Hospital tank?
- Thread starter twoluvcats
- Start date
Best size would be big enough that you could fit your biggest fish in it comfortably...or any stock you bring in from a lfs (usually hospital/quarentine tanks). If youre planning on stocking a huge tank with a bunch of big cichlids...then you should probably use at least a 20. If you just have community fish that are never going to be larger than 2 or 3 inches...you could easily get away with a 5 or a 10.
As far as having one set up all the time...different people have their ways of doing this. Some dont actually have the tank set up and running all the time...but they have extra filters set up on thier other tanks so if they need to set up that tank they just need to pull a filter or some filter media from their other tanks, fill up the tank and wa/la an instantly cycled tank. You could also have enough tanks with similar stock where you can move fish out of a tank to use for a hospital tank. I've kinda used my tiny lil 1G for that from time to time. Move the betta to one of the other tanks and put a sick fish in there. Its not an ideal situation...I'd like to get a 5 that has a heater etc and leave it set up and running all the time. You could put that ammonia to use and just pop a bit of ammonia in every day or every other day and then if you need to use the tank do a 100% water change and your tank is still cycled and ready to go.
So there are no definite answers to your question. Kinda like the right size is in the eye of the beholder. If you have 4 tanks and they're all larger than 55Gallons...you're Idea of a quarentine tank is probably bigger than my biggest tank! If your biggest tank is smaller than 15...your idea of a quarentine tank is probably a 2.5 or a 5.
Hope that helps
As far as having one set up all the time...different people have their ways of doing this. Some dont actually have the tank set up and running all the time...but they have extra filters set up on thier other tanks so if they need to set up that tank they just need to pull a filter or some filter media from their other tanks, fill up the tank and wa/la an instantly cycled tank. You could also have enough tanks with similar stock where you can move fish out of a tank to use for a hospital tank. I've kinda used my tiny lil 1G for that from time to time. Move the betta to one of the other tanks and put a sick fish in there. Its not an ideal situation...I'd like to get a 5 that has a heater etc and leave it set up and running all the time. You could put that ammonia to use and just pop a bit of ammonia in every day or every other day and then if you need to use the tank do a 100% water change and your tank is still cycled and ready to go.
So there are no definite answers to your question. Kinda like the right size is in the eye of the beholder. If you have 4 tanks and they're all larger than 55Gallons...you're Idea of a quarentine tank is probably bigger than my biggest tank! If your biggest tank is smaller than 15...your idea of a quarentine tank is probably a 2.5 or a 5.
Hope that helps
I have an extra HOB filter that I keep on my 75 gallon. If I need to quarentine or treat, I take the filter and put it on a spare 10 gallon (or a big blue Rubbermaid tote) that I have lying around. Since I haven't had to treat any fish this way, when they are through with the quarentine, I just transfer the fish to their new home and plop the filter back in its place.
If I were to need to treat them, I would discard the media and sterilize everything with bleach before I used it again.
Two weeks is often the recommended quarentine duration. I figure if anything were to go wrong, it would probably happen within that time frame, usually within the first week.
If I were to need to treat them, I would discard the media and sterilize everything with bleach before I used it again.
Two weeks is often the recommended quarentine duration. I figure if anything were to go wrong, it would probably happen within that time frame, usually within the first week.
I have a spare Regent HOB...my bio-wheel 170 on my 29gal takes the same filters...so if needed, could I snag the filter media out of the 170 and put it in the Regent, slap it on say a 10 gallon tank (yes, slight overkill) and pretty much be good to go right?
anybody got a 10 gallon they want to get rid of? LOL
anybody got a 10 gallon they want to get rid of? LOL
That should work, twoluvcats. Ten gallon tanks can often be had on sale around $8. I don't really remember when or why I got my spare, much less how much it cost.
As I mentioned earlier, another option (although perhaps not quite as good) is a Rubbermaid or Tucker tote. The one I have is about 30 gallons and cost less than $10 I think. Dollar stores often have them at decent prices. The downside is that it is harder to see problems they might be having since you pretty much only get a top view.
As I mentioned earlier, another option (although perhaps not quite as good) is a Rubbermaid or Tucker tote. The one I have is about 30 gallons and cost less than $10 I think. Dollar stores often have them at decent prices. The downside is that it is harder to see problems they might be having since you pretty much only get a top view.
i have been wondering about hospital tanks. found this whilst searching. i have a 55g tank. i was thinking of getting a 10g for hospital purposes. could i not bring the 10g out of storage and do a water change into it when i was bringing new fish home? i don't think this would work well if i had a problem in my main tank. would it?
If you had extra filter media or an extra filter on your main 55 to use in the 10 when you set it up, sure it would work. As said above you dont need to have the tank setup all the time...but at the same time doing a water change and putting dirty water into a tank doesn't mean its cycled, so you'd need some way to put a cycled filter on the hospital tank. If you had a problem in your main tank chances are good that you should medicate the whole tank...but if its only one fish or you're getting new fish etc...then you should be able to isolate it into the hospital/quarentine tank to medicate there.
You'll also need a small heater, and an airstone is a good idea when using meds. Q tanks are best run as bare bottom jobs, easier to keep clean and less chance of any nasties remaining behind after treatment. Plastic plants are easier to sterilise if things do get nasty, and provide some cover for nervous newcomers.
Filter set-ups as descibed above, but be aware of the possibility of cross contamination when returned to the main tank. (And for the record, cycle bacteria die when dried out, so yes, they have to be kept running in the main tank)
Filter set-ups as descibed above, but be aware of the possibility of cross contamination when returned to the main tank. (And for the record, cycle bacteria die when dried out, so yes, they have to be kept running in the main tank)