Starting A Quarrantine Tank

drtmima · Jan 26, 2012

Hi, I'm looking for some advice about setting up a small quarrantine tank. My current tank is a 600L planted community setup including inverts; I am tired of dealing with ich after introducing new fish. What recommendations do you have about an economical way to set up an additional tank?
Do I keep it running all the time with a small population of fish that I'm less concerned about? Or should I keep it barebones with no gravel so it's easy to treat/clean as a hospital tank that I fill with tank water for a few days when needed? Or something in between?
Thanks for your input!

snazy · Jan 26, 2012

Just keep a sponge filter in you main tank to get bacteria growing on it, and when you need to quarantine, move it to a newly setup quarantine tank. This way you have your quarantine tank cycled instantly. If the new fish turn out sick, don't put the sponge filter(or any filter) from the quarantine back into the main tank, but get another one.

thereverendturtle · Jan 26, 2012

A 10 gallon tank with a mature sponge filter, bare bottom, maybe some pvc for the fish to hide or weighted down plastic plants. You should also have a heater, lighting is optional. Use water from the display. Keep it running by adding a tiny bit of fish food every couple off weeks. Or keep a hardy peaceful species in there full time. Such as a honey gourami.