Jestersix

QT-2 The Invert Quarantine Tank

Qwiv

Supporting Member
Got my second QT tank up and running and thought it was interesting enough to share. This will be for Inverts or a fish transfer - so no Medications in this one as opposed tot he other QT tank. I don't have an open area to just place a tank as my Office it already full to the brim with other goodies, made worse by clearing area for the Display Tank and QT-1 Hospital Tank. Had to place the tank on a shelf with very little overhead clearance and searched for the shallowest tank that would fit. Front to back is tight as well. Ended up with a 10 gallon LifeGaard AIO w/Low Iron Glass. Figured this would be around for a while compared to the Fish QT tank, so I made it a bit nicer. then really required. It is in the background of any Zoom call I might take, so was worth the added coin.

The limited overhead height was a huge problem so I had to come up with something. Ended up making a shallow drawer on heavy duty slides to pull the tank out when needed like a Overlanders Fridge Slide
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Not convenient at all, but you do what you need to I guess.

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Need to clean up the wiring still and figure out how to mount some fans. Thinking some PC side discharge blower fans mounted under the cabinet. The controller will be mounted to a panel on the left just in a board with some magnets, which will also cover the power strip from the ReefKeeper.

You will notice the lights are mounted to the cabinet above so they are not in your way when you pull it out. The lights are WAY overkill, but I had them so I used them. Can't wait to see what PAR I can put out full blast. It is bright enough with just 2 of the 5 on high, so they will all be dimmed down once I get them fully powered up. Only 2 are connected currently. Finish came out OK trying to match a fake oak P-lam.

Video of slide. It is empty in the video as I need 2 hands when full of water to control the speed/sloshing. Rimless was NOT the best idea. Oops. OK, this tank in general is just not a good idea, except for the Gram.
 
Thx. Looked in the tank today and boom, diatoms. Funny how the littlest thing sets those off. No real visible diatoms in the DT. Rocks, water, marine pure plates, media bag, few snails, everything from the DT was added direct to the little 10 gallon so it should pretty much be cycled except the surfaces of the tank/pump/heater. I did leave the 2 of 5 lights on without the dimmers which it pretty bright while the AI on the DT is running at like 10%, so that must have caused it. I think the 5 lights are probably 2-3 x what is needed but it looks cool. Put the dimmers on the lights to get that all settled down.

Reasoning on the 5 lights is the critters in there are going to be variable, so I can turn on-off, dim, etc in zones as needed. Pretty sure all on 100% will nuke anything in there. Looking forward to confirming with the PAR meter. Also the dimensions of the tank just called for that configuration. I tried 2 going the other direction and it just didn't look right. Upping them to the 24" models would be wider than the tanks as well.

The lights are 5 12" Lumi Lites (2 White/Blue and 3 Blue). I really like the look of just the 2 White/Blues. Looks much better then the AI Sol, which goes to show how these LEDs have evolved. Kinda glad I skipped the whole LED upgrade decade. Would have cost me a fortune chasing light perfection. Waiting on some splitters to power up the other 3 lights to see how they all look. Not going to use 5 12v power bricks, that would be silly. Each power brick is 30 watts, so 2 bricks should be able to power the 5 lights with a cheap splitter. Amazon sent the wrong one so I had to order a different one. Was cheaper then making it myself.

I have cheap Amazon LED over the Fish QT and really like the color on the clowns. The color is awesome. Will test that PAR just for giggles. It is an underwater light marketed for GloFish, etc. Has RGB leds in it, plus some dedicated blue, white and red LEDs that have more modes than I would ever use. Luckily it defaults to the mode I would use when you power cycle it on a controller. The same light is in the back this tanks AIO baffle for some Macro when the time comes. the 2 lights were $14. Well worth it.
 
There are many types of these on the market battery powered. They work great in tight places and transfer water fairly quick I prefer both intake and outtake to be flexible hose makes it easier..
 

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What were you thinking this would be for? I have one of these for my fuel cans.

I have ATO and Kalk covered by some Dosing Pumps already. A long time ago when Dosing pumps were starting to creep into the hobby (when everyone was DIYing the stupid hospital ones with annoying alarms - I hated those) I scored a small pallet of 12v lab grade 2 channel one roller variable peristaltic pumps with a open/closed input from a lab in San Jose. Hooked up a lot of BAR members at the time. They were awesome because you just put appropriate diameter tubing in the rollers to adjust the flow rate range and set the speed with a knob to dial it in. It handled ATO on my 240 for years. Connected a float switch to it and it was the perfect ATO/Doser at the time. When the tubing wore out you just put another length in as it was meant to have them spapped out in a lab setting. Head has like 8 rollers too so it was very reliable and small. Wonder if any are still floating around in use? I only kept one. You could put 2 tubes in the one roller and was great at doing a water change on a small nano too. 2 buckets, add float switch to the waste bucket, turn on, walk away. It could not handle a fully automated water change on the big tank due to the single open/closed control and no digital monitoring of volume.

Planning on getting a Neptune Dos (waiting on a Memorial Day sale to buy it) so I can automate the water changes for the DT. That should really be a game changer as that chore if just the biggest burden for these tanks. Every time I got busy and stopped doing them, the tank suffered. With my work I get so busy sometimes. It was the biggest hurdle for me to jump back into this hobby and that idea was the one that sealed the deal to bring me back.

Also still have three BRS heads mounted in my original ATO cabinet so I have dosing/ATO pretty well covered. They have been sitting in this cabinet tucked in the back where you can't see them as an end table in my living room for so many years I forgot they were there. Cabinet was just collecting junk over the years and I laughed when I looked inside and saw the pumps mounted to the back wall after cleaning it out. I'll post about it once a actually hook it up and clean all the wiring, etc. It is very hard to see in the cabinet/end table as only half the top hinges open, so the other half is obstructed from view and is where the pumps are mounted.
 
Quick easy spot cleaning just toss the outtake hose into a sock or wrapped in floss returning back into the tank.. I use them on smaller tank water changes so I don't need to gravity siphon or cleaning my sump which is only a few inches off the ground. Or use a bucket shop vac depending how much sentiment is on the bottom under all the live rock of sump.
 
How has it help up to Saltwater? I use to have that one the looks like a stick, I think Eheim/Jebo makes it. It didn't last. Also trashed a few cheap Wet Drys over the years.
Currently I have a MaxiJet with the impeller trimmed for such Buisness. The Drop tube thing that comes with them fits on a piece of hose no problem. Ended up with a bunch of spare impellers from the DIY MaxiJet stream pump projects when that was popular so I cut one down to lower the pumps flow. People still make those MaxiStreams?
 
The maxijet probably works better with the trimmed impeller for heavy sentiment since these do clog up on heavy stuff ..But water and algae spots their okay theve lasted a few years just rinse them in freshwater after..Their super cheap so I really didn't expect them to last
 
I like that is it battery powered. That was alway the pain before because the outlets are always hidden somewhere to conceal the rats nest from view. Was debating getting a PMUP for that reason and just not selling it to myself with the review of those pumps. Reminded me that I have a a few "Solar Generators" now and can use those to power the maxi. They also have an easy access power switch to turn the dang thing off instead of hunting to pull the plug. I'll try that with my existing gear. Thank you for planting the seed in my head.
 
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