Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

[Dlealrious]

I was wondering if your frag tank is plumbed into your sump will this be an issue. Water from frag goes into filter sock first. Would this stop free swimmers

 

[Dlealrious]

I was wondering if your frag tank is plumbed into your sump will this be an issue. Water from frag goes into filter sock first. Would this stop free swimmers

 

[Brew12]

I was wondering if your frag tank is plumbed into your sump will this be an issue. Water from frag goes into filter sock first. Would this stop free swimmers

No, the free swimmers are too small to be stuck in a sock. It takes something along the lines of a diatomaceous earth filter to effectively remove them from the water.

 

[Humblefish]

I always remove the frag plug to try to prevent coral pests from getting in. Will Tomonts attach to heath tissue of a coral?

Yes, anything hard. SPS/LPS are stony by nature, but even soft corals (especially Leathers) have hard skeletal needles on the surface which they use for absorbing calcium. Zoas might be safe, if you can safely pry them off the plug/rock they often come attached to.

 

[DSmithZ28]

Great article HF! Is there any plans or studies in process to bring the 1992 findings up to date? Maybe in my lifetime we can see the industry start QT'ing fish and charge accordingly for hobbyists that cannot manage long term QT tanks but still want to enjoy the hobby responsibly.

 

[Brew12]

Maybe in my lifetime we can see the industry start QT'ing fish and charge

And it would be best if it happened at the wholesale level, not the LFS level!

 

[Humblefish]

And it would be best if it happened at the wholesale level, not the LFS level!

Maybe it starts with a small online store which eventually grows into a wholesaler offering properly QTd fish to select LFS.

 

[Brew12]

Maybe it starts with a small online store which eventually grows into a wholesaler offering properly QTd fish to select LFS.

The pressure has to come from somewhere!!!

And even if it was cleaned up at the wholesale level, it would be a logistical nightmare to clean up the LFS supply chain.

 

[Kyl]

And it would be best if it happened at the wholesale level, not the LFS level!

I would argue that fellow hobbyists are just as guilty of spreading large amounts of ich through the hobby as the LFS from frags / rock and livestock sales. I've not met a single person locally that has QT'd everything in their tanks, or has QT's only fish, or "had ich but then it went away and hasn't been seen in months".

Velvet though, that's another story!

 

[SallyWho]

Fantastic write-up! Thanks for the nitty-gritty details- I'm saving that chart for future use! When I get closer to getting started, I'm going to cycle a couple of QT tanks before I even get the display wet. That way, by the time the DT is cycled, I'll have some clean up crew already ready to go. I'm going to try to see if a pest-free/disease-free system is actually possible! All the quarantining will probably cost a bit more.....but I'm a scientist, so I'm curious enough to pay (even if it takes me longer to afford it all)!

 

[Mariners]

Great article humblefish, wanted to get a cleaner shrimp but didnt want the hassle of qt ing it as they are so sensitive to water changes which is especially pronounced in a small qt tank so nvr got one. Btw, the advise u gave me on the 2firefish, wanted to make both parasite free before i donated them, i think they were flashing from ammonia and not ich. Was using the seachem alert but when i used a tester it measured 0.5 and they were becoming more lethargic but still eating. Did 3 water changes in 4days and its about 0.1 and no flashing and not lethargic. I wish i could keep both, but like u said 3firefish is not good.

 

[Humblefish]

Was using the seachem alert but when i used a tester it measured 0.5

Was the ammonia test conducted in the presence of copper? If so, was probably a false positive as copper water renders most liquid ammonia test kits useless.

 

[315wall]

Great information, about 3 years ago I ran into a disease that whipped out my entire tank. I was not able to medicate for it fast enough because once it was seen it killed in less than 24 hours. I had always had a fish quarantine but did not have a coral quarantine, now I understand what happened.

 

[Mariners]

Was the ammonia test conducted in the presence of copper? If so, was probably a false positive as copper water renders most liquid ammonia test kits useless.

Thx for the reminder. Actually did the test after i put the cuprazorb, carbon and polyfilter. So i guess since ive had them in the qt for a month, the copper mustve killed all the beneficial bacteria and its going thru new tank syndrome again im assuming. They havent flashed ever since ive been changing their water every 2-3days tho. Anyway, its time to donate them wish firefish were friendly w each other, they are so deceptively passive looking except w each other. Also i think both in qt have bonded since they do everything together even sleeping on top each other.

 

[jahnje]

In order to keep some sensitive SPS frags happy for 45 or 76 days I would say that I would need a QT tank capable of replicating the lighting, flow, and stability of my reef tank. My attempts of doing that in the past have fallen short. Doing regular massive water changes for 45 to 76 days with matched water perimeters would prove to be a lot of work.
It sounds like I am left with a very difficult or risky proposition?

So I'm currently doing a variation of this article, but for corals.

The idea being that people are having decent success with all varieties of corals in pico tanks, so why not apply that idea to a QT system. In a nutshell, I keep my corals in 3 or 5 litre containers with lids and an air pipe down the middle. The lids keep evaporation to a minimum, while the air does gas exchange and flow. All containers are placed in a larger tub of water that has a heater, and a small powerhead to keep all of the containers heated to the proper temp. I also keep keep the next batch of water for a 100% wc in the same tub, so that the temp is exactly the same. When it's time to do a WC I simply, in the case of corals, lift out the egg crate, and place it in the next container. If I need to flush anything I can do it at that time.

The amount of time between WC for coral only can vary, but never more than 24 hours after a feed. I've stretched it out a bit, but algae can be a problem. You can generally feed as much as you want, which is great if you're trying to revive a coral. As for matching parameters, the simpler the better. I mix IORC to 1.025 and call it a day. I'll add Stability and Prime if I think something is likely to produce ammonia. Dying corals from the LFS etc. And do a water swap every day.

I spend less than 2 - 10 min dealing with water mixing each day. I could pre mix larger quantities of water at a time, but don't have the storage. I try to always add any medications or water conditioners as close to use time as possible, since some like Prime have time limits on them. Also, because of the small sizes involved, I get to use incredibly small doses of things. So I'm not spending much money on water, salt, or medications. 1 drop of Prime per Liter for example. .625 ml of stability for 5L. 100% WC everyday for a week uses less than 8 gallons.

As for lighting, I have a RapidLED par38 bulb on a gooseneck that I can raise or lower to adjust the amount of light. I can also move a container closer or further away from the light, or dim it depending on light needs an acclimation time.

Some corals in QT, next to an african cichlid also in QT. Prepared new water behind them.



bayer dip time:


I can isolate corals and fish, keep different varieties, group them together. I QT freshwater fish and coral at the same time. Whatever works. There's a huge amount of flexibility in this system. When I don't have anything in QT, the whole system gets put away, and my spouse gets their laundry room back.

dripping in 10 fish, 2 per container. 1"/L


Sorry for the long post.

 

[Brew12]

So I'm currently doing a variation of this article, but for corals.

The idea being that people are having decent success with all varieties of corals in pico tanks, so why not apply that idea to a QT system. In a nutshell, I keep my corals in 3 or 5 litre containers with lids and an air pipe down the middle. The lids keep evaporation to a minimum, while the air does gas exchange and flow. All containers are placed in a larger tub of water that has a heater, and a small powerhead to keep all of the containers heated to the proper temp. I also keep keep the next batch of water for a 100% wc in the same tub, so that the temp is exactly the same. When it's time to do a WC I simply, in the case of corals, lift out the egg crate, and place it in the next container. If I need to flush anything I can do it at that time.

The amount of time between WC for coral only can vary, but never more than 24 hours after a feed. I've stretched it out a bit, but algae can be a problem. You can generally feed as much as you want, which is great if you're trying to revive a coral. As for matching parameters, the simpler the better. I mix IORC to 1.025 and call it a day. I'll add Stability and Prime if I think something is likely to produce ammonia. Dying corals from the LFS etc. And do a water swap every day.

I spend less than 2 - 10 min dealing with water mixing each day. I could pre mix larger quantities of water at a time, but don't have the storage. I try to always add any medications or water conditioners as close to use time as possible, since some like Prime have time limits on them. Also, because of the small sizes involved, I get to use incredibly small doses of things. So I'm not spending much money on water, salt, or medications. 1 drop of Prime per Liter for example. .625 ml of stability for 5L. 100% WC everyday for a week uses less than 8 gallons.

As for lighting, I have a RapidLED par38 bulb on a gooseneck that I can raise or lower to adjust the amount of light. I can also move a container closer or further away from the light, or dim it depending on light needs an acclimation time.

Some corals in QT, next to an african cichlid also in QT. Prepared new water behind them.



bayer dip time:


I can isolate corals and fish, keep different varieties, group them together. I QT freshwater fish and coral at the same time. Whatever works. There's a huge amount of flexibility in this system. When I don't have anything in QT, the whole system gets put away, and my spouse gets their laundry room back.

dripping in 10 fish, 2 per container. 1"/L


Sorry for the long post.

That is brilliant! I would never have thought about using a water bath to maintain temperature in multiple small containers!

 

[chicago]

nice write up.. if QT only SPS and assuming cutting the frags off the plugs and just QT the actual SPS .. do we think the 76 day rule will still apply. ? Thanks

 

[Humblefish]

nice write up.. if QT only SPS and assuming cutting the frags off the plugs and just QT the actual SPS .. do we think the 76 day rule will still apply. ? Thanks

Yes, SPS are hard corals so tomonts could easily encyst upon them. So, 76 days in a fishless environment would be required in order to neutralize that threat.

 

[chicago]

Thanks for all the great info..

 

[burtonboy182]

I think I read somewhere that you suggested feeding some seaweed to the tank to feed the snails, Is this correct?

Also would running a skimmer in a tank take too much out of the system since it’s already an ULNS. Planning to qt all SPS Corals and just wondering if they would starve from too clean a system.