Breakdown QT or just clean it?

[Joe31415]

This is specifically for my invert QT. When I set up a fish QT, I break it down and clean it as soon as I'm done with it. But with the longer time it takes to QT inverts and the ability to overlap them, my invert QT has been up and running for 5 months now. It's seen a handful of snails, a shrimp and maybe a half dozen frags go through it. It's a 25g AIO with maybe 10lbs of (dry) rock in it. The entire tank, the rocks, the walls, the sump, the frag racks, all have a coating of some type of fluffy algae, though that never seemed to bother any of it's inhabitants.
In any case, there's currently only one frag sitting in it. I'm trying to decide if I should wait for that frag to be done with QT (about 6 more weeks, unless I take it out early), sanitze the tank, let the rocks dry out and totally start over. That feels like overkill though. Otherwise, with the only thing in there being a single frag, it would be a really good time for me to give it a really good cleaning without actually sanitizing it or killing the BB and having to cycle it again. Likely just brushing all the brown stuff off the rocks and putting them in a bucket of tank water while I scrub the tank to get all the algae moving around and then change all the tank water and clean the equipment.
I'm not looking for it to be spotless, just want to get up a lot of the stuff I couldn't easily reach before.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This is specifically for my invert QT. When I set up a fish QT, I break it down and clean it as soon as I'm done with it. But with the longer time it takes to QT inverts and the ability to overlap them, my invert QT has been up and running for 5 months now. It's seen a handful of snails, a shrimp and maybe a half dozen frags go through it. It's a 25g AIO with maybe 10lbs of (dry) rock in it. The entire tank, the rocks, the walls, the sump, the frag racks, all have a coating of some type of fluffy algae, though that never seemed to bother any of it's inhabitants.
In any case, there's currently only one frag sitting in it. I'm trying to decide if I should wait for that frag to be done with QT (about 6 more weeks, unless I take it out early), sanitze the tank, let the rocks dry out and totally start over. That feels like overkill though. Otherwise, with the only thing in there being a single frag, it would be a really good time for me to give it a really good cleaning without actually sanitizing it or killing the BB and having to cycle it again. Likely just brushing all the brown stuff off the rocks and putting them in a bucket of tank water while I scrub the tank to get all the algae moving around and then change all the tank water and clean the equipment.
I'm not looking for it to be spotless, just want to get up a lot of the stuff I couldn't easily reach before.

I never break down any QT unless it held animals that all died from an unknown disease. Think about this - any QT has no diseases in it that didn’t get moved to your DT with the last quarantine run.
I just see a lot of people struggling to manage their ammonia levels in a fresh QT.
Jay

 

[Joe31415]

Think about this - any QT has no diseases in it that didn’t get moved to your DT with the last quarantine run.

That was my thinking. My concern was that perhaps there could be some underlying issue that I'm not seeing but could crash my DT at some point. If I broke down the tank periodically, it could break the cycle so I'd be able to start restocking with "clean" inverts.

Regarding the ammonia level, when I set up a (fish) QT, I use a sponge filter that I keep in my sump (and put a new one in to replace it), add in some bio-spira and watch how much I feed. Usually I can make it all the way through the QT without doing a water change, or at least all the way though the copper treatment. Which is nice since that way I don't have to worry about maintaining copper levels while changing the water.

 

[Joe31415]

On a whim last night I ordered some (or probably way too many) inverts from reefcleaners. I think I'll actually be better off leaving the tank dirty so they have something to eat.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

On a whim last night I ordered some (or probably way too many) inverts from reefcleaners. I think I'll actually be better off leaving the tank dirty so they have something to eat.

I’ve heard that reef cleaners holds their animals in fishless systems, so that good. I just got a shipment from them last week. I followed their non-acclimation instructions except that I rinsed each animal off in a container of aquarium water before adding them to the tank - hoping to rinse off excess bacteria and ammonia.
Jay

 

[Joe31415]

I'm on the fence about adding them directly to the system. I read that they hold them in a fishless system, but that doesn't mean they didn't come in with something that could be passed along to you
However, reefcleaners does seem to be a trusted vendor around here, so I'll probably end up adding the directly. But I picked up their smallest package, plus some other odds and ends (including a Tuxedo Urchin), plus I have a few things coming from Dr Reef. It'll be way too much for a 40B tank.
I assume with that many inverts, they'll 'self-regulate' to some extent, and splitting them up between two tanks should buy me some more time.
But, for the moment, there's *a lot* of algae that needs cleaning. I have a few snails (and hermit crabs) in there now. Even the giant golf ball sized astraea that's just mowing all this long hair off the rocks, still only clears a path a few inches long each day.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'm on the fence about adding them directly to the system. I read that they hold them in a fishless system, but that doesn't mean they didn't come in with something that could be passed along to you
However, reefcleaners does seem to be a trusted vendor around here, so I'll probably end up adding the directly. But I picked up their smallest package, plus some other odds and ends (including a Tuxedo Urchin), plus I have a few things coming from Dr Reef. It'll be way too much for a 40B tank.
I assume with that many inverts, they'll 'self-regulate' to some extent, and splitting them up between two tanks should buy me some more time.
But, for the moment, there's *a lot* of algae that needs cleaning. I have a few snails (and hermit crabs) in there now. Even the giant golf ball sized astraea that's just mowing all this long hair off the rocks, still only clears a path a few inches long each day.

Yes - there is certainly a risk in doing this, that was just for my little home tank. For my reefs at work, we hold the new inverts in a fishless system for 30 to 45 days.
Jay