NEW QUARANTINE TANK?

[smurray7]

Hi. I just recently finished cycling my 55 gallon freshwater tank and adding 1 mystery snail and some cherry barbs. I intend to add some other fish in a few weeks. In the meantime, I am considering setting up a 10 gallon quarantine tank to put new fish in before putting them in my main tank. I have ordered a small sponge filter and a heater. I plan to put the sponge filter in my main tank to seed it. I also considered putting some of my main tank water from my next water change into the quarantine tank.

My questions are: how long does my sponge filter need to stay in the main tank before transferring and setting up the quarantine tank? Will this automatically cycle my quarantine tank so that new fish will be ok when added to it? Once I am finished buying new fish (as far as on a regular basis for the initial stocking), do I shut down the quarantine tank, rinse out the sponge, and put it back into my main tank until needed again?

The cycling is what confuses me I guess. I'm afraid the quarantine tank won't be cycled and will harm new additions.

 

[Essjay]

It will probably take several weeks to grow any bacteria - with the same fish in the tank the bacteria numbers will remain stable. Another point to consider if if the main tank has a fair number of live plants, not many bacteria will grow in the tank at all.

I successfully quarantined fish with nothing but cheap live plants left to float (I used anacharis stems and some water sprite from my main tank)

 

[smurray7]

I don't have any live plants at the moment, just a couple fake, but I have ordered moss balls that will be in any day. I've read so many different things. By the time I get more fish, it will probably be the end of March - 1st of April. So, I'm confused as to whether I need to put them in a quarantine tank first or just put them in my main tank with my cherry barbs. If they need to go in a quarantine tank, I want to be sure it is cycled enough.

 

[Essjay]

The reason you'll read to quarantine moss balls is the chance that they are infected with zebra mussels, and it's for this reason that some states have banned them.

If there are no live plants in the main tank there should be as many bacteria as the current bioload needs. Leaving the sponge filter in there for 6 to 8 weeks will grow some bacteria but it may or may not be enough for the fish you buy. Test every day for ammonia and nitrite once there are fish in the quarantine tank to be on the safe side.

 

[smurray7]

The reason you'll read to quarantine moss balls is the chance that they are infected with zebra mussels, and it's for this reason that some states have banned them.

If there are no live plants in the main tank there should be as many bacteria as the current bioload needs. Leaving the sponge filter in there for 6 to 8 weeks will grow some bacteria but it may or may not be enough for the fish you buy. Test every day for ammonia and nitrite once there are fish in the quarantine tank to be on the safe side.

Ok I definitely will. I think I'd rather do that than to medicate my whole main tank with API General Cure every time I add fish. I'm not exactly sure the affect it would have on the fish -- especially since I'm adding in groups rather than all at once. That would mean re-medicating all the ones that had already been medicated each time. I'm just not real sure about that.