Size of quarantine tank

[mybuggi]

Any ideas on what is a good size for quarantine tank?

[RMC]

a 10g ussually works fine unless you need to Q more than one fish at a time. Always worked for me.

[reeffish]

I agree a 10 gal unless you will be Qing a larger or more than a couple of fish at one time.

[DaveK]

A 10 gal tank is fine for one or two fish. However, if the tank size isn't a problem, I'd use a 20 gal. If I had only one or two fish to do, only fill it half full.

[Kirin1]

Could you provide (direct me to) some more detailed info on a quarantine tank? Obviously you want temp and water quality the same as the main tank, but what about the other stuff such as, filtration, lightnig, water movement, ect? How about LR and substrate? I'm thinking the simpler the better, but what's the minimum requirement?

[MDPinUSA]

Buggi it is great that you will use a Q tank.

Check this link. http://www.aquacraft.net/s9907.html

[reeffish]

Simpler is better. No live rock, no substrate, minimual lighting, sufficient flow for water movement and gas exchange, pvc tubes for fish to hide, heater to keep the water temp from dropping at night and a small HOB or internal filter (no carbon as it will remove the medications).

[olsaltybastard]

I use a 20G long. Gives the fish a little more room to swim and takes longer for the toxins to build up. I do lots of water changes, but the extra 10 gallons doesn't hurt.

[RonnieM]

I use a cheap 10gl with 40w of pc lighting and have two large handfuls of extra cheato in there for fish to hide in and get a snack.

[mlheppl]

I somewhat disagree w/ a 10g tank as a quarantine tank DEPENDING on the circumstances. A 10g tank is fine if you are only going to be keeping or purchasing smaller fish. If the fish are going to be a little bit larger like a 3 or 4 inch long tang then the 10g tank isn't going to cut it. I say get as big a QT as you've got room for. a 20gL or 30gL may be a better option if you plan on getting some bigger fish.

I made the mistake of trying to quarantine a 4" powder blue tang in a 10g tank one time. Aside from the fish being too big, tangs need a lot of swimming room and the 10g tank didn't have it. The tang stayed stressed and died before the QT period ended.

The bottom line is that you have to have a game plan and know the requirements of the fish that you plan on keeping BEFORE you buy them and before you set up a QT.

A QT should be a very simple system. Bare bottom, no LR and a simple filtration system. A tupperware container, with bioballs and a powerhead make a great filtration system for a QT. You should put some PVC fittings in the tank to give the fish something to hide in. This will help to reduce their stress level a bit by providing some hiding places. Here's a pic of a home made filter from one of our members.