How to start up a QT? DT has Brooklynella

[Jayuh]

Hi! I'm new to this forum, and after a couple hours trying to find answers around the web and not finding much, I thought I'd ask yall.

 

So 2 months ago I started up a 10g tank with about 12lbs of LR. It cycled thru, I waited an extra week as a buffer, and I stocked if with 2 false percs from my LFS. After acclimating them for 2 hours, I placed them in my tank. If you read my title, you'd gather that they both caught Brooklynella and didn't make it a week .

 

Right now I'm running my tank fishless except for a few inverts, and will be for the next several weeks.

 

My question is, how do I set up and cycle a quarantine tank in the mean time? I have man old tank somewhere in garage I can convert. All the things I've read said to either add water from DT water changes, or take some filter medium from the DT, but I'm almost positive I'd just spread the parasite around doing either one. Do I just cycle it the old fashion way, seed it with some new live rock and take it out later? Suggestions?

[Mariaface]

If I were you, I'd only seed it with pure ammonia and some kind of bacterial additive. It's completely possible that live rock will bring in just as much, if not more disease when compared to some filter medium from your tank. If you don't believe in bacterial additives or just don't want to use one, that's fine, it just means you may take a bit longer to cycle. And to be quite honest, if you're going to be treating for bacterial disease in the quarantine tank you'll be resetting the cycle to square one, so it may not be worth it.

 

If the quarantine tank isn't for preemptively medicating incoming fish, but just for holding and observing until the display tank is done being fallow, by all means start up a cycle before adding any livestock. Monitor ammonia, and when your bacteria can get through 1-2ppm of ammonia and leave no traces of ammonia/nitrite within 24 hours, you'll be fine. :]

[Tamberav]

Many people don't cycle a QT at all. They just do large water changes every few days to keep ammonia low and dose prime in between.

 

If you have to treat your fish with copper, ect, this will retard the bacteria anyways.

 

If you want to cycle it, you will need a sponge or some medium for decent amount of bacteria to live on. Then you can just add ammonia or even fish food and let it cycle. I would not cycle with live rock, if you had to treat the fish, you would need to remove the rock anyways.

[lkoechle]

if it is a temporary qt, a lot of people don't cycle at all and use purigen, do daily water changes and close monitor water quality. I don't cycle my qt tanks, like the previous poster said, most medication would kill it all anyways. I use an ammonia badge so I can readily see if there's any ammonia, do daily water changes, use purigen (if not medicating, only observing) and keep Prime on hand for emergencies if I have no water ready for an emergency change and need to buy some time.

[DVaDeR77]

From what I've read and plan to do myself 10 gallon tank, hang on back filter, heater basic bulb and some PVC pipe for hiding and fresh salt water. Its a qt tank no need for live rock as its only up to at you fish for short periods of time. Hope this helps.