Hospital/Quarantine tank

[Netherways]

Guys,

I was thinking that, after recent trouble with new fish being introduced to my tank and causing problems, I might invest in some sort of quarantine/hospital set up. The thing is I have no idea to go about this, my LFS guys just say "No you don't need to worry about any of that, anything that needs to be done like that will be done here before you buy the fish"

Do I just basically need a smaller tank, fully set up and cycled with a similar environment (pH/Temp/feeding regime) as the tank it will be introduced to? Does this need to be running 24/7-365?

I would like the tank to be able to used for both hospital and quarantine measures...is the set up required for each different?

All advice gratefully received.

Many thanks,

Alex

 

[Helium_Junkie]

Pretty much just a small tank with heater and filter, 50% of the water you fill it with should come from your main tank. Some filter media wouldnt go amiss to help the cycle.

Light isnt necessary, but helps to see the fish

It should stay on so that the filter stays ready, and re-setting up the tank each time is a bit daft...

 

[The-Wolf]

No you don't need to run a Hospital/quarrentine tank 24/7
all you need to do is run the filter for it in your main tank and
then use it as and when needed.

 

[Helium_Junkie]

No you don't need to run a Hospital/quarrentine tank 24/7
all you need to do is run the filter for it in your main tank and
then use it as and when needed.

Just thought, if you left it running with no fish the filter wouldn't get any ammonia... right? So yeah, leave filter in main tank

 

[Aussie_Star]

my LFS guys just say "No you don't need to worry about any of that, anything that needs to be done like that will be done here before you buy the fish"

hHe said that casue he will make money if you keep coming back to buy fish, casue they kept dieing

 

[Angry_Platy]

Since I had a quarantine tank and quarantined any new fish I haven't had any problems with introduced diseases....

Never trust an LFS who are all out to make money....

I try to make my hospital/quar tank as much like the main tanks as possible...lighting, filtration, fake plants, hiding places....so if a sick fish eneds to go in there it is not a bog shock. If they are sick they wil also want to hide more...

Depending on the reason for using the tank....quar or otherwise, you may need to use a light or not....

 

[luxum]

Yeh, just buy the tank, heater, and filter, but there is no need to keep the tank running. Get some fake plants and new terracotta pots for hiding places, may want to leave it bare bottom to make it easier to keep very clean if you have a sick fish in there. Cover it so it doesn't get all dusty inside. Then you can store it somewhere out of the way until you need it.

Then just run the filter on your main tank, and if you need to quarantine/medicate, steal some water from the main tank to avoid acclimitization (to Ph and temp) hook up the heater, and you're good to go. Remember that many meds kill off the cycle bacteria so you may end up relying on water changes to maintain water quality.