How to disinfect a quarentine tank?

[Phantom Phish]

The subject line pretty much sums it up. I'm wondering how people disinfect a quarentine tank and equipment?

I have a 20 gallon tank and HOT filter that I use for a quarentine and hospital tank for new fish. After the fish is introduced into the display tank, I've been cleaning the tank using just hot tap water (just hot from the tap, not boiling). Then let it air dry for a week or longer until needed again.

Is this an effective disinfecting technique? Would it be safe to use diluted household bleach, or rubbing alcohol?

[chrisf9801]

I have a small "hospital" tank I use for my fresh water stuff.

I add three cap fulls of household bleach to one gallon of steaming hot watter and clean that way.

Once washed, it gets rinsed thoroughly and dried unti lit's needed again.

No problems so far.

I also use the same solution for cleaning silk plant in my FW tank. again, no problems.

[TerryB10]

First, you are to be commended for quarantining all new fish BEFORE they go into your display. It is the responsible thing to do. Personally, I see no reason to sterilize the Qtank after each use unless the quarantined fish died from some untreatable, contagious disease. It is better to keep a cycled quarantine tank up and running at all times. This way you are going to provide a chemically stable environment in which the fish have a much better chance of survival.
Terry B

[Phantom Phish]

Thanks for the input Chris F and Terry B.
I understand what your saying about keeping the tank up and running, Terry. I do keep extra sponges for the filter in my sump, so they are well colonized by bacteria and such, and I also have carbon for that filter I can run. I use water from my dispaly/tank/sump to fill the QT, and with only one fish in the QT at a time, I don't get much of any cycle when I set it up. It takes only a day or two to set it all up, which isn't a problem for new fish, as I just get the LFS to hold the fish while I set up the QT. But you're right, if I ever got a sick fish in the display that I needed to treat quickly, I could be in trouble.

[TerryB10]

You method should work fine, but it sure sounds like a lot more work than mine.
Terry B

[tdwyatt]

I keep a bb holding tank, although I have used a rubbermaid 20 gal container that I set up when going for acquisitions in the past. If you leave a holding tank set up continuously, best to leave it bare bottomed and without LR, use a bioball tower and a skimmer to keep your water quality up, check for nitrates on a regular basis if planning to hold corals in such a system.

Smart move on Q'ing all your new acquicitions. Best way to kill flatworms is in a q tank.

[Phantom Phish]

Thanks Terry and Tom.
Tom: I haven't actually been Q'ing corals, as that Q tank only has a little NO strip light. Do you quarantine all corals? It makes sense that you should probably do that.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Phantom Phish
... I haven't actually been Q'ing corals, as that Q tank only has a little NO strip light. Do you quarantine all corals? It makes sense that you should probably do that.

yes, both because some specimens just may bring some problem pathogen (white band disease, etc) in if from the wild and there are those potential problem hitchhikers. Biggest problem I have seen is that specimens , even from VERY reputable systems, have occasionally had hitchhikers (read this as flatworms or acro red mites) that I just don't want in my systems, in particular, in my prop system. I am free of these types of infestations, and it took culling many specimens that I REALLY did not want to loose, but had these problematic mites or were coming in with flatworms. Seeing the flatworms in a bare bottom tank makes treatment easy, but seeing them 6 weeks later in your prop or display system is a little disturbing, as although there are treatments like "flatworm Exit" by Salifiert, I really do not want to use such products in my main system unless it is a last resort,

I also quarantine all the fishes coming into the systems for 2 to 4 weeks for the same reason, although I don't keep many fish (and they all have to have jobs as well... )

Prevention is 1000% easier than treatment.

[Spanky]

All that and fish parasites go through a stage where they are attached to substrate - corals, crab shells, rock, etc.

Cleaning your Q-tank out with clorox between fish is a good idea. Just wipe it down with clorox, rinse, and let air dry. You should do this to everything that's used on the q-tank too. Nets, sponges, etc. You can start the sponges over or just have extras and cycle them.

[Phantom Phish]

Yeah, all that makes sense. Tom, what type of lighting do you have on your coral holding tank, and how long do you hold them? I don't think I could swing MH lighting on my Q tank, but maybe I could get by with some VHOs or PCs. What do you think?

[tdwyatt]

I use pc's on the holding tank, much more intense MH and vho lighting on the dislays and the prop systems. I don't run the lights on the holding system all the time, just when critters are in there.