Hospital Tank

[hao910]

what is the right way to start a hospital tank and how should I maintain the water chemistry of it? Cuz so far, I treated four of my discus in my hospital tank, only one survive and get better; the other 3 probadly still alive if I left them at my main tank, so very upset.....So any advice will be great....
thank you very much

[Dood Lee]

The only requirements for a hospital tank are a fully cycled filter and a heater. The tank parameters should already be close to the parameters in the main tank if you get the water from the same source.

[Carol_Roberts]

. . . and if you plan to use antibiotics you don't even need a cycled filter. You must rely on water changes to keep ammonia at zero.

[hao910]

I use tab water.... and the main tank is fine... by cycled water, u mean, the water that has put aside with airstone in it??

[Carol_Roberts]

Water comes out of my tap very acid because it's full of disolved carbon dioxide. Agitating or circulating the water offgasses the CO2, making the water less acid and the pH stable. It takes about 3 hours of vigorous circulation to stablize my pH. Discus do not like it when the pH swings down after a water change.

[JimmyL]

Out of the hundreds of discussion of cycled sponge or filter in the hospital tank. Carol is the only one that make sense. You don't need a cycled sponge. They will get destoy as soon as antibiotic or other chemicals are used. Sick fish don't excrete much ammonia and not much nitrate in the tank that will harm the fish. Besides, you make 100% water change once or twice a day that will get rid of all the harmful things. Salt and heat and flutuation of parameters will sure kill all your good bacteria. Just fill up the water, add an air stone and heater and way you go. Sponge filter will trap all harmful BACTERIA that may lay dormant until the next time you use it. Not a good idea.... It's best to get it straight at the start. Don't jump in the bandwagon. Reason and analysis what other may say and pick what's pertinent to your situation. That will make life easier.
Cycled sponge is needed during the recovery stage where no anitbiotic or chemcials are used and feeding has been resume and ammonia is once again being produced by the fish, not during the fish is being treated.
Jimmy