How to setup a quarantine tank.

You can use a tank which can be either glass or acrylic - it does not matter which, neither does it need to be large. Think about it how many fish are you actually going to be keeping in it - one, possibly two. Of course if you keep large fish then you need to take this into consideration when planning your quarantine tank.

In the tank put a very fine scattering of sand over the base - this is not for filtration, decoration or any other purpose - it is purely for the benefit of the fish which will temporarily inhabit this quarantine tank. Before placing the sand into the tank ensure that you clean it well and if possible run a magnet over it to remove any metal which may be in there.

Place a couple of pots or rocks in ensuring that they are stable - these are so that the fish have somewhere to hide.

Nothing else needs to go into the aquarium - other than the essential kit needed.

Obviously a heater is required but due to the size of the quarantine aquarium probably a small one will suffice.

Fill the aquarium with water - water from your aquarium when doing a water change will suffice

Now we need a biological filter. For this use either an internal filter or a small external canister filter. This filter will need to be matured ready for use. This can be done using filter maturation fluid. Another way is to connect the filter to your main aquarium and use your main display aquarium water to mature the filter. Of course you cannot keep the filter connected to your main aquarium. As soon as it is matured remove it and place it in the quarantine tank.

You will need a small power head for circulation unless the filter you choose has sufficient power to create water movement. Ensure when you locate this in your aquarium that you have no dead spots. You do not want a large amount of water movement just gentle water circulation.

You will need lighting but small fluorescent tubes will perform this task well. It’s only use is for a day night cycle.

Now all you need to do is keep the biological filter active so that it is ready for when you may need to use it. Again really simple just put some food in it a couple of times a week, when this decomposes it will be converted by the filtration.

That’s it - it really is simple, that why I am amazed that more people do not use them,

Be interesting to know how many of our readers actually use one - it would be great if you could leave a comment and let us know.

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Tags: marine-fish-disease, quarantine-tank, saltwater-fish-disease

Why don’t more aquarists use a quarantine tank?

To this day it still amazes me how few aquarists actually use a [tag-tec]quarantine[/tag-tec] tank within their home aquarium setup.

Instead of using a quarantine system they are more than happy to risk all the animals when introducing a new member into the aquarium.

I appreciate that there is only a small slight when purchasing new fish, corals etc however the risk is there and it is not something which should be taken lightly.

All responsible aquarists should follow some basic guidelines which it comes to purchasing new animals. Actually it probably goes back a bit further than that - the word I should have used is ‘researching’. [Read more]

Tags: acclimitise, fish-disease, fish-stress, quarantine-tank