How to setup an emergency tank in one day !

[flamenco-t]

Since I have seen so many questions on cycling a tank, I'd figured I'd add this post to make it clear to everyone on an emergency basis.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, I have no scientific fact behind my way of setting up a tank. I didn't come with all this, this is simply knwoledge I have gathered from the past. I am in no way responsible of your outcome by doing the exact thing I am doing. I am not making you do this...this is to serve as guidance.

Scenario: You have an established tank and an emergency such as ich emerge and you need to isolate a fish to separate hospital tank.

1. Grab the new tank, fill it up 25 % with new water. Preferably aged water, but new tap with dechlorinator will work as well

2. Fill the rest of the tank with the old tank water. Some may say that OLD water is not necessary, I find it easier for a sick fish to make him feel right at home without too big of a drastic changes that can cause a shock.

3. Find your HOB filter, canister filter, bio balls, sponger filter and other filter media.

4. Squeeze the foam or rinse the bio balls into the new tank. Nasty stuff will come out. It may be pretty dark brown and may be clouding your new tank. It's okay don't panic.

5. Match the new tank temperature with the old tank temp.

6. Catch your sick fish, drip acclimate with the new tank for about 10 minutes or so and put him in the new tank.

Precaution: make sure the amount of fish that you are putting in the new tank DO NOT EXCEED the number of fish in the old tank. You're trying to bring the old established biological bacteria into the new tank. Do not wait more than a day to add in the sick fish. By doing this, you're starving the BB and they will all die and cause an ammonia spike.

I usually wait for 3-4 days for the new biological bacteria to seed and colonize the new tank before feeding the fish. Keep feeding to 2-3 times per week, you want to let the new tank settled with the BB to keep up with fish load.

Remember: You can use this method to cycle, assuming you have an old running tank with adequeate or larger bio load. Another word, do not use filter media from 10 gallon tank filled with 5 guppies to start a 200 gallon arowana tank.

If you have any addition, please feel free to add...I am open to learning.

PS: Don;t ask me why, or how do you know all this, or show me scientific proof and etc. Read the above disclaimer...

stan

[REYREY]

sounds good... kinda like how i start any new tank...only I do not use the existing water from any tanks and only use the existing filter pads and such... add some StressZyme every other day and you will be Good from the get go... Nitrobactor if you see a spike in the Nitrites...

sounds good..

[Shayman10]

Great advice!

For my hospital/QT tank.....I keep a sponge filter in the sump of a larger tank. Add water, declorinator, heater, sponge and BAM!!

[bgk245]

Ditto. I keep an extra sponge in the AquaClear on my 25, along with a bag of Matrix media stones. I can usually raid that stash in a hurry, then I refill the basket in the AC with new.

[sap]

Hydro sponges all the way, I keep 3-4 extras in my breeder tanks for emergencies and the rotfers in the sponges are very beneficial for small fry

[fishyjoe24]

good info.

[rolloffhill]

Stuck this in the emergency section for easy finding..:)

[Kathy]

IMO, Stan pretty much nailed it.

The only other thing that I would add is to check your pH if you have that capability. Moving fish to a higher pH is not nearly as detrimental as moving them to a lower pH. But then again, a new tank is more likely to have a higher pH than an existing tank so it's probably moot point.

[supermome]

Catch your sick fish, drip acclimate with the new tank for about 10 minutes or so and put him in the new tank.



Yes, I'm clueless. But what do you mean by "drip acclimate"?
I get the rest of it, just don't know what that means.

[sap]

add new tank water slowly to the container the fish, slowly acclimating them to the water temp and ph if there is a difference....


I just fill a 5g bucket with water from the original tank put fish and water into a 10g tank and add 5g of newly dechlorinated water and slowly add to the 10g....

[TonyG]

Yes, I'm clueless. But what do you mean by "drip acclimate"?
I get the rest of it, just don't know what that means.

Use a length of air hose, with a slight crimp in it to allow for a slow drip of tank water into the container containing the sick fish.

[supermome]

Thanks, I figured it had something to do with getting them used to the new water, but I wasn't exactly sure.

[fishboxjunkie]

Im so glad i saved this thread. My 10 gallon sick tank went out of wack but im using it for holding cichlids and one hurt fish. I did as you said but I added ammonia carb in the filter is this gonna work or will it hurt my good bacteria. im not going to be able to mess with my tanks for a week will it stay stable till i come back.

[iron]

I have set up an emergency tank in minutes. Usually there is not much of a cycle and this works well.

If you have spare HOB that are the same brand. I have several ac70s, run one all the time in one of your tanks. Thats your emergency tank in a nutshell.

I bust out a 20 or a 40 gallon tank. Rob all the water from a larger tank, that the ill ones are in. Transfer 100% of that water to the smaller sick tank. Now the tank is ready to go and the bio should be safe.
Now this is a trick I do that works great. Get the sick fish some cover. Put 3 sides on the tank as well. Give them nothing to be nervous about. Plenty of hiding spots and low light. If its in a room where there is no light put a night light or something like that in it. That way the fish doesn't panic when you hit the light switch.

Everything you can do to save it from stress.

I also try to find something to cover the top of the tank somewhat.

Set the temps slightly above normal, this is so that the fish itself doesn't have to use its energy to keep warm.

That energy is for healing now.

Add air bubbles and plenty of them, that way the fish doesnt have to work for the air, and the higher temps, and salt, force the fish to work harder to breath.

With all this in place, you have a speedy 10 minute super hospital tank that most likely will barely cycle. Do not forget to prime the tank as well. The water is already safe, but lets be super safe.

[fishboxjunkie]

I have done the rob a filter of another tank before but I do not have one avalible this time. Everything's normal but I have some ammonia about 0.25 in the tank. They where all pegged out before I changed the water. I hope it levels out tomorrow.

[iron]

Its kinda funny how everyone test the water. I just look at my fish, if they aint flipping me the bird, the water is good. If they are, I wait a day or two, then I change it. I can not reinforce fish flipping birds!

[fishboxjunkie]

That's funny roflmao

[flamenco-t]

I don't even own a test kit...

[iracekx]

I have test kits, but I don't use them anymore. I change my water once a week and use Prime and my tank runs awesome my chiclids are happy campers.

[iron]

I think test kits are great on setting up new tanks in new homes, or for people new to the hobby. Test kits are also great for trying to find issues with sickly fish. Like I said in the previous post, my Oscars middle FINger usually tells me right away.