# Quarantine Tank



## hell on wheels (Sep 16, 2007)

Hey All,

Glad I found this place, I have been a reading fool since finding you guys and have learned a lot. Found out I am doing a few things wrong. Therefore I have a couple stupid questions for you.

1) How large of a quarantine tank do I need?

2)When I purchase a new fish, how long should it stay in the seperate tank before moving into my main tank.

3)I need to purchase more live rock for my tank. Do I need to let the LR sit in a quarantine tank for 6 weeks before placing into my tank?

4)What are the essentials that I need for a quarantine tank? Meaning do I need sand for it, LR skimmer, powerheads ect?

Sorry for the questions, I'm very new to this hobby and I love it. I do not know much, hence the dumb questions. As of this moment I do not have a quarantine tank, after reading here, I need to go purchase one, and just need some info on it.

Thanks


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

A quarantine tank can be as small as 5g or as large as you need it. It should be large enough in regards to the fish you keep. If one falls ill you want it to be comfortable for the couple of weeks it may be in there.

To quarantine new additions you ought to wait about 3 weeks or longer, until you feel comfortable there are no parasites and the fish is eating well.

To quarantine for illness remove the fish and put it in the hospital tank while treating.

A simple 10g with HOT filter works well. You don't need any rock or sand except for visual appeal. The tank can be broken down and treated with bleach when not in use.


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## hell on wheels (Sep 16, 2007)

Thanks for the info, very helpful. 
One last question, does live rock need to be placed into a seperate tank and run the 6 week cycle before placing into the main tank?


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Depens upon where you get it from. We have several outlets here in Austin, some only sell fully cured and others sell "fresh" rock. You generally pay a $1 more for cured rock as they've had it in stock for about a month on a tank with a huge skimmer. Our local has 4 1,000g rubber maid tubs that they cycle rock in. The first is for the freshest rock, each week it goes into a cleaner tank until it reaches the last tank and is ready for selling. If there is nasty stuff hanging from it or smells like death, it needs to be cured. If it does not smell like that it may be close to ready. One trick I used to fill a 20g was to only buy coral. Buying full of zoas or mushrooms can sometimes be cheaper than buying rock. I got a few pieces of rock in the 3-5lb range for $24 completely covered in zoa or mushrooms. That's the same price or less than I would have paid had I gotten it from the rock bin.


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## hell on wheels (Sep 16, 2007)

Thanks for the info. Both my lfs sell the live rock already cycled. Since I am new to this, I wasn't real sure even though it is cycled if since it is 'live rock' there is any chance of bringing home some funky illness to my fish. Thanks again.

Since I started this a few months ago, I have fgured out that I have done a few things incorrectly. I just want to make sure I don't lose any fish in the process of my severe learning curve so to speak.


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