hospital tank

How long should it take a hospital tank to cycle? Have added 4 gal yesterday from the main tank & the hospital is a 30. Right now have a protein skimmer set up & two 15 gal filters. & a bubble wand for more oxygen. & one live rock because i have heard you need a bio & chem filter? I don't really know all about that.

So any suggestions, tips, instructions will be greatly appreciated

 

This:
https://www.livingreefs.com/hospital-tank-t30035.html

 

We use hang on the back filters, so is filter media the blue filter cartriage?

I forgot to mention the hospital tank is for ich treatment. I think we are going to use copper. Would it be alright to go ahead & move the fish from the main tank over to the hospital if we move the filter cartriage, or could we move the filter from the main tank to the hospital.

 

If you are using copper, you shouldn't be using a filter. It will make it difficult to accurately dose the copper if it is being pulled out by a filter.

 

would it be ok as long as the filter carterage is removed? or should
we us a bubble wond to produce oxygen? or what should be runnin
in the hospital tank?

 

Yeah, it's fine if you remove the cartridge. If you want it just for water movement, that will work great.

 

thanks biff
we just set the hospital tank up on weds, our fish keep having
ich out breaks the past two weeks, we have done freshwater dips last week on the fish, and 2 died this morning and we dont wont to lose anymore
when do you think it would be ok to move them over to treat them?

 

thanks bl
so is the filters all we need?

 

I did the same thing last year(no ich since),move them ASAP......i would strongly suggest Hypo though,your HOB's will be fine with all the media in it....they need to remain in the hospital for 9 weeks,....enough time for ich to starve in your fallow DT(read the hyposalinity sticky)...Doing FW dips is fine ,as long as you don't put them back into the DT with ich....I dipped all mine and put them in my Hospital right after..
Good luck:Cheers:

 

If I take them out & do freshwater dip & add them to hospital to get ready to treat the ich, I would like to do hypo but I read that you need a refractometer. Which we do not have. If we get our hydrometer calibrated against a refractometer at the LFS, will that work?

 

I would suggest against it......hydrometers are not capable of reading such low levels,...1.011,1.010,1.009....IF,you get a glass floating hydrometer it may be doable,if you calibrate it,but water temp will come in to play also , the plastic swing arm ones are just not that good.....basically they are junk..

 

I don't know if you have the cash or not, but refractometers only cost $40 or so.

 

Yeah,getting a refractometer is your best bet....you'll be stunned how off your hydrometer is..

 

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

LOVED that link ! thank you soo much!

 

For what it's worth...

My hospital tank was only 10 gallons. I did not concern myself with having a biological filter with it because.. if I had to treat with antibiotics or copper or whatever, it would likely destroy the filter. So... I watched the ammonia/nitrite levels and did a small water change ever day while said fish was in quarantine. Just a suggestion...

 

Got the refractometer, have you had the problem with having to recalibrate it daily? Am doing hyposalinity now & maybe it is because the low salt content?

 

You shouldn't have to recalibrate the refractometer daily. I check mine every 6 months or so.