QT/ Hospital tank???

[haftafish]

I am a bit confused about the difference between a hospital tank and a QT tank. Don't they both do the same? I have a 55g that i us for qt.

Thanks.
Erik

[T Diddy]

Erik,

those terms are loosely interchangable. A hospital tank implies treatment...could be used for any number of purposes, but this is typically where you would treat fish by means not suitable for your reef inhabitants. Quarantine is simply for observation. QT may house fish, or invertebrates.
For example, prior to introducing new snails, hermits, corals, live rock, etc, one may QT these organisms for a given period of time to be sure that no bad hitchhikers are present.

hope this helps

[Ron Reefman]

Erik,

I have a full time QT set up because I do collect something most every time I go to the beach, snorkeling or diving. And I keep every wild critter (shrimp, snails, crabs, sea cucumbers, sea stars, gorgonians, palys, macro algae, anemones and fish) I collect in the QT for at least 6-10 weeks. But the QT has LR, a sump and more. So if I need to treat an animal I set up a 10 or 20 gallon temporary Hospital tank. I don't want treatment chemicals screwing up the QT.

[haftafish]

Thanks for the replies. So i'll keep my qt as is. I too have it set up with LR and a sump. I figure its a hotel for them until they go to their new home. lol But i guess i'll pick up a small tank to use as a hospital in case i need it. I don't have much in my tank yet because it's still new 5 months old. But that will change once i start getting into my softies.:-)

@ Ron Reefman, Do you keep your hospital tank up and running or do you fill it when needed?

Thanks again...

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by haftafish

@ Ron Reefman, Do you keep your hospital tank up and running or do you fill it when needed?

Thanks again...

I only set the HT up when it's needed. That has only been once in 7 years. And even then it was to treat a friend's fish with ich. None of the collected wildlife I've put in my tank has ever caused a problem... but I'm still very careful. It only takes 1to cause major problems and the potential to kill lots of expensive critters (including corals).
BTW, in the HT I rely on water changes rather than LR or filter colonies of bacteria to remove ammonia. And I take the water from my DT for the HT and add new saltwater to the DT.

[Ron Reefman]

The dreaded double post! Why doesn't RC allow the poster a way to delete these things?

[Bens_Reef]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I only set the HT up when it's needed. That has only been once in 7 years. And even then it was to treat a friend's fish with ich. None of the collected wildlife I've put in my tank has ever caused a problem... but I'm still very careful. It only takes 1to cause major problems and the potential to kill lots of expensive critters (including corals).
BTW, in the HT I rely on water changes rather than LR or filter colonies of bacteria to remove ammonia. And I take the water from my DT for the HT and add new saltwater to the DT.

this sounds like a very solid method, no guesswork to the water quality

[thegrun]

The only problem with a QT set up the way Ron describes is that they tend to morph into another nano-reef tank (mine did), and you end up having to set up yet another tank for actual quarantine!

[haftafish]

Thanks again for the info... Very much appreciated. Just trying to do everything right the first time.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by thegrun

The only problem with a QT set up the way Ron describes is that they tend to morph into another nano-reef tank (mine did), and you end up having to set up yet another tank for actual quarantine!

That is a very distinct possibility, however, if I tried to my wife wouldn't be very happy. And that's way more important to me than another tank. Ha! She is my main snorkel partner and we love the long weekends we do in the Keys. So I kind of have this huge tank that we visit and snorkel in 4-6 times a year. But I fully expect that the QT will end up with some full time occupants from our local waters only. And I do get to trade away the odd sea star, anemone, sea cucumber or gorgonian for a coral frag here or there with others in our club. And remember that the collecting we do is all under licensing by the state of Florida.