first get the Quarantine Tank, do I put the Saltwater from my main tank to the Quarantine tank? Even though I am not going to use the Quarantine tank for another 2-4 weeks?
You can if you want to. Throw in some large pvc or some normal base rock. Depending on what you plan on using the QT for. IE, medication or HYPO.

3. Does it need a cycling period? or can I buy the Quarantine tank the day i buy , say, a blue tang, and fill the water into the quarantine tank and use it immediately? (After drip acclimation)
Cycle the tank. oyur not going to use the same stuff in the QT as the DT.

4. Can I drip acclimate directly into the Quarantine tank?
You should, because thats the water the fish is going into.

5. After I am done with the quarantining of a new fish, do I dump all the water out?
No. You might need it for a sick fish, or one that gets bullied or banged up. Up to you.

6. Is a 20 gallon Quarantine Tank fine for a Naso tang that is 5''-6'' long? Can I get a 10 gallon for that? or a 15 gallon?
I'd stick with the bigger of the tanks. You really don't need to stress them out any more than they already are, especially a fish that big. The 3-4", yea you can get away with the 10g.

7. How long is the usual Quarantine time for new fish?

Couple weeks. You want to make sure the fish is clear of all parasites and healthy before you add him to the DT.
How To Set Up a Fish Quarantine Tank

[ClownieTang]

When I drip acclimate the fish, do I use the water from the main tank? Then net the fish from the bucket I acclimated him in, and put him inside the Quarantine Tank? and get rid of the water I drip acclimated him in? (store saltwater and my tanks saltwater)

On the day I make the QT with saltwater from the main tank, while there is NO fish in there, do I turn on the filter, pump, and light?

How long does cycling a QT usually take? 2 weeks? 1 month?

[Reefing Madness]

When I drip acclimate the fish, do I use the water from the main tank? Then net the fish from the bucket I acclimated him in, and put him inside the Quarantine Tank? and get rid of the water I drip acclimated him in? (store saltwater and my tanks saltwater)
You drip acclimate using the QT water, thats where he is going. Acclimating is to get the fish use to the water parameters he is going to be in. Is it going to be the same water parameters as your DT? If it is then go ahead and drip from the DT. QT's are set up so that you do not distribute parasites, and to use as a hospital tank.

On the day I make the QT with saltwater from the main tank, while there is NO fish in there, do I turn on the filter, pump, and light?
Think of it as startring another tank. No need for light. The pump yes, filter yes. Are you putting in Live Rock form your DT? Run it as you would a normal tank, without the same lighting periods.

How long does cycling a QT usually take? 2 weeks? 1 month?

Its just like starting another tank. It has to cycle. If you don't want it to cycle, then throw in some sand, Live rock and DT water and you can throw fish in there right away.

[ClownieTang]

Its just like starting another tank. It has to cycle. If you don't want it to cycle, then throw in some sand, Live rock and DT water and you can throw fish in there right away.

So you are saying that if I put live rock and sand from my main tank + the saltwater from my main tank, I can use the QT (quarantining a Naso Tang) immediately on the day I make the QT?

Also, to your first answer, if I drip acclimate the fish using the water from the QT, then won't there be less water inside the QT? Can I just add more water from the main tank to the QT?

And isn't the water parameters inside the QT supposed to be the same as the water parameters in the main tank? (I am mostly going to use the quarantine tank for new fish i got from a local fish store)

BTW* THANKS FOR THE HELP!

[Reefing Madness]

Yes to all of your questions. You can do all of the above for your QT tank.
#1- Yes, add fish immediatley once QT is set up if using all the stuff form DT to starts QT.
#2- Yes, you can add water from DT to QT when it runs low.
#3- Yes, and No. If using Hypo, then you would acclimate to DT water before adding. Other than that, yes the parameters should match.

[leebca]

The reply to the first post:
1) Yes. However, the size you need depends on the size of the fishes you will quarantine. For the optimal sizing, see this post: A Fish Quarantine Process You can also buy used tanks and tank packages from almost any store that contains some fish supplies.

2) Yes. See the above link regarding this.

3) The filter in the QT should be seeded and 'cycled' before its use. There are exceptions and that is when it is an emergency. The above link describes both methods.

4) You do not want to drip acclimate any ornamental marine fish. It takes too long, sometimes allows layering, and extends the process. I recommend this process for acclimation: It Was Acclimation, I know. . .

5) It depends. The link given in my answer to 1) explains when you can save it and when you should dump it and clean out the QT. In general, keep it running if you will be using it again soon AND medications and diseases weren't in the QT. You use a seeded filter from your main system, and that is all you need to setup one in the future, so if you don't need it again or have to clean it out, just leave it dry (but keep a filter going for it in your main system) for when you want to use it next.

6) No. You'll note answer in 1). For that size Tang and it being a Tang (needing a bit more length) I would use a 55 gallon, although a standard 55 show tank, but shorter by 12 inches would work well, too.

7) Follow the guidelines in the link given in 1).

Good luck!

[ClownieTang]

When I get the new fish, (assuming that I have the same water parameters in my QT as my DT) do I acclimate the fish from the bag to the QT, then acclimate from QT to DT?

LEE,
can you explain your acclimation process in short? I don't really understand your way of acclimating. Yes, I have read it, but it is a bit confusing to me. (I most likely will not be buying fish online, but from my trusted LFS. so I will skip the opening of the box with live fish for now.)
Thank you.

[leebca]

In short, you float the bag. At the right time, you remove some of the water from the bag. Then you trickle in a certain amount of QT water. Set a timer or keep track of the time. Add another portion of the tank water to the bag. Mark the time/set timer. Do this until the bag gets to a certain fullness. Dump out some of the bag water (down the drain, w/o losing the fish). Repeat adds of QT water.

Depending on the amount of water in the bag is the size of the water additions; depending on how much water originally came with the fish is how much is initially poured out before the first addition. Depending on the size of the bag, you keep adding until it becomes a certain level, then you dump it out. At the end, freshwater dip the fish. Put the fish into the QT.

What gets involved is the handling of the fish. The directions given are such that the fish is never netted again in its captive life. It goes from bag to QT without nets and any further damage (or chasing). However, you can handle the fish as you wish. Some people like all the detail. Once you've done it a few times, you will become more confident. Most hobbyists just lack confidence and that is understandable.

Another level of 'involvement' is determining by measurement when the acclimation has gone far enough (when the bag water is close enough to the QT to go ahead with the FW dip then into the QT). This can be done precisely or just by 'rule of thumb' instructions in the post.

Shortcuts you can take on the above is like when you are getting the fish from a nearby friend or LFS. You can adjust your QT water to the parameters of where the fish is coming from and make the process go much faster.

What can make the process more lengthy is how long the fish has been in the bag, like if you got the fish from an online source. In this case a variation of the above is done to go more slowly (using more additions and dumps of the bag).

Now going on over 2000 fishes done this way. See: Bio - Lee (a.k.a. leebca)

Good luck!