How big for a quarantine tank ?

by **rick1221** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:18 pm

hey i m thinking of seting up a quarintine tank and i was wondering how big should i get it, because i just saw on walt mart a 5g tank with filter an light for 40 bucks and i was wondering if i could just put 7lbs of live sand and 5-8lbs of live rock from my stablish tank to it, and just use it like a quarintine tank. can i do that? or that would be more like a nano tank, for the record i just want the little tank to look nice and cozy for the new guy.

by **dick_headers** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:58 pm

Great idea, but don't worry about "cozyness" too much. Instead make sure that the water parameters are right on the spot. Quarantine tanks also can be used as hospital for sick or mistreated fishes.Copper based medication are very useful when it comes to fish diseases.. But live rocks wouldn't appreciate copper based treatments. I don't like too much fake ornaments myself, but in this case I'd rather put some in there instead of live rocks. Base rock also a great solution for decoration.

If you'd spend another 15 bucks you could easily set up a 10G quarantine.

by **rick1221** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:24 pm

thanks man, i forgot that i can actually buy fake rocks or decorations so i dont damage anything. i ll probably would get so nice fake rocks and other stuff so it could look cool. thanks again

by **fihsboy** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:50 pm

I would go with the 10 gallon as well. Go get yourself a little deco nano filter or an aqua clear 10. And you would be running within a week or two. Great Idea! now i have to go do this.

by **rick1221** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:53 pm

yeah i like the idea of a 10 but i dont want to get out of budget, i really dont want to take to much time on it too. i really think that if i get a 5gl tank and i just buy one fish at a time i ll be ok, maybe 2 or 3 damsels at a time i would be able to handle it. i dont have the space to get a 10 anyway, well if someone here can give me a link or tell me where can i get a 10gl tank rally cheap and the other components i ll be glad to improvise and get the 10gl

by **zambize** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:59 pm

I'm in freshwater, but I just set up a Q tank and I bought a 20 gallon because it was about $5 or $10 more than the 10 gallon I was looking at. I thought it was overkill, but I've really used it. Just yeserday I saw a fish that I had been looking for, hard to find around here, and luckily I had room for it in addition to what I had "planned".

I have also found that it allows me to really have an adequate amount of safe space like caves and plants for scared newbies, and still have plenty of space to swim. If I need something similar again, I'll go with a 20 gallon. I don't see that it has cost me more than a 10 gallon.

Good luck,
Zambize

by **fihsboy** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:05 am

The 10 gallon is only going to be (maybe) 20-30 bucks more in the long run. Yeah extra salt water here and there....but it will be worth it. And what happens if you get a tang or something that needs a little space. A 5 gallon is going to make them worse than they were before if you use it as a hospital tank.

How big for a quarantine tank ?

7 posts