Quarantining Coral

MSB123 · May 6, 2019

I plan to QT all of my new coral for my new tank.
The QT tank will be a 40 gallon frag tank (30"x30"x12") with a XR15 Gen 4 over it. I will have it connected to dosing pumps to keep levels stable.
How long should I QT the coral for?
I will dip everything in coral dip, and also put all new corals on new fresh plugs.
I am thinking a 80 day QT period, to ensure no disease getting into the tank.

Mjrenz · May 6, 2019

Here's some good info on the subject
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/coral-invert-quarantine-time-frames.334584/

maroun.c · May 6, 2019

Problem is that u won't be able to add.more corals or else ull have to reset the timer everytime u do. So IP days might not be very feasible unless u have multiple q tanks. I did on arrival then weekly for two weeks and while moving corals to DT. If I find any pests I would extend the quarantine to t weeks abd 2 observation weeks with one dip every 5 days at extra strength and added time.

bluprntguy · May 6, 2019

maroun.c said:
Problem is that u won't be able to add.more corals or else ull have to reset the timer everytime u do. So IP days might not be very feasible unless u have multiple q tanks. I did on arrival then weekly for two weeks and while moving corals to DT. If I find any pests I would extend the quarantine to t weeks abd 2 observation weeks with one dip every 5 days at extra strength and added time.

If you follow humbelfish’s protocol, you don’t have to reset the timer every time you add more coral. You are waiting out the clock for encysted ich on the coral or invert. When you move the coral to the display tank, you rinse it (pour over) with display tank water to wash away any “free swimming” ich that may be present from something added more recently.

This only works for things you can identify. Obviously, if you have 20 cerith snails in the middle of quarantine, you can’t buy more cerith snails without resetting the clock.