Lets talk about Quantine Tanks

[Axredx]

So, I have not had a chance to scroll thru all these great threads and I hope I'm not asking for something that is already there. So my question is simple. How to set up a quarantine tank, say a 20 gallon. I'm thinking bare bottom with sponge air filter, heater to warm up, and a combo of meds. How easy it it to cycle a clear tank with nothing? I never tried one, but I'm getting ready to have one as I hate treating a whole tank if its not necessary. I would love advice on how to go about it. I have seen lots of videos that show quarantine tanks but never how to do from scratch and maintain for when you need. I thank everyone in advance for great advice.  BTW, I'm really loving this forum, all the peeps here are friendly, polite, and the combined experience of 8k+ members. I'll be darn if I don't learn something everyday. Thanks

[Zenzo]

Yes, a bare bottom tank is just fine. You can cycle it just like any other aquarium. To keep the bacteria alive, simply sprinkle in some fish food every few days. 

[nabokovfan87]

This might be a good place to start!

It covers a lot of the questions you have.
 

 

[Patrick_G]

Using an cycled sponge filter from another tank is a great way to cycle a quarantine tank. You can keep the extra sponge going in a display tank and just set up the QT tank when you need it, or you can leave the QT tank set up all the time. My problem is empty tanks tend to get stocked 😁