Large quarantine

[Meers]

The world is divided into 2 groups of people, those that do quarantine and those that will do quarantine. I am about to cross that line, but first need to clear my main display from whatever diseases are present there.

I believe I should leave the MDT free from fish for 72 days (I guess crabs and snails are not a problem?)
And need to assemble a Quarantine tank for all my fish and follow the regular quarantine procedures to ensure that, when they return to the tank, no bugs come back with them.

My tank currently hosts:
2 Zebrasomas
1 Blue tang
1 Ctenochaetus strigosus
1 clown
1 Halichoeres melanurus
1 Halichoeres marginatus
1 Centropyge heraldi
2 goby
1 damselfish
1 Cirhilabrus rubrisquamis

I have a 64 Gallons tank laying around and was thinking to use it to do the quarantine. My doubt is, is this tank enought to host this many fish for so long? Is a sponge filter enough for this many fish? In order to follow the fallow in the MDT is it necessary to remove any inverts such as crabs and snails or this are safe to leave there?
I am planning to follow the instructions provided by @Humblefish in https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

Any recommendations?

Another question I have is, can I use the tank for corals after treating with copper? Is it enough to do good cleaning and rising, or this aquarium should be left for quarantine everafter? I am planning to setup something smaller for future fish aquisitions, since this seems to big for me for that purpose.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

64 gal is plenty for qt in your case. Most people only he 20 gal qt tanks.
Sponge filter may not be enough for large load. I would use some ceramic rings to help harbor bacteria.
Inverts can stay in DT for fallow.
After treating tank with copper, use poly filter/carbon/cuprasorb etc to remove all carbon out of the system. Then break the tank and clean it with 50/50 vinegar water solution. Then it should be fine to use with corals again.

 

[Meers]

64 gal is plenty for qt in your case. Most people only he 20 gal qt tanks.
Sponge filter may not be enough for large load. I would use some ceramic rings to help harbor bacteria.
Inverts can stay in DT for fallow.
After treating tank with copper, use poly filter/carbon/cuprasorb etc to remove all carbon out of the system. Then break the tank and clean it with 50/50 vinegar water solution. Then it should be fine to use with corals again.

Thanks @Dr. Reef . I was thinking to start the quarantine by moving some of the ceramic rings I currently have in the MDT and water from the MDT also. And then start the treatments in the quarantine tank and replace water with freshly prepared SW. This should allow me to have the QT ready faster than if to start it with brand new water, sponge and ceramics.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

I would only use ceramic rings with new saltwater for qt. Rings shold bring enough bacteria to start tank quickly.
Chances to import the nasties with rings are rare but ratio goes real high when you import water. I would give fish the best possible ratio to recover with new water and fresh treatment. Just my 2 cent.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Here is a guide I wrote a while back.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/guide-to-setup-a-quarantine-tank-qt.297476/

Here is a guide for treating fish with copper based medicine.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it-using-copper-based-medication.297796/

Personally I have been using Chloroquine Phosphate to treat tangs and some other fish. Here is a link to that guide incase.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...-of-it-using-chloroquine-phosphate-cp.297799/

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Double post

 

[Meers]

Thanks for the links and for the tip. Good advice, will do.

 

[Smo]

FYI, the recommended fallow period is 76 days. Be sure QT is at least 10 ft away from the DT and use separate utensils to prevent any cross contamination.

 

[Meers]

Hi @Smo thanks for the update. I had read somewhere about 72 days, but will follow your time advice, better safe than sorry. As for the distance, that is something I would never would have thought about, but very wise precaution. Thanks!

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Just for educational purposes.
Ich cycle is not that long but in some studies 72 days is the max they have researched for it to survive. Anything over 72 days should be a fair assumption.

 

[Smo]

72 days for the last tomont to hatch plus 2 days for the free swimmers to find a fish or perish, plus an additional safety factor of 2 days. Admittedly conservative but if you are making this investment in time and effort...better to minimize risk of failure.
On a positive note--now is the time to add inverts and new coral to your DT. Just realize the 76 day timer doesn't start until the last fish comes out and the last new wet thing goes in.

 

[Meers]

It will be a long and cold fallow, without the possibility to add anything new to the tank...

 

[Smo]

It will be a long and cold fallow, without the possibility to add anything new to the tank...

Exactly! Do it now at the start.

 

[Forsaken77]

You may want to get the biggest hang-on power filter for that QT size. Remember, you can't add any carbon in the filter, just plain filter pads, or it'll remove the meds.

I would also use one of the Seachem Ammonia Alert things that stick to the glass. They're $7 and worth every penny so you don't have to actually test for Ammonia, it's a constant monitor for a new QT tank. Lets you know when a water change is needed.

You might as well treat with copper for a month (Seachem Cupramine and its test kit works great), antibiotics (Kanaplex, Metroplex and Furan 2) afterwards, and then PraziPro for Flukes and external parasites. Just to make sure all of your fish are clean and healthy. You'll have the time to do it, plus some.

A lot of fish can develop bacterial infections after a sickness. It's just that the antibiotics will knock out the bio-filter. A QT is the only place they should be used. That makes the Ammonia Alert very important.

You don't really need a cycled QT tank as long as you stay up on water changes. I've used all of these products for QT and they work great.

 

[Meers]

You may want to get the biggest hang-on power filter for that QT size. Remember, you can't add any carbon in the filter, just plain filter pads, or it'll remove the meds.

I would also use one of the Seachem Ammonia Alert things that stick to the glass. They're $7 and worth every penny so you don't have to actually test for Ammonia, it's a constant monitor for a new QT tank. Lets you know when a water change is needed.

You might as well treat with copper for a month (Seachem Cupramine and its test kit works great), antibiotics (Kanaplex, Metroplex and Furan 2) afterwards, and then PraziPro for Flukes and external parasites. Just to make sure all of your fish are clean and healthy. You'll have the time to do it, plus some.

A lot of fish can develop bacterial infections after a sickness. It's just that the antibiotics will knock out the bio-filter. A QT is the only place they should be used. That makes the Ammonia Alert very important.

You don't really need a cycled QT tank as long as you stay up on water changes. I've used all of these products for QT and they work great.

Thanks, I am planning to use an old aquarium as a filter. Will also look for all this drugs and the Seachem test. I am in EU and it is not always possible to find the same drugs here as you have available there. But most certainly the Seachem Ammonia alert sounds like a very wise advice.

 

[Meers]

You may want to get the biggest hang-on power filter for that QT size. Remember, you can't add any carbon in the filter, just plain filter pads, or it'll remove the meds.

I would also use one of the Seachem Ammonia Alert things that stick to the glass. They're $7 and worth every penny so you don't have to actually test for Ammonia, it's a constant monitor for a new QT tank. Lets you know when a water change is needed.

You might as well treat with copper for a month (Seachem Cupramine and its test kit works great), antibiotics (Kanaplex, Metroplex and Furan 2) afterwards, and then PraziPro for Flukes and external parasites. Just to make sure all of your fish are clean and healthy. You'll have the time to do it, plus some.

A lot of fish can develop bacterial infections after a sickness. It's just that the antibiotics will knock out the bio-filter. A QT is the only place they should be used. That makes the Ammonia Alert very important.

You don't really need a cycled QT tank as long as you stay up on water changes. I've used all of these products for QT and they work great.

Thanks, I am planning to use an old aquarium as a filter. Will also look for all this drugs and the Seachem test. I am in EU and it is not always possible to find the same drugs here as you have available there. But most certainly the Seachem Ammonia alert sounds like a very wise advice.