QT set up

[blondeyny]

OK so now here is my conundrum. There are 2 options I am looking at. It will not be a permanently running QT set up. Which one will be the best?

- Use the 2 gal acrylic tank I already have, and don't bother trying to cycle it etc. , but still run a possibly seeded filter in it. Maybe even add a bag of seeded gravel. Run the risk of it being tinted due to possible meds, and possibly overstocked by what I may need to put in QT.

OR

- Buy a 5 gal glass tank kit, put some possibly seeded media in filter, and possibly some bagged seeded gravel. Will most likely not be overstocked and won't stain due to meds. Kit is $30

* I say possibly seeded because my 10 gal is just finishing cycling now. So not sure how seeded the media/gravel will be.

I plan on setting it up when I need it, so of course, neither tank will probably be seeded enough to be cycled in the time frame of the 2 weeks I would generally be needing it for. Either way, I will probably have to do wc's almost every day right? Is it really worth spending the money on a new 5 gal when I have the 2 gal already?

What one would you guys do???

[phoenix]

I recommend looking on craigslist. Ours is flooded with people selling 10 gallon tanks, and their complete set up is always less than $30. If you really want a 5 gallon you could probably post that and what you are willing to pay for it and someone is bound to have a used 5 gallon set up gathering dust in their garage.

You don't want to overstock a 2 gallon aquarium, especially one that hasn't been cycled yet.

As for cycling I can't help you. Do you have extra foam in your current filter? If not you might add some now so that when you do set up your qt tank you can move the old filter media over and keep the newer filter media in the current tank.

[andywoolloo]

what fish do you have that have the potential to be QT'd? That depends no the size of your QT tank. Or might you get, i guess.

[andywoolloo]

what fish do you have that have the potential to be QT'd? That would surely determine what size QT tank you need. Or might you get, i guess.

Or are you asking how to run it or wether or not to set it up and run it always or just when needed?

[blondeyny]

I guess I've decided to just buy a 5 gal kit. Didn't want to spend the money on yet ANOTHER tank, but I guess it's better this way. At least if I have to do meds, the glass 5 won't stain, and there is more room. I have tried to find used 5 gals with no success.Walmart has a 5 gal kit for $30.

However, I don't plan on running it full time. Just when needed. So I put in whatever seeded media/gravel I may have, and let it run. I will still have to do water changes I assume being that it won't be cycled.

[phoenix]

Originally Posted by blondeyny

I plan on setting it up when I need it, so of course, neither tank will probably be seeded enough to be cycled in the time frame of the 2 weeks I would generally be needing it for. Either way, I will probably have to do wc's almost every day right?

It is possible to have virtually no cycling if you set up your qt with enough material from a cycled tank. I set up a 10 gal with 3 lbs gravel, a small rock and a couple small plastic plants (all from the 2.5 I was upgrading from) and it never registered any Am or Ni.

[blondeyny]

Yeah but for a QT tank I don't want a substrate to have to deal with. So a bag of gravel and some filter media I don't think would do it. Especially since my tank is just getting done being cycled.

[Pris]

Filter media has the greatest amount of beneficial bacteria. Jump starting a cycle with filter media works much better than gravel and decorations anyway. Gravel is not necessary in a qt tank.

blondeyny, I'm not certain I understand your concern over not having enough bacteria in the filter media. It is nearly impossible to cycle a qt tank when there are no fish in it. Any bacteria you add will die. So unless you need the qt tank immediately, I would not worry about not having enough bacteria in the filter media. By the time you are ready to purchase more fish, the tank should be cycled. If it isn't, then you should not be adding fish.

And if you need the qt tank now to treat something, then using the filter media will help. It may not totally cycle the tank, but it will still help.