Herefishie Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I am a newbie and I don't understand if I should always have a tank going (empty) in case I need it for medicating. I don't plan on buying any more fish anytime soon but if I ever notice any sick fish, do I need an established tank going or can I take my small 2.5 gallon and put in RO water when/if I need it? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavdad45 Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I always keep a 6gallon ready for emergency medical or to protect a baby from cannibalism. Even without licestock I keep it going with plants substrate, etc 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) I've got a 10 gallon that's supposed to be empty. It usually has something in it (currently young swordtails I'm worming and will put in a bigger tank soon). As long as I don't let the sponge die, it should remain able to take bioload "anytime". But the sponge usually goes to the permanent tank when they move and I end up pulling it back in as needed or pulling one out of one of the other tanks. My opinion is you should have at least one sponge filter in every established tank so that you have something to pull out for emergency purposes. Worst case have prime and stability on hand and cycle it with fish in it. Most times you're limitedly feeding fish in those situations anyway. Change a little extra water when that's happening. Edited January 18, 2023 by jwcarlson 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyM Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I have a platy overfill tank going that doubles as a snail jail and place for plant clippings from my main tank. The platys will be all given away at some point soon and I plan to leave it up, it's out of the way and having ready-to-go plant clippings is always handy and it'll double as my hospital/monitoring tank as needed 🤕. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 What I have would do is have an empty tank to hand and have a spare sponge filter running in the main tank if disease pops up you can add water from your main tank to the quarantine and the spare sponge filter that will be colonize with benefial bacterial it doesn't need to a big tank 5-10 gallons depending on the size is of fish you will be treating 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herefishie Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 That is an interesting idea. My tank is Fluval 15 gallon flex. The filter media is in the hidden compartment in the back. There's one extra compartment that is empty back there so if I just put the sponge that goes on a sponge filter in that compartment and left it there, would that work if I had to utilize a quarantine tank? I'm thinking I could just take that sponge out of that compartment and put it in the Quarantine tank if the time comes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Maybe not the full tank set up, but an extra sponge filter going in an existing tank so it can be easily moved to a quarantine/hospital tank is a good idea. I don’t keep a full set up running for risk of it being scaped and filled with Purdy new fish 😂 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 1/18/2023 at 10:03 PM, Herefishie said: That is an interesting idea. My tank is Fluval 15 gallon flex. The filter media is in the hidden compartment in the back. There's one extra compartment that is empty back there so if I just put the sponge that goes on a sponge filter in that compartment and left it there, would that work if I had to utilize a quarantine tank? I'm thinking I could just take that sponge out of that compartment and put it in the Quarantine tank if the time comes? As long as it has some flow going though the sponge it should be fine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 1/18/2023 at 2:03 PM, Herefishie said: tank is Fluval 15 gallon flex. The filter media is in the hidden compartment in the back. There's one extra compartment that is empty back there so if I just put the sponge that goes on a sponge filter in that compartment and left it there, would that work if I had to utilize a quarantine tank Yep, that would work. I actually have a flex9, I don't think there's anything wrong with double filtering. I run an ACO nano sponge in my Flex and it is backed by an air pump that has a lithium battery- so if the power goes out the sponge filter is still going. I can also use it immediately in any QT situation. If I can do that in a 9, you can certainly do that in a 15! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I agree with all of the above about keeping a spare sponge filter, then you'd just need to fill an otherwise empty, in-storage tank. But you don't even need a tank, at least not a "real" one. Rubbermaid totes work just as well and maybe be easier to store. @Irene has a good video on it: 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herefishie Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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