cleaning

Question
QUESTION: Okay so I did about a 13 gal water change yesterday and that lowered the nitrate a little but not much, ill do another water change in a day or two. I really hope these nitrates go down!  Something else I wanted to ask was this aquarium has crushed coral for substrate and it is really dirty.  When I do the water change is it ok to vacuum the substrate to clean it up a little?  I know there is bacteria and things the tank needs but right now it just looks filthy.  The previous owner who gave me the aquarium started to let the tank go a little bit.  Last but not least I'm starting to see more of these snails that are really small.  I'll assume that these help with the algae but I remember seeing another aquarium and it looked like these snails had taken the thing over so I was wondering if that is something that I need to worry about?  Thanks for all your help!!

ANSWER: Hey Kyle,
Its perfectly fine to vac the substrate, just not too deeply. I wouldnt go over half the substrates depth for very dirty substrate.
Snails reproduce, most of them are harmless and you may see numerous new snails one day to a week later not seeing any of the new comers. Without knowing the species I cant be 100% sure, but most snails are completely harmless. Getting the water quality under control will bring things in to line. The systems you see over run by snails are generally of poor water quality with lots of detritus waste in them. Old aquarium substrate kept wet and re-used is a great home. Water quality is the best way to keep EVERYTHING balanced and under control. I suspect you'll see a large drop in the new additions to your snail population soon. You can also remove them by hand if it makes you feel better. Let me know if this helps and keep me up on how its going!

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QUESTION: Thanks for your help Glenn!  I did the other water change last week and got some hermit crabs and snails to help with the nitrates and cleaning and that has helped lower the nitrates a little.  My next question and hopefully last for awhile lol, what do you think about setting up a quarantine tank?  I have read quite a bit of different takes on it.  Most say a 10 gal is fine with a filter on the back no substrate and some pvc pipe for the fish to hid in. What about lighting?  On setting something like this up how do you get the good water quality?  no substrate or live rock?  would you use water from your main aquarium for the quarantine?  I figure on getting my main back to good conditions to be able to add a few more fish I want to do it the right way and if that is setting up a quarantine tank for the new pets then I am willing to get that going as well.  Once again thank you for all your help!

Answer
Hi Kyle,
No problem. Glad to hear things are progressing well. Always glad to help a fellow aquarist!
I would definitely have a quarantine set up. No substrate, no live rock, just pvc pipe or a joint for hiding(or any aquatic decoration with a smooth/nonporous finish). You want nothing that parasites or bad bacteria and fungus can attach to or reproduce in. Just standard lighting is ok. They still need the photo periods even in quarantine. You can run a hang on the back filter on your main tank for a few days to get it started with a bacterial colony in the filter media. You should fill the quarantine with new water though. That way you are 100% certain that its clean. Quarantine all new comers for a week minimum, but preferably 2 or 3 weeks. As soon as they are introduced to the main tank, clean it and change the water. A 10 gallon is fine for most quarantines, larger is only needed for larger acquisitions. I personally have two, a 30 gallon and a 75 gallon, but started with a 10 gallon. It can also double as a hospital tank for when you need to separate any pets, for medicating or observation without affect to the rest of the community in this manner of set up. You can generally find some great deals for 10 to 20 gallon set ups on craigslist and ebay, and I see 10 and 20 gallon kits on sale all the time at my local Walmart and Meijer stores between $30 and $50. Let me know if you have any more questions.