quarantine tank question

Transferring water from your show tank to your QT probably won't help much with cycling, however I think it will ensure that water parameters (initially) are almost identical your display tank. This should help reduce stress on the fish you are transfering to the QT.


Cycling (at least the Ammonia->Nitrite->Nitrate cycle) is dependant on establishing several different bacterial colonies which perform this processing. These bacteria like to live on or in something (live rock, foam pad, bioballs, etc.) and aren't present in any meaningful quantitiy in the water column. Your best bet is to transfer something with an established bacterial colony, like a foam pad, filter sock, or small piece of live rock from your DT over to your QT. Just remember that if you medicate, whatever goes into the QT can never touch your DT ever again (so dont transfer anything important over to the QT).


In the future, to have a "ready made" bacterical colony you can always have a small piece of foam pad or filter floss running in your sump. When you need to setup the QT again you can just transfer the pad into an HOB filter on the QT and you are ready to go.