is my qt ready??

[trillyen]

ok when i started up my qt tank i just added water from my existing tank that has been up for about 3 months, and ro/di water

its been up now for about a week, and i just threw a sponge in there tonight that had been in my reef tank for about a week

all i have for filtration is a biowheel, a ammonia sponge, a sock with carbon in it, and a few sponges like i said earlier

would it be ok to start putting in fish tomorrow????

thanks, and is there anything more i can do to the tank???

ohh, i also bought a ph stabilizer today that butterfly gurl recommended!!!

 

[trillyen]

my qt tank!!! now

is the pvc ok???

 

[joker577]

The only thing is you don't want carbon in the QT because if you dose with medicine the carbon will absorb it

 

[trillyen]

ohh ok thank ill be sure to take it out when I use, or if I use the ick stuff.

But for now I'm just planning on doing a hypo salinity treatment.

I was wondering how ever though if the pvc I have in there now is ok for for the tank.

I may also get some ceramic floor tile to put off in there.

thanks for the comment though!

 

[joker577]

Pvc is fine to put in there, as long as you cleaned it...which I'm guessing you probably did

 

[drummereef]

The PVC is fine. I would make sure the tank isn't cycling though. I don't know how long it would take for the sponge to be ready for the QT...

 

[NaH2O]

Ideally it takes a few weeks for the sponge to get completely ready, but in a pinch a week would be OK (IMO). When I recommended a week, it was because you had a fish that needed QT as soon as possible. I would recommend before you add a fish in there, make a bunch of water, so you have it on hand. Test, test, test ammonia nitrites and nitrates after you add the fish, and do large water changes when necessary. The information I gave you on the other thread about quarantine tanks and hyposalinity should help you know when you need a water change. What fish are you going to put in there first? The one from the existing tank that had the trigger in it?

 

[trillyen]

thanks peeps, im gonna put in the fox face, a jewel damsel, a yellow tail blue damsel, and a humbug damsel.

yes i cleaned the pvc, :lol:

yes i think i need to read that qt tank thread you gave me over cause i missed that part

thanks again for the link, i need to print it out tonight

thanks!!!

 

[james734]

What's with all the damsel's? Beware that they can get very territorial & aggressive. I have 1 yellow tail blue and when I put my hand in the tank and even think of getting close to his home I get the little nip of the devil fish.
I can't remove he/she/it since it was the first fish to be put in the tank and has been in there 2-1/2 yrs. now.

Don't get me wrong I like the looks of them, just can be a little aggressive.

 

[NaH2O]

trillyen - are these fish you already have to put through hypo, or are these new fish you're getting?

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I wouldn't get anymore new fish till you've got your existing fish healthy and back in the display. Don't get in a hurry

 

[trillyen]

ohh, im not im just gonna wait about another 10 wks before i get a new fish

my tanks will be good and matured by then, and i may get a emporer angel before i get that clown trig

a huge juvi emporer angel wont mess with a tiny juvi clown trig will it???

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

IMO..Your tank isn't big enough to house these two fish. I really wouldn't trust a grown Clown Trigger with any other fish, they are known to grow up and terrorize , even kill their tankmates.

 

[trillyen]

i know thats why i have plans of setting up a 400 gallon tank in my living room

wouldnt my recent tank be ok for a juvi emporer, and a juvi clown for about 2 years or is that 2 long???

when there little they are really a toss up of a whole lot of different personalities

i was wanting to buy jeremys big tank they had setting up on its side at pa, but he wouldnt sell it

i was gonna take a loan out for like 5 grand to buy it that day.

id rather have a long tank then a tall tank

i dont know i may just wait till i get my 400 gl, to get my emporer angel, but i really would hate to wait that long!!!

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I'd wait till you get a larger tank if you plan on upgrading..

Oh BTW...What PH product did you buy? PH Stablizer sounds like a freshwater product? I used Kent Supperbuffer during Hypo

 

[NaH2O]

Don't forget to qt and hyposalinity treat the fish that lived with the clown trigger before you get any more fish in that tank! It needs to be fishless for about 6 weeks so all the ich is gone, while the fish is in treatment. Otherwise this qt tank will be a waste of time, as far as ich goes. Hope that makes sense.

I also agree with Bttrflygrl - wait until you actually have the larger tank before you go and buy the angel. You never know what will happen down the road. It will also take you time before the tank is set-up, cycled, and ready for fish, once you it's in your house. You could spend time looking for a healthy angel after you have the tank.

 

[trillyen]

trillyen - are these fish you already have to put through hypo, or are these new fish you're getting?

these are the fish i already have, only reason is becvause i knew they had the same tempers as the clown trig, and the foxface was venomus, thats the ONLY reason why i got damsels

yeah b-fly gurl you had me get that super buffer

thats what im gonna be using also!!

 

[trillyen]

ok just tested my qt tanks nitrate,trites, and ammonia

and my ammonia was just a little high, but my nitrites was pretty high

thats how it goes right????

ammonia spikes 1st, then your nitrites, them trates correct???

should i do a water change or should i just let it do its thing???

I thought since i used most of the water from my display i wouldnt have a cycle???

 

[trillyen]

bump
bump
bump

 

[krisfal]

trillyen,
I am going to take a stab at your question; although, I am still relatively new at this hobby (I bought my first marine fish one year ago today). Hopefully someone else will jump in if I get anything incorrect.

It is my understanding that our QT setups do not have enough of a biological filtration to totally control ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. We use a seeded sponge to help control these, but to keep the levels in check in the QT, frequent and large water changes are required. Without the liverock, macro-algea etc. there are not enough of the beneficial bacteria to control ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and I do not believe the QT will ever truely cycle and stabalize such as we see in our display tanks. The water changes are the key to keeping the parameters at a level safe enough for the fish in the QT.

By the way I just want to say I really respect the way you are going about this. You are taking the time to learn and listening to the people who offer you advise here. Unfortunately, too many people post good questions here, get good advise from the knowledgable folks on this forum and then they seem to ignore it and just go out and buy the "miracle cure" from the LFS.

To quote my Weight Watchers leader the only "miracle cure" is salt water. Sweat, tears, and the sea. Sweat represents the hard work we put into obtaining our goals, tears of frustration when things don't go right and tears of hapiness when the do go right and finally the sea which represents relaxation. We are fornuate in this hobby to have a bit of the sea in our house, nothing is more relaxing than to sit in front of our little pieces of the ocean, for hours, and whatch all of its inhabitants (even those little inhabitants that can only be seen with a flashlight on a sleepless night).

Now while I degressed there for a moment my point is I believe the only cure for your QT is salt water. I pretty much keep a fresh batch mixing the whole time I am running my QT with a fish in it. When I see any traces of ammonia, nitrites or my nitrates are getting too high (fish are ok with a bit of nitrates) then I do a large water change to bring the levels down.