Questions About A Quarantine Tank

[Blondielovesfish]

Hi,
Soon I'll be getting my fish tank (beginning of may) and I've read a lot of articles saying about needing a quarantine tank, do I really need one?
There will ruffly be 18 fish (5 species) in a 160 litre so would I need a quarantine tank for that amount or are they generally for bigger tanks with more "fancy" fish?
Could I use a 21 litre tank or would that be too big or small?
Would I always have water in it or just take like some water out of the main tank when the quarantine tank is needed? Because if I always had water in it then wouldn't I have to keep on adding ammonia so then the good bacteria wouldn't die?
Sorry for all the questions I'm just really curious!

 

[mtbdean]

My Quarantine Tank, it's a 30l Aquarium, never has water in, but the heater is in there and filter is sat in there, when I get new fish, I fill it with water from the main tank, drop same medium from my External into the Q Filter.
 
Hope that helps

 

[RCA]

Hi,
Soon I'll be getting my fish tank (beginning of may) and I've read a lot of articles saying about needing a quarantine tank, do I really need one?
There will ruffly be 18 fish (5 species) in a 160 litre so would I need a quarantine tank for that amount or are they generally for bigger tanks with more "fancy" fish?
Could I use a 21 litre tank or would that be too big or small?
Would I always have water in it or just take like some water out of the main tank when the quarantine tank is needed? Because if I always had water in it then wouldn't I have to keep on adding ammonia so then the good bacteria wouldn't die?
Sorry for all the questions I'm just really curious!

 
I do similar to mbtdean in respect to setting up the tank as and when it is needed.
A 21 Litre should be fine.
It is always advisable to quarantine any new fish once your tank is established as this will rule out any problems early on.  I usually keep mine in Q for 2 weeks.
This week I lost three new fish in a short space of time in Q, if they had been in my main tank goodness knows what would have happened to all my lovely fish!
 

Because if I always had water in it then wouldn't I have to keep on adding ammonia so then the good bacteria wouldn't die?

 
From my understanding this is incorrect, as the BB would need to feed to survive, and therefore it needs ammonia from the fish ultimately in which to feed.  An empty tank of water would not provide this, hence you keep some media in your main filter to put in the Q tank as and when it is needed.
 

Sorry for all the questions I'm just really curious!

 
Do not apologise it is how we learn
 
Oh, and another point re: a Q tank, is that if a fish becomes ill, you can if need be, isolate it from being subjected to bullying etc., and treat it in a smaller volume of water, whereby it is easier to do water changes etc.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Hi thanks for your response they are very helpful!
Sorry I meant would it was just a typo lol!
Since I don't have my big tank yet I don't know what the filter is like except from that it is built into the hood and is a three stage. Would I be able to put some of the sponge from the 21 filter into the 160 filter while the 21 is not needed? Is this what you mean?
Sorry this next bit isn't really relevant but that 21 litre I have used as a cold water tank for how ever many years so would the bacteria be any different from being cold water to the tropical bacteria? Because if it isn't that would make the cycling time of my tank go faster as I would just be able to float some sponge media from the cold water into the tropical so would this work?
Thank you again!

 

[Joshwainwright]

Would I be able to put some of the sponge from the 21 filter into the 160 filter while the 21 is not needed? 

That's the best thing to do while you're not using a quarantine 
 
There's no need to hold water in it while you're not using it though, just fill it (with dechlorinated water, obviously) and add the mature filter media when you need it.
 
I've never had a quarantine tank though and I've got on fine...

 

[This Old Spouse]

.
 
I've never had a quarantine tank though and I've got on fine...

 
Then you've been incredibly lucky! Many of us have stories of bringing home fish from the LFS, putting them in the new tank and have the whole tank break out with something or other that kills most of the fish. A Q tank is by far the better way to go, as illustrated by RCA above. 
 
And I'm curious about your 18 fish of 5 species? What's your thoughts there?

 

[Joshwainwright]

A Q tank is by far the better way to go

I definitely agree there! 
 
I don't really buy new stock enough to make it worth setting one up though tbh. Plus my stock is only common community fish so they wouldn't cost so much to replace. Some people would say I should care more but I'm willing to take the small risk 

 
So long as I don't end up buying diseased fish everything is fine.
 
I guess if I ever had a problem I'd get a tank to set up in the future. It would only cost £50 or so because I already have filter and heater.

 

[This Old Spouse]

How much would it cost to replace all your fish? If you brought home just one new fish with a disease it could wipe out your whole tank.

 

[Joshwainwright]

How much would it cost to replace all your fish? If you brought home just one new fish with a disease it could wipe out your whole tank.

Probably about £30-40

 

[This Old Spouse]

Kind of missing the point, aren't we? 

 

[Joshwainwright]

Kind of missing the point, aren't we? 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

TOS I'm still playing around with my stocking list but this is my current one:
8 neon tetras
6 pristella tetra
1 bristlenose pleco
1 dwarf gourami
2 keyhole cichlids
They are all relatively cheap fish except for the keyholes who I haven't looked at so I don't know the price. I know that it's a bit heavily stocked but I am still playing around with it so its probably not final.
Just a dumb question, what would be the size of the heater needed for a quarantine tank of this size and would I need lights? I would prefer to not have lights as it is only a plastic cover thing (it does have a hole thing for lights although I'm not sure how it would work considering it doesn't have any where for the lights to plug in like a hood does). If I had to use lights would just a lamp hanging over it be alright? And also would I have to have decorations etc. in there? As far as I understand gravel is needed I'm just not sure on the decorations etc.
Thank you all for your help and I now have decided that I will use a quarantine tank especially since I pretty much already have one sitting there!

 

[This Old Spouse]

This looks really good ... but I don't know anything much about cichlids.
 
No dumb questions here ... yes, you'd need a heater for the Q tank, but you should be able to get away with a 50-75w. You don't need a light because that's really only for your benefit or if you're keeping plants, which you wouldn't have in a Q tank. You don't need decorations. The gravel is up to you. Much easier to keep clean if you don't have it.
 
I have extra filter media in all my canister filters, so that when I need to set up a Q tank, all I do is fill it with warm, dechlorinated water, put the media in the filter and run it for a few minutes to make sure the water makes at least one run through the filter, and that's it. If it's for corydoras, I do put a layer of sand in the bottom and a makeshift cave out of 2 rocks with a flat rock over them. Cory are a bit skittish, especially if they're sick, so I like to give them the cave for security. 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Okay thanks a lot! Just a question - how do you work out the watts for a heater?
That's what I was thinking about the lights but was just double checking to make sure!
I'm not sure if I will use the gravel or not it would depend and I (knowing me) would just think that seeing as its there I might as well use it lol!
How long is the standard time for quarantining fish? And would I need to quarantine the fish I originally start out with? I will add the tetras first and the keyholes (if I still want them) last, (I was told to do this other wise there may be a risk of the keyholes eating the tetras) so would I like maybe quarantine the keyholes? Or would I either, not quarantine any or all? Hope that makes sense lol!

 

[This Old Spouse]

I just googled the heater wattage. 
 
You don't need to quarantine the first fish you buy. But do be sure your tank is completely cycled before adding any. But any fish you buy after the initial stocking should be quarantined, and I'd suggest at least a couple of weeks. Never, never buy any fish that don't look perfect in the LFS, even if you want to save them.