Quarantine Tank

[Rorie]

I am contemplating getting a quarantine tank to minimise the risk of infecting my current fish with new fish.

1) How big....or more to the point, small can this tank be?
2) Any suggested tanks?
3) I presume i need to keep the second tank running all the time, even if i go a month without getting any fish?
4) How long do i quarantine the new fish for?

Thanks

 

[star4]

1. Tank size depands on the size of fish you keep, if you only have small fish than a small tank would be sufficient for quaranteen.
2. Clearseal do some nice small tanks or you can usually pick up them second hand for around £10
3. You dont need to keep a quaranteen tank running, if you keep a spare small internal filter running in your main tank, when you decided to get new fish you can set up the quaranteen tank the day before and use the spare filter from you main tank (its what I do same as a hospital tank)
4 Best quaranteen for approx 4 weeks.

 

[mattlee]

star4 has pretty much covered it all. a quarentine tank doesnt have to be pretty as long as its water tight and of a size thats ok for the fish going into it. just get a heater and a sponge filter and as long as the sponge filter is mature its ideal to transfer from your main tank into the quarentine tank to have an instantly cycled tank ready for new fish. keep a close eye on the new fish and if they need treatment then its very easy to do in a seperate tank and your healthy fish wont suffer at the same time that are in the main tank. also plenty of water changes in the quarentine tank will be possible and easy as they are usually small tanks and will help your new fishes health and if they need to be grown on a bit wont do any harm either. as star4 said 4 weeks is ideal for quarentine, alot of people do 2 weeks but the longer the better really. if you have to add any meds etc then start the quarentine period all over again from the day the infection or disease has been rid of

if its only for small fish then wilkinsons do small 12L plastic tanks for about £5 that would be ideal for a few tetras or smallish fish. just dont forget to give the fish some space so they dont get stressed and add a few plastic plants and maybe a cave for the fish to hide behind, substrate isnt required unless quarentine is for bottom feeders like loaches, corys and other catfish to prevent any bacterial isues with their barbels.

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for your replies

I guess when i want to use the tank i can just take the second filter out my main tank, add new (treated) water, heat it up, and off i go?

If i get fish that eat off the algae, should i run the tank for a few days with the lights on to build up the algae a bit first?

I guess i will still need a lighting unit for the small tank? - but am i right in saying when fish are ill, its best to keep the lights off?

If i have gravel in - for if/when i get more corrys, do i need to do anything with it when the tank is not in use - i.e. drain it - or is it ok?

 

[mattlee]

Thanks for your replies

I guess when i want to use the tank i can just take the second filter out my main tank, add new (treated) water, heat it up, and off i go?
spot on

If i get fish that eat off the algae, should i run the tank for a few days with the lights on to build up the algae a bit first?
not really as algae wont grow that quick,use algae wafers to feed and cucumber. you could put a rock in water on a window sill that gets plenty of light a week before buying an algae eater. dont forget not all algae eaters will eat all types of algae

I guess i will still need a lighting unit for the small tank? - but am i right in saying when fish are ill, its best to keep the lights off?
just a table lamp will do but lighting of some sort is better so you can keep an eye on the fishes health better

If i have gravel in - for if/when i get more corrys, do i need to do anything with it when the tank is not in use - i.e. drain it - or is it ok?
drain the water and give the substrate a clean and let it dry in the sun then store it for next time when dry. corys prefer sand though

 

[Rorie]

Thats great, thanks for your help!

I actually have bottom feeder pellets that i forgot about - i never use them as every fish other than the bottom feeders eat them!

 

[mattlee]

just 1 more thing i thought about. if you do have issues with diseases etc in the quarentine tank then i would be cautious about adding the sponge filter back into the main tank. i would give it a good clean in very hot water and leave to dry. then put back in the tank to cycle again. if the fish are better and the disease has been killed off then it shouldnt be an issue but you cant do much wrong by being extra carefull

 

[Twinklecaz]

I bought this in an emergency the other week http/www.petsathome.com/shop/my-first-fish-tank-by-pets-at-home-(available-in-store-only)-31848

If you ignore the minging gravel and stickers (and the fact it says it's suitable for a goldfish) then I guess it's not bad for quarentining purposes. I bought it as a hospital tank. It comes with a little filter which is maybe slightly noisy but I'd say as long as the tank won't be in your bedroom it's fine.

 

[mattlee]

that kind of tank is perfect as long as your not thinking of quarentining large fish

 

[Hokum]

I use one of those tanks to grow algae on my rocks. Its just right for the window sill. My only issue is that its a bit too small for a decent filter to fit into. My spare filter is an aquaball 60. I've gone for the cheap one Aldi were selling a month or so ago it's about 50L so not too large...

 

[Rorie]

Well i had a good look around online, and then figured the best thing to do was to go into P@H and see what they had. In the way of glass tanks, i found this to be the best deal:

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/shark-attack-rally-tank-by-pets-at-home-(available-in-store-only)-36887

It is 26L and comes with a filter, some craze stickers and some hideous gravel, but still!

I could have had a great deal on ebay for a nice tank, but it had a under-gravel-filter and i figured this was no use. I would need to put the filter into my main tank when the small one was not in use.

I then got a 25W Elite heater for £10. So £30 total for a nice glass 26L quarantine/hospital tank. I am happy

Though i may have my first patient already - one of my gouramies has always been a bit, em, slow. it always looks a little iffy, but nothing has ever come of him. The last two days, it has been hanging around the heater like glue! Non of the other fish do, and they all seem fine. The temperature of the water is set at 24 degrees which suits all the other fish. What should i do? Anything?

 

[Gvilleguy]

Rorie - thanks for posting this thread. I am currently looking at quarantine tank options. I currently run double filtration, and I like the idea of just moving my HOB power filter to the smaller tank as needed. But I wondered if this might not cause a mini-cycle in the primary aquarium?

For example, in my 26 gallon primary tank I'm running a Fluval 205 canister and an Aqueon Power Filter (HOB type). As it stands now I'm sure both filters have grown X & Y bacteria colonies as supported by the fish population. Do you find any problems by removing the Y colonies and leaving only X behind?

 

[drobbyb]

Rorie - thanks for posting this thread. I am currently looking at quarantine tank options. I currently run double filtration, and I like the idea of just moving my HOB power filter to the smaller tank as needed. But I wondered if this might not cause a mini-cycle in the primary aquarium?

For example, in my 26 gallon primary tank I'm running a Fluval 205 canister and an Aqueon Power Filter (HOB type). As it stands now I'm sure both filters have grown X & Y bacteria colonies as supported by the fish population. Do you find any problems by removing the Y colonies and leaving only X behind?

In the case of double filtration, you really need to leave any large filters in the main tank. Sponge filters are ideal for quarantine tanks since they don't take carbon cartridges, are extremely cheap and effective, and can be sterilized very easily when you are done. The idea here is you don't want to take away more than one third of your media capacity (notice: I said media and not filtration) since that's where the bacteria live. More than one third can cause a mini cycle.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A Clearseal tank from P@H could make a great quarantine tank (or even a cheap and functioning main tank), providing you have a spare, small mature filter (usually in main tank just ticking over)...

18x10x10in with hood for £20: http/www.petsathom...ore-only)-36855

24/30/36/48x15x12in without hood for £29/33/52/65: http/www.petsathom...ore-only)-36345

Something I spotted the other day in there with a nicer look, although only suitable for small fish, was the Aqua Box 17 (15.4x10.6x10.6in) for £29: http/www.petsathome.com/shop/aqua-box-17-litre-aquarium-by-pets-at-home-(available-in-store-only)-36893

 

[Twinklecaz]

That is actually quite nice for a temp tank.