What do you do with a hospital/quarantine tank when it's unoccupied?

[SCM_2123]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

Very low and not relevant to this question

If yes, what is your nitrite?

Low and not relevant to this question

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

41-50%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but what do you do with a hospital/quarantine tank when its unoccupied? Do you just leave it running? Does it maintain the cycle of nothing is in it for a long time? If you don't have space under your main tank to store a smaller one do you just have some little tank with no fish that just sits in your living room? I've been having some diseases introduced to my tank and I think it'ss because I don't have a quarantine tank in my limited space.

 

[bkfamus]

I scape it and stock it.. then move the fish to other tanks or friends when the QT / Hospital is needed again. I can't have an empty tank in my house..

 

[SCM_2123]

What do you mean move them to friends? I don't have multiple tanks. Don't have the space right now.

 

[bkfamus]

I meant I have a few friends in the area that are hobbyists and most have more tanks than me.. If I can't just move the temporary QT tank stock to one of my other tanks, I just gift the fish to a friend. But you don't have to keep the QT tank stocked, that's just what I do.. You can stash the QT tank when not in use (space permitting) and keep seeded media in your main tank (sump or filter) to cycle your QT / Hospital tank when needed...

 

[SCM_2123]

What do you mean seeded media?

 

[danotaylor]

Media that is kept “cycled” in an occupied tank that can be moved to the hospital tank for an “instant” cycle. Some peeps run an extra sponge filter in a stocked to use as needed.
Some folks pull some mature sponge of ceramic media out of an estimating HOB or canister.
There’s numerous ways to do it.
Me personally, I keep my QT/hospital tank empty, and take media out of the sump on my big display tank if I need to QT or hospitalize

 

[jjohnwm]

My quarantines are usually pretty long, often several months, so getting some new fish might be what kicks me in the butt to take the last new acquisitions out of quarantine and put them into their permanent homes.

But generally speaking, I like the method laid out by danotaylor above. I always keep at least a couple of extra sponge filters in the sumps of my larger tanks, and when I need a quarantine tank in a hurry I can just fill an empty tank up, drop one of the spare sponges into it and thus have a fully-cycled hospital/quarantine tank almost instantly.

But, of course...I am capable of keeping empty tanks around, so...

 

[SCM_2123]

I don't use a sump so maybe an extra sponge filter or something.

 

[danotaylor]

I will add that I typically use a bare bottom tank for hospital & early stage QT just so I can remove all detritus & keep it squeaky clean

 

[duanes]

Much like jjohnwrm, I usually try to QT any new fish, for at least 3 months, before adding to a main tank.
That allows any latent diseases to become apparent, and allow the new fish to build up immunity to any bacteria in your already established system.
QT is not just to keep new fish separate, but also to slowly adapt the new fish to a bacteraial load the new fish may be subjected to in the old system.

Because I use sumps, I always have a unoccupied tank already in line, always cycled and ready to accept new fish.
I then take that tank off line, to sequester those new fish, and add water .from the system they are to live in

Without a sump system, It will be necessary to keep some fish in that QT tank to keep it cycled, and the filtration seeded, unless you want to tear it down, and start over every time a new fish is bought..
Having and extra filter system running on a tank you can switch over to the QT tank from another tank is also a good way to eliminate recycling each time a new fish is purchased.