Quarantine Tank

[ChemBob]

Quarantine Tanks. Do you always keep them running, or do you break them down after every fish? If you keep them running, do you float hornwort or something similar in it for cover? And do you keep a small fish or some snails in there to keep the cycle running and healthy? I just bought a 10 gallon tank to quarantine new fish in, and am trying to set it up right.

[MickS77]

I keep two 10 gallon tanks up and running as quarantine tanks. I have a sponge filter in each one. I only use plastic plants so I can clean them easily. I keep a couple Zebra Danios in each tank all the time, I'll move the Danios if it get crowded in the tanks. 

[KBOzzie59]

I keep at least one running in case I need a timeout tank.  When I do use that tank for quarantine (with fish from trusted sources) I'll only break it down if I've had to medicate (drain and rinse with hot water).  When I get fish from un-tested sources I will automatically medicate so a cycled tank is not that important (in my opinion) because you will be doing water changes per the meds directions.  Bottom line, it's all about personal preferences.  And as @MickS77 said, use fake plants for ease of cleanup.

[RyanR]

My first question on this forum was about this same topic that you can see here to give you a little more information.  I keep mine running and right now I am still floating water sprite that is doing INCREDIBLE.  It was gone from what you see in the picture on that post to covering almost the entire tank.  I put some pond snails in it to sort help keep it cycled and I'm going to add a couple of zebra danios back in it.  It's sitting on a wire shelf in my storage room and I don't care what it looks like because it's out of the way and it's a QT.  I just try to keep it very simple.

[Nataku]

Nope I don't keep my quarantine tank set up. I keep spare sponge filters running in several of my tanks. Whenever I need to set up my quarantine, I fill it up, dechlorinate it and transfer a sponge filter from one of my main tanks to the quarantine, so it will be instantly cycled. I then take a dry sponge filter (I keep spares) and put it into the main tank I just took the other sponge filter out of so it can begin growing a new BB colony.

I usually also throw a handful of dwarf salvinia into the quarantine for floater cover and some guppy grass or hornwort, whichever tank is closer that I can stick my arm in. The fish remain in quarantine until they are cleared to go to their permanent homes.

After the fish go into the main tank, I break down the quarantine tank. I throw out all the salvinia and guppy grass/hornwort (I grow tons, once it comes out of a main tank it does not go back in). Tank is drained and washed out - I use a vinegar solution and lots of rinsing and then put away into a cabinet once dried, to sit until it is needed again. The sponge filter is rinsed out thoroughly under tap water and then it is also left out to dry. It then goes back into the pile of dry sponge filters waiting to go back into a tank next time I set the quarantine tank back up and need to replace the sponge filter from the main tank.

Why don't I leave a quarantine tank set up? Because I'd  be too tempted to make it a permanent home for something. And because I want to make sure anything that could have ended up in the quarantine tank is 100% dead before the next batch of fish goes in. I don't know any aquatic parasites that survive a dry, washed tank and filter.