Hospital tank cycle

[Vivid-Dawn]

Alright, so... I finally got a decent sized tank that I can set up (60 gallons, for now... my 210 has nowhere to be set up).
So, I was thinking that I could use my 10 gallon tank as a quarantine/hospital tank, from now on. The quarantine part won’t be a problem, since my current fish are going to stay in there ‘til my 60 is finished cycling...then they’re moving out. My problem is, how do I keep it cycled, with no fish staying in it. The reason I want it vacant, is so when I put new/sick fish in, they can be alone and not harassed and-or get the other fish sick.
Should I just sprinkle food in there once a week, so the decay can be the ammonia source?
Or maybe I should just get some pure ammonia to add a drop or two ever so often....’cept I’m afraid of getting something that ends up not being really pure, and ruining things.

I’m hoping I can keep the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels relatively the same in both tanks, so that when I move fish from one to the other, I don’t have to acclimate them (very much, if at all).

[DavidDoyle]

A Q tank needs to be cycled more so than an H tank. However, both can function fine without being cyled. Regular water changes of 25% every other day will do the trick. A Q tank which is cycled can be maintained w/o fish by dosing ammonia daily at the rate of 3 drops of pure ammonia for every 10 gals.

The reason for not having a cycled H tank is that many meds will kill the bacteria as well as diseases. In addition, if a fish being treated has something contagious and does not survive the treatment, the tank needs to be sterilized before it should be used again. That means you will kill the bio anyway.

[Vivid-Dawn]

Hrm... I hadn't thought about the meds killing the bacteria (I knew it, just didn't think about it).

I could use bottled water, since it's only 50cents a gallon at Wal-Mart. For hospital and quarantine, that wouldn't get too expensive I think.
I suppose I could use my 2.5 gallon tank, though that'd be barely big enough for most of my fish (definitely have to use the 10g when my new Bala sharks get bigger!). It would also be much easier to clean out, too...

Well, I still have a whole month to figure this out!