Quaruntine Tank setup...
- Thread starter edaskalos
- Start date
My hospital/quarintine tank is a 10 gallon, bare bottom with filter, airstone and heater. Thats it. No lights. You can put a pot in there on it's side for shelter if you want. Simple is best so that you can clean it easily. You need to set it up with a filter so that when your done medicating you can add the carbon to remove the medication from the water. An airstone is neccessary because alot of medications use a lot of oxygen up during there window of action and the heater, even if the ambient temp keeps the tank at 77 or so, many medications require you to raise the temp. So thats basically it.
a cheap one. hehe. Some people only use a sponge filter, but you want to be able to use carbon when you need to clean the medication out of the tank. I just bought one of those 10 gallon "starter" kits for 50 bucks that had the filter, tank, hood, and heater, and air pump in it. I think it has a whisper in it.
I run a simple spounge filter in mine, but I also have the cheap 'disposable' filters that have carbon in them. They are just like a spoung filter, in that you attach the airline, but they have carbon inside them as well. That way if you are in a non-medicating stage (such as isolating an aggressive fish) you can have a carbon setup. They're like $5 for a pack of 2.
i have a 5g hospital tank with an airstone, sponge filter, barebottom, and a piece of PVC pipe for shelter. since i keep natives, no heater is necessary. i also keep egg crating over the top. i like sponge filters for a QT tank becuase they're cheap and you can rinse & reuse the sponge. i know this is probably a bad idea, but i dont' keep water in it -- instead, *when* i have a problem, i just siphon water out of my two existing tanks........
anything is better than nothing when it comes to a hospital tank IMHO. you'll be happy you have one set up when it comes time to disease. all you need is a tank that can accomidate even your largest fish, a heater (if trops), and filter without carbon. an airstone is helpful if your filter doesn't do a good job at water movement.
anything is better than nothing when it comes to a hospital tank IMHO. you'll be happy you have one set up when it comes time to disease. all you need is a tank that can accomidate even your largest fish, a heater (if trops), and filter without carbon. an airstone is helpful if your filter doesn't do a good job at water movement.
Ive never had to use it... but I have a 1.5 gallon.
My plan is to simply scoop out aqaurium water put it in with the fish, do daily 50% water changes, using aquarium water.
Nothing but small tank, fish, aqaurium water, and a heater plus meds.
I think its a very good way to care for a sick fish. fresh, clean cycled water everyday.
My plan is to simply scoop out aqaurium water put it in with the fish, do daily 50% water changes, using aquarium water.
Nothing but small tank, fish, aqaurium water, and a heater plus meds.
I think its a very good way to care for a sick fish. fresh, clean cycled water everyday.
We have a 10g barebottomed tank with a cave for some cover and a few floating plant clippings, just because they're lying around. Barebottom is best, as you don't have to worry about anything in the gravel, and if necessary, you can easily break down the tank and bleach or sterilize it. It's also much easier to see the fish, and there's no problem with the "did it die or is it hiding" questions.
A heater is really important, as you often need to raise temps, etc. We have an airstone in there too, just to make sure it's well oxygenated if we need to medicate.
We use a filter that has the same type of filter cartridge as other tanks we have. This means we can add a "cycled" filter pad very easily. You should be able to add carbon to the setup or take it out completely, as necessary. Generally, old carbon won't remove meds anyway.
A heater is really important, as you often need to raise temps, etc. We have an airstone in there too, just to make sure it's well oxygenated if we need to medicate.
We use a filter that has the same type of filter cartridge as other tanks we have. This means we can add a "cycled" filter pad very easily. You should be able to add carbon to the setup or take it out completely, as necessary. Generally, old carbon won't remove meds anyway.
