Materials to Quarintine Fish & Coral

Hey 3reef,

As I am new to this hobby but have dealt with fresh water fish all my life, I know the impotant of a quarantine tank.

I just want to know:

What materials do I need to start a quarantine tank?

Are there different materials needed to quarantine fish and coral? What do I need for it in the quarintine?

Are there any other methods to curing fish and coral? Can you describe these methods?

What is to fw dip and the use of iodine for? Can anyone explain these?

I just want to start off right and not have everything go wrong for me further down the road.

Thank you all

 

Maybe this will help.

QT.

 

how do you qt,diagnose,treat and declare safe for dt without killing all that is on it LR?

 

Well I'm just starting my tank and for what I have read, I will be doing 100% base rock because I don't want to deal with unwanted hitchhikers in my DT. I want to know what goes into it.

 

To QT fish, you need a powerhead, heater, airstone(depending on the powerhead), some PVC pipe (easy to clean parasites off of, gives hiding places), a cover for the tank to keep jumpers in, and maybe a cheap light depending on whether you have a window you can put the tank near.

To QT corals, you need the same stuff, but some things may absorb any copper you use in the fish QT, which means it wouldn't be able to be used to QT the corals. You'd need a good light for the coral instead of a cheap one.

Freshwater dips can help get parasites off of fish, but won't get them all of. Don't do it to corals, as most don't like it. Iodine is used to kill some parasites, as are some of the other common medications.

Most people just put the fish into the DT without QT or dip, but that's risky. There's no guarantee when it comes to dipping. QT is the safest option, by far, because you can observe the coral/fish and be much more sure it's healthy and has no parasites for long periods of time before it goes into the DT.

A skimmer isn't necessary (it may be desirable, as it keeps nitrates down, so less stress), but having a mesh bag to put in the tank with carbon is 100% necessary. You don't want to run carbon all the time in a QT; it's used for removing medications before the fish goes back into the DT.

You want to have water ready for changes, and do them somewhat frequently compared to a DT. Some people do up to 50% daily on QTs.

I think it's the marineland powerheads that come with a sponge so you can use it as a sponge filter, and it also has a air inlet and wide outlet which lets you get good surface movement on the tank.

 

Great info... thanks! I don't have a QT tank and have been lucky so far... and unfortunately I currently don't have the room for it. But will definitely consider it in the future! I can only recommend it.