hospital tank question???

danielmanlee · 08/29/2007, 05:10 PM

Ok... I will be getting a 20 gal tank today to setup as hospital tank to treat brooklynella..
here is the list of equipment i have:

20 gal tank
heater..
aqua clear hob filter
PVC tube

how can I get this tank setup up ASAP... the reason i say this is because my hob filter was in the cabinet for a while so there are no biological bateria in it... Do I need to go through the nitrogen cycle first? is there a quicker way so I can treat my fish inmediately? My clown is not looking well
Please advise

DetectiveTofu · 08/29/2007, 05:23 PM

Hm, I always keep a small sponge filter in the back of my larger tank just in case I need to put it into my quarantine tank. You can put a sponge filter (or some sort of bio media) into another established tank to let some bacterial colonies grow on it. Meanwhile I think in a 20gal. tank with one clown, you should be okay...just keep the feedings sparse and definitely keep up with the water changes to dilute any waste. After two weeks or so add the bio media from established tank into the quarantine tank.

danielmanlee · 08/29/2007, 05:29 PM

thx for the reply rhythmicfire.. I was planning to add my blue tang, coral beauty and the goby along with the clown since they are expose to the disease... will that be danger to have 4 fishes in a 20 gal hospital tank? will the filtration be enough to support them through the treament period?

Randall_James · 08/29/2007, 05:37 PM

if you are treating for brook, you have no time for any cycle or bacteria growth. (brook kills very quickly and leaves no time for procrastination)

You need to get the fish into treatment and start mixing water like mad. About day 2-3 the ammonia is going to start going sky high, you will need to do 50%+ water changes to keep the water safe for the fish. I typically use water from display and then replace the water in display with my freshly mixed water.

danielmanlee · 08/29/2007, 05:48 PM

Thx Randall.. I was thinking the same way, use the display tank water as a water chg supply since the main tank will be fellon anyway..

08/29/2007, 05:10 PM	#1
danielmanlee Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 183	hospital tank question??? Ok... I will be getting a 20 gal tank today to setup as hospital tank to treat brooklynella.. here is the list of equipment i have: 20 gal tank heater.. aqua clear hob filter PVC tube how can I get this tank setup up ASAP... the reason i say this is because my hob filter was in the cabinet for a while so there are no biological bateria in it... Do I need to go through the nitrogen cycle first? is there a quicker way so I can treat my fish inmediately? My clown is not looking well Please advise

08/29/2007, 05:37 PM	#4
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	if you are treating for brook, you have no time for any cycle or bacteria growth. (brook kills very quickly and leaves no time for procrastination) You need to get the fish into treatment and start mixing water like mad. About day 2-3 the ammonia is going to start going sky high, you will need to do 50%+ water changes to keep the water safe for the fish. I typically use water from display and then replace the water in display with my freshly mixed water. __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

08/29/2007, 05:23 PM	#2
DetectiveTofu Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,150	Hm, I always keep a small sponge filter in the back of my larger tank just in case I need to put it into my quarantine tank. You can put a sponge filter (or some sort of bio media) into another established tank to let some bacterial colonies grow on it. Meanwhile I think in a 20gal. tank with one clown, you should be okay...just keep the feedings sparse and definitely keep up with the water changes to dilute any waste. After two weeks or so add the bio media from established tank into the quarantine tank.

08/29/2007, 05:29 PM	#3
danielmanlee Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 183	thx for the reply rhythmicfire.. I was planning to add my blue tang, coral beauty and the goby along with the clown since they are expose to the disease... will that be danger to have 4 fishes in a 20 gal hospital tank? will the filtration be enough to support them through the treament period?

08/29/2007, 05:48 PM	#5
danielmanlee Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 183	Thx Randall.. I was thinking the same way, use the display tank water as a water chg supply since the main tank will be fellon anyway..