75 gallon QT

[+Hydro]

I'm getting ready to order some fish. I want to get them all at the same time straight from the wholesaler so they are stressed as little as possible. I'm planning on about 10 small fish with 3 of them being tangs. Tomorrow I'm going to setup a 75 gallon QT tank with 30 lbs of LR.

If I wanted to temporarily house these fish there, maybe 6 weeks, would I use phosphate reactor full of carbon to keep the tank clean?

How long would the QT need to cycle, and if using carbon does that matter?

Should I put sand in it?

Would I need to get a skimmer if using carbon?

Should I fill it with water from my tank or use fresh saltwater?

[offroadodge]

i would just use the water from ur tank when u do water change, get a HOB all one filter and a light. I wouldnt use any sand or live rock, makes it harder to catch them. My Qtank is just that bare bottom, no sand, HOB filter with carbon and phosguard, a cheapo light, powerhead, and a heater. Its only a 10 gallon tank but with no LR or Sand i havent had a need for skimmer.

[+Hydro]

But what about leaving the system running for a month or two? This tank is going to be at my casa so taking from my display and putting in the 75 is going to be a pain in the ***.

I wanted to put in the LR and possibly sand to make it more natural for the fish, trying to keep the stress to a minimum. I can take out the rock whenever I'm ready to catch one of the fish, no big deal.

[+mcallahan]

A couple of things to note:

- you can't run carbon if you are going to put any medication. The carbon will absorb it

- ditto with the LR

If you just want a tank for them to chill and make sure they will live, then I'd run carbon and a skimmer. That way all the tank levels would be more stable which makes for happier healthier fish

[+Hydro]

What about cycle time on this QT tank?

[JamesL]

I agree that the live rock (or something similar like clay pots) would help the fish feel at home.

[offroadodge]

OK>>>lets see, yes possibly some PVC 90s, 45s, etc will do good. As far as the rest goes id just do it the way U wanna do it cause in the end thats the way its gonna be done. EVERYONE does it diffently and usualy the way YOU-I do it usualy gets it done. STRESS>>>let see a 900 mile trip overnight, put them in a tank with diffrnt water parameters, let sit for a month, then re-stress them will another water change and move.....realy doesnt matter how it happend as long as it gettn done. Sorry if i confused the subject in any way

[+mcallahan]

Stephen...you've got more than enough time to cycle the QT tank before the fish arrive. Use brightwells microbacter7 to help get the cycle going

One thing to keep in mind is that this tank will go from 0/minimal bioload to full bioload as sons as you put the fish in there. Therefore, you might see another mini cycle

Adding in more microbacter7 when you add the fish will help, but plan on keeping an eye on your nitrates and be ready to do some water changes if needed

The last thing you'll want to do is have the fish be stressed from the move, then get stressed again due to a cycle

[+Hydro]

Well I was buying 30lbs of LR from a member for this QT tank but for some reason they decided to sell to someone else, Although I agreed to buy it since I wasn't standing there holding the money at their front door when they post if for sale.... they didn't know that I was serious. Anyway clay pots and PVC are cheaper to put in there anyway.

I hear ya Jeremey, they are being subjected to much more stress than being in a tank w/o rock for sure. I just want them to have an oppritunity to hide and in a bare tank that is hard to do. I think that I might leave out the sand and put in the clay pots and some PVC parts and call it a day.

Should I fill this tank wtth water from my display tank? I actually can do waterchanges from my other tank for a short time, I will just have to hual the water from my office. Should I plan on doing this once a week? Every 2 weeks? I realize that this could vary, just trying to get an idea.

I wasn't wanting to buy a skimmer but I should I just go ahead and get a cheap one. Maybe I can borrow one from somebody. I will use the microbacter for sure, I want to do anything possible to make these fish live.

We are thinking hard about getting a gem tang and if they are available we are going to get a black tang for sure, that's why we are are going all out on this QT.

[+Hydro]

One last question, if I have a bare bottom and no LR will the tank even cycle w/o fish in it?

[+mcallahan]

If you can't fill the tank up 100% with water from your DT, use as much as you can. Even 10-20 gallons will help.

If you aren't going to medicate the tank, go ahead and add some LR. I agree with you tho - leave out the sand.

You'll need some kind of filtration on the tank, so even a HOB filter would provide a place for bacteria to live. The PVC will provide some surface area for them to live as much, although not as much as LR.

And of course, the skimmer would help too.

Are you doing a sump on this tank, or will it all be HOB skimmers/filtration?

Finally, keep in mind most people QT 1-3 fish at a time vs. 10+ fish it sounds like you'll be bringing back. This mean increased bio load, so w/out lots and lots of surface area from LR, you'll need to do frequent water changes

[OgreMkV]

One thing that I suggest

You might run a powerhead with a large sponge filter in your main tank for a couple of weeks. That'll let the sponge get some bacteria in it.

Then transfer the sponge and powerhead to your QT tank. Instant cycle (kindof). I've never tried it with a 75, just my little 10.

I never reuse the sponge. As far as I'm concerned, it's now contaminated.

[+Hydro]

Ok thanks. Filter and powerhead is a good idea and easy to do.

Mark I was planning to use a sump with a filter sock along with a small uv light. I'm now planning on doing 50% water changes once a week and will keep an eye on the parameters. I'm going to use some clay pots for the fish to hide, those should be able to support some bacteria I would think. I'm going to go ahead and stick a couple in my DT now and then transfer them over to the QT whenever I get the fish. I'm just going to mainly depend on the carbon (if not medicating) and water changes to keep things in check, I'm not going to try and setup and cycle LR, especially since I have to try and find some.

Last question. When I do water changes for the QT do I use water from my DT or fresh saltwater? I would assume just to use water from my DT.

[+mcallahan]

s...the UV sterilizer will be a great thing to have on the setup. FOR SURE go with that.

I can get you all the dead rock you need for a good price and it'll be cycled by the time you need it.

I'd use water from your DT and fresh saltwater - 50/50 mix. That way you get some 100% fresh water AND some water from your DT.

[offroadodge]

i hv about 15lbs of realy nice rock

[caferacermike]

Ok I'm not going to argue the points that have been made, some are good-some maybe not so good.

If this was me,

1. I can't think for a minute that ordering 10 fish all at once is a good idea. I understand the want to introduce them at the same time but what a handful.

2. I sure wouldn't put them all in the same tank. The entire idea of QT is to QUARANTINE. What exactly would you be quarantining by placing them all in 1 tank? All you are doing is keeping the fish in your display safe, while placing all the new already stressed fish into jeopardy. All it takes is for 1 of those fish to be sick and BAM they are all dead. That's why you are attempting to quarantine right? So that they all have a fair chance at living. I could understand placing them all in a quarantine together if they were all suffering from the same situation, disease, parasite etc. Right now you need to quarantine them from each other as you don't know which 1 might be the time bomb.

3. I certainly would not use 100% water from my display tank. That water is dirty. I always like to go back to the beginning, why are you doing the water change? Because you've deemed it unfit for the display tank and inhabitants. How on Earth does that translate to "perfect for already stressed fish". Just like your display, dilute the old nasty water. I'm certainly for using some of it, maybe 70% new to 30% old. That way you get some of the benefits of possible bacteria and such. Yet if I was investing in thousand dollar fishes, and yes I once had a Blue eyed plectostomus that retails around $4-5,000 each, I think that I would be mixing up a perfectly matched batch of new water. That way I could be 100% certain that no creepy crawlies would be in my water at all. I'd be matching the important things like PH, SG, and ALK. I'm certain I wouldn't be worried what my calcium levels would be.

4. On to keeping the fishes in separate tanks. Not knowing how large the fish are that you are ordering. I'd probably be looking at 10g tanks for fish that are around 3-5". I'd decorate with sterile items such as pvc or broken clay pots. The reason for small tanks is that I'd be doing daily water changes of at least 50%. The smaller the tank, the easier that is. I'd try to have a very large container of pre-made water so that it is always consistent. With a smaller tank I'd only feel the need to run some sort of cheap filter with carbon in it. Probably a sponge type filter that I could load with bacteria. No sand, no live rock. I'd also run a smaller tank so that I could use less medication should the need arise to treat 1 fish. By using separate tanks only the fish that needs attention gets attention, thus reducing possible stresses on otherwise "healthy" fish. A smaller tank allows me to quickly remove the water to alter the dose or to do 100% water changes and then continue my medication dosing so that I know how much is in the water. Kind of like water changes, as you keep adding meds we don't know what it is doing to the water. By removing the water and replacing it and then reapplying the medications, we control exactly how much is in the water. Live rock and sand can allow microorganisms that could be bad a place to hide out. Once hit with meds it could be totally useless on the "beneficial" scale so worry about it.

5. I think I would be watching them and worrying for about 2 weeks. After that I'd become a little more relaxed and begin doing smaller and less frequent water changes, slowly building them up. After about 4 weeks, and showing no signs of issues, I'd begin to slowly add more display tank water during my water changes. After about 5 1/2 weeks I'd have them in about a 80% DT water to 20% new water. That way they could be considered "acclimated".

6. Maybe around week 5 I'd consider allowing them all together in the 75g to see what challenges arise before adding them to the DT. But then again, the tank is much smaller than the DT. Those that may fight in the 75g might not quarrel in the much larger DT. Personally I think I'd first pick the less feisty fish in the DT for a couple of days to find shelter. Maybe the first 5 fish. I'd probably want to wait 2 weeks before adding the rest. I think the general consensus on the "safe zone" is 6 weeks for a true quarantine period.

When I first got in the hobby 1 great piece of advice I received was to treat each new addition of fish or such livestock, as a huge bio-reaction. Your tank will stabilize to the new addition by colonizing more bacteria and such. Typically your tank only has "X" amount of bio-filtration taking place. For each addition the tank will need to ramp up to catch up or it can become polluted as the filtration lags behind. So I kind of heeded to the 1 fish per 3 weeks. Basically allow the tank to mini cycle between fish. Of course that becomes difficult with territorial additions and schooling type fish. That's why I mention to break it up a bit, add some fish and watch the parameters. Let the tank settle down and then add the rest. Make sure your skimmer can handle the new pressure, watch for algae, watch your nitrates to see if they rise. If the trates rise, really watch the Ammonia and Nitrites as of course most of us know, they kill fish quickly. If they rise, I'd think water changes would be the most efficient way to bring them down. I've never used a bacteria supplement, however I'd get opinions as it would seem that dosing the display a few times before the addition of fish might be a good idea to kind of boost the tanks immunity.

So that's my take on the situation. What may be good for me, might be the complete opposite for someone else.

[+Hydro]

Thanks Mike. You have given me lots to think about and I agree with you. I'm really wanting to do the best job possible within reason. I guess I was setting up the QT mainly to protect the fish in my DT. I assumed that the worst thing that would happen is that the fish in the QT got ich I could treat them with copper, but what you are saying it to house all of them seperately so that a fish that doesn't have ich doesn't have the be stressed by the treatment....makes sense, I'm torn about using smaller single tanks vs the larger tank though. It seems like torcher to a tang to have to live in a 10 gallon tank for 6 weeks. I thought I would list the fish what we are considering in case there is anything that I need to know about them. These are the fish we are considering and won't be buying all of them. For example we would not be getting both black and gem tangs. And probably only 2 of the wrasses

Black tang

Gem tang (probably not)

(4) Firefish

Mauritius Flasher Wrasse

Tenneti Tang

Ctenochaetus binotatus

Midas blenny

Radiant wrasse

Pelicier’s wrasse

Naso lituratus

Red fairy basslet

Pseudanthias cooperi

Would you put each one of these fish by themselves? That would be really hard for me to do. What could they pass to each other quickly that I can't treat for? I assumed I was mainly QT for parasites...ich, flukes, etc. Is it that stressful for all of the fish to be treated together? I assumed that all of the fish were treated already in the holding tanks and that it would be ok to continue treating them once they arrived. I could really shorten this list if necessary, just trying to get it over with all at one time. I can slowly introduce them in the DT, that's not a big deal, I just don't want to have to have a QT setup for incoming fish year round. What do you think after seeing the list? It would be around 10 fish with 4 of them being firefish.

[+cyrus]

i would just use the water from ur tank when u do water change,

I refilled my 29QT when I got my clowns. Not a good idea, the water in it before was sterile when I added the new water and one piece of live rock I had an algae bloom.

Keep it sterile, Use dead rock and the TLC additive which speeds the tank cycle and conditions the water cleanly. I also run a 60 hang filter with carbon double the power never hurts