setting up a QT questions

[worcestereefer]

I've been planning on setting up a quarentine tank sometime in the future after I upgraded my lighting and a couple other things but the last few days I noticed that my two percula clowns look as though they have ick. They have small white flakey looking stuff developing on them. One has two very small pieces and one has only one piece right next to its gill. If its not ick I would be happy to know what it is so I can treat it. So needless to say this has sped up my need for a qt to basically immediatly. The only other fish I have in my main tank right now is a snowflake eel and looks fine and from what I have read they are fairly resilient to ick. So my questions are basically this: What is the best way to setup a qt such as bare bottom, live rock or not, type of filtration, skimmer necessary?, keep it running all the time or only when necessary.
And most of all whats the best way to get it up and running as soon as possible. If I get a small tank and filter wouldnt I have to go through a cycle before it would even be possible to use it?
One other possible option I was thinking of is the eclipse 12 gallon setup with the all in one hood. My main tank is currently running the eclipse system so I have a well established bio wheel I could use in the qt to get it running right away? Is this even a decent idea?
Well sorry for the short novel, but I have a lot of questions and really want to get this going as soon as possible, I feel bad for my clowns.

 

[nichols]

Simple 10 -20 gal. Bare bottom. Sponge filter. Just place the sponge in your fuge keep it clean and take out as needed. Take water out of your main tank to fill the QT tank when needed. Lighting can just be no fulresent (sp?) I wouldn't use any Live rock but would add short pieces of PVC.

 

[stevenp]

I try to keep a few sponges in my sump at all times so anytime I need to set up a QT I can toss one of them in to speed up the cycle. Over time in the sump, the sponge will become a breeding ground for beneficial bacteria which will help your QT get started.

I'm in Worcester as well so if you need any help just let me know!

Steve