Cycling quarantine tank...How should I do this?

[something_phishy]

I can't take anything from my main tank because I had an ick problem that were trying to clear up(no fish in the tank right now). Therefore I don't want to take anything from that tank. So, I've heard that I can put a raw shrimp in the QT. Problem is everywhere I've looked I can only find cooked shrimp. There cold, but not raw. I really don't want to put any fish(like damsels) in there either. Any other thoughts on how I can do this? Or should I not cycle it and just do major water changes? Or won't that work?? I really want to get this going.

Thanks!

 

[MattM]

The purpose of the shrimp is just to provide food for bacteria as it decomposes. Doesn't matter much if it's raw or cooked.

A better and faster route would be a bacteria culture like this. You should note though that not all products like this are the same. Some contain little or no live bacteria. The Fritz stuff is the only one we recommend.

 

[something_phishy]

Thanks. Can I use both the shrimp and the culture? Do any stores canrry this or is it purely mail order?

 

[reefann]

The problem is if you never have anything in the tank everytime you put something in it will cycle again. I would suggest a very docile fish like a Ocellaris clown. This way you dont always have to be dosing a type of ammonia to keep the bacteria alive.
HTH
JJ
BTW as MattM said it does not matter if the shrimp is raw or cooked. Cooked will just take a little longer to decompose.
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[something_phishy]

I just don't want to keep the QT running all the time. I have 2 young children and taking care of one tank everyday is plenty for me. I really don't think I could keep up with it. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking it would be alot more work, but right now I just think it would end up getting neglected. Plus, I know I would feel bad making a fish live in a bare tank for the rest of it's life. Just my opinion though. I'll try the shrimp and see how it goes.

Thanks!!

 

[reefann]

I misunderstood you previous question. Yeah breaking down the QT tank when your done is fine. The only two draw back is when you buy new stuff you cant QT it and you need to cycle the thing if you have problems again. This means sick fish or inverts sit in your show tank longer.
Good luck with the ich
JJ
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[something_phishy]

Thanks again! I found some raw shrimp today and am going to start it tomorrow. Can I put more than one in the tank? I'm thinking that if I have sick fish that I have to get out right away I would just have to be really diligent about water changes. I've heard of some people not cycling the "hospital" tank and just doing alot of decent water changes. Or is that a terrible idea?

 

[CAT]

I'd use the shrimp to get the cycle going then just throw a pinch of food in there every couple of days. If you have a bio-wheel type filter on it, it shouldn't need much maintenance except for top-off if you leave the lights off. That way, you can test the water and maybe do a water change before adding a fish when you need to.

I've set up quarantine tanks to treat fish by using a fresh set-up and big water changes. It's a real pita fighting the cycle with a fish in it.

 

[something_phishy]

How long should I expect this to take to cycle? I bought our system used after it had been running for 4 years so I didn't have to cycle it.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

If you are not gonig to have LR and/or sand in the tank there is no reason to cycle it at all. The LR/sand is where the bacteria that breaks down the waist lives. For a Q tank I would go bear with pieces of PVC pipe for the fish to hide and nothing else. IF you feel the need for other that water changes you could get a canister filter or bio-wheel type filter and use that. Once the Q tank is torn down throw out or wash the media and you can reuse it next time.

 

[greenb]

I just finished qt'ing 2 clowns in a 10g tank. I didn't cycle the tank at all.

I made a fresh batch of S/W, same as always, power head, and airstone for a day. Then dumped the water into the 10g tank. Got the temp right. Threw in 2 pieces of PVC and tossed the clowns in there.

THey were in the tank for 3 weeks and I did 1 small water change a week. Clowns are now heathly and in the show tank again.


IMHO you don't need to cycle the QT tank. Just watch the levels and change water when needed.


hth
bob

 

[something_phishy]

Thanks! When I had it running as a "hospital" I didn't cycle it and ended up with 1.0 ammonia. I did frequent water changes. Of course I had 3 fish in it because i had to take everything out of the main tank so maybe that had something to do with it. 2 of them ended up dying. Not sure if it was from the ammonia or from ich. Would it do any good at all to put a shrimp in there or not? If not, I'm just going to go ahead and put the fish in there once we get the temp good.

Thanks again.

 

[CAT]

Fish don't usually die from ich unless they've been exposed for a while. If you were treating them, then it's possible that ammonia was the culprit.

I use Seachem's 'Ammonia Alert' in my q-tank. It's a yellow disc that will change color if it senses free ammonia, and will turn back to yellow when the ammonia is gone. Great little gizmo, one glance will tell you if you got trouble in the tank.

If you want to put fish in right away, be prepared with lots of freshly mixed water for water changes

Greenb, did you feed the fish in your q-tank?

 

[Dante]

It's a little drastic but this works for me:

To cycle a tank you need to start with ammonia, so pour some in. 8O I'm not kidding. No need to stress some poor fish, just get some basic household ammonia (not mixed with any other cleaners, just pure ammonia) and pour it in the tank with a little gravel or rocks for the bacteria to inhabit and your tank will cycle in days. 8) I have done this a number of times and have 0 losses to date.

 

[greenb]

Yes I did feed in the q/t tank. But I siphoned out any food that sat on the bottom after a few minutes.