[fish keeper 2013]

As spending money on a tank and just letting it sit their with nothing in it for most of the time doesn't make sense to me... I started looking around for an alternative. I found an idea that really intrigued me... So heres the plan:

1. Take a plastic wrap and cover the bottom of a spare bathtub
2. Fill it up with 10, 20, or 30 gallons of water (whatever is most suitable for whatever medication i might be using)
3. Add a 250w heater I have sitting around, probally should use more gallons cause 250w is good for 50 gallons
4. Add a few fake plants and a broken flower pot or something
5. Use seachem prime to keep ammonia and nitrite down
6. Perhaps put in a cheap airstone and airpump
7. Do frequent water changes

As I already have most of these items all I need to buy is a few decorations and air pump (plus airline tubing and airstone)

Do you guys think it could possibly work? Is there anything i forgot or anything that could go wrong? Thanks in advance!
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[fish keeper 2013]

Oh yeah, also get a cheap sponge filter to attach to the air pump. Sponge filter should be okay as there is 30 or more gallons of water and there is like 1 or 2 guppies

More benefits of this is that I can use the sponge filter in the normal tank while im not using the QT, so my tank will be extra clean and the sponge filter will be colonized with BA (beneficial archeae!). I can even use the air pump to run a brine shrimp hatchery.
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[MoneyMitch]

QT tank and hospital tank are two diffrent things, i dont agree with the method you are proposing as a QT tank. a QT tank is a place for the fish to become adjusted and settle in to show its true behavior and any illness it may be carrying. a tank or container with some plants and decor like you mentioned with heater filter substrate etc etc is best IMO for a QT tank. a hospital tank is where you use bare bottom with minimal decor just a spot for the fish to hide and is easily taken down and setback up when you need to medicate.

 

[Chesh]

A bathtub? Huh. I guess it could be done, but I'd rather use something along the lines of a Rubbermaid tote instead! I'm not really understanding the point of the plastic wrap on the bottom of the tub, and not so sure that it would stay there once water was added, anyway. Maybe I'm misunderstanding!

 

[Mikaila31]

Use a plastic storage bin not a bath tub.

 

[jaysee]

QT tank and hospital tank are two diffrent things, i dont agree with the method you are proposing as a QT tank. a QT tank is a place for the fish to become adjusted and settle in to show its true behavior and any illness it may be carrying. a tank or container with some plants and decor like you mentioned with heater filter substrate etc etc is best IMO for a QT tank. a hospital tank is where you use bare bottom with minimal decor just a spot for the fish to hide and is easily taken down and setback up when you need to medicate.

A hospital tank and quarantine tank are one and the same - the only difference is the current use for the tank. That being said, I do advocate having more than one quarantine tank - what happens if you have a new fish in there and something happens to one of your current fish??


If it doesn't make sense for you to buy a tank just to have it sit there, then that tells me a couple things. you've never had a your tank wiped out because a new fish turned out to be diseased. Now here's the thing - the new fish may or may not die - it can be a carrier and infect the others. Also, your tank must be fully stocked, otherwise you don't understand the purpose I the quarantine tank. Unless you only buy a few new fish a year, that tank WILL be in use. Or at least it SHOULD be. I know some people quarantine their fish for just a week or two - others for a month. NO good can come from rushing fish into your show tank. None at all. I quarantine new fish for well over a month. I want to be as sure as I possibly can be that there's nothing wrong with my new fish before I put it in a tank with several hundred dollars worth of fish. Maybe you don't keep expensive fish - the point remains the same. Money is relative. That being said, spend a little money and get a small tank or tub - don't use plastic wrap and the bathtub.

 

[fish keeper 2013]

Okay thanks!
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[fish keeper 2013]

I was thinking it would be more of a temporary set up though... As I am almost sure that I won''t be allowed to set up a QT, so this kinda for emergency use (I figure a bad one is better than nothing). I haven't been fishkeeping for very long and only have one tank... And when I get my next one I'm getting a betta tank. Don't know how long till another one, but it might be a while. Therefore I could feasibly only introduce one batch of fish to a tank with fish already once in the next year. So this is kind of like an emergency hospital tank.
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[Chesh]

I dunno. . . I'm SURE I'd rather my kid put fish in a rubbermaid container over my bathtub any day! Maybe they'll let you set up the tote IN the tub?! Hopefully you won't need it, it sounds like you're thinking more for an emergency hospital situation, so it might not come up. The totes come in all sizes, and are pretty cheap - you can find them for $5 and under. With the tub. . . I'd be really nervous about soap and chemical residue harming the fish and it will be difficult to hold a temp, I'd think. Also, if you've ever put 10 gallons of water in a bathtub. . . it isn't going to give you very much depth. Bathtubs aren't for fish. . . unless you had a REALLY big fish!

 

[fish keeper 2013]

Its a spare bathtub, that would just be weird... The point of the before mentioned plastic wrap is to prevent those harmful residue. I would fill it up with upwards of 30 gallons of water to suit my 200w heaters needs. And why would it be hard to hold temperature? Thanks for the feedback!
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[Chesh]

I'd think it would be tough to keep the temp because it's a large area with no hood... for example, if you were treating for Ich and needed to maintain high temps to treat the fish. . . could be wrong, people DO have open-topped tanks.

I really doubt that plastic wrap would work to keep chems from mixing with the water, even if it did stay down, which I don't think it would, the water would still flow under and around it - I've never tried this, so I can't say 100% for sure, but it's definitely not a risk I'd be willing to take with my own fish

 

[fish keeper 2013]

Ok thanks for the feedback
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[Byron]

The plastic bin like a Rubbermaid would be much better than a bathtub for reasons others have mentioned. But this falls short of what this is all for, and that is to observe the fish closely for the several weeks they are in the QT. I find it impossible to observe the fish from above in any sort of container that is not clear on the sides, and that basically means a small glass tank.

If you are keeping relatively small fish, say 4-6 inches and under, a 20g tank is sufficient for QT. Someone mentioned keeping QT and "hospital" tank separate, and I fully agree. I have a 20g permanently running with sand substrate and some plants (culls from the main tanks), with a heater and sponge filter. The heater isn't necessary until the fish are added. But this tank allows me to keep new fish in a settled environment, and I can sit and carefully observe them. They stay in this tank for at least 3 weeks, often 5-6 weeks. Sometimes several months, if they are species that may need more careful adjustment to captive life. I have had some difficult-feeding fish that have adjusted to prepared foods better in this QT than they ever would in the display tanks with competing fish and more space. In the QT I can feed more to ensure they are getting the idea and eating, and it is easier to clean up.

For a hospital, I have a 10g with just a sponge filter and heater, that is on the shelf dry until needed--which fortunately is very rare. I've only used this once in 4 years.

Byron.

 

[fish keeper 2013]

Yay I found a random storage container in my closet! :-D

Just one problem though... It is only 56 quarts (14 gallons) and my spare heater is 200w (don't ask it is a long story). Will it stop heating with the internal thermometer when the temperature is high enough? Is it safe to use?

Also, more worrying is a little not on the container stating: This product may contain chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and/or birth defects and other reproductive problems. Wash hands after handling this product. :shock: BTW it is a ViaAqua heater.

Do I have anything to worry about regarding the heater and my fish?

On another note do I need a filter for the tank? It will only have to house 3 1-1.2" guppies at one time. Will I be okay doing frequent water changes?