Quarentine Tank

[Parrishreefer]

I am new to the hobby and my tank is only two months old.Already addicted I have spent a lot of time at the local fish store and am veryscared of what I see there. The livestock looks very sickly and in many casesdead. I am starting to stock the tank and have been reading about setting up a quarantinetank. Is it possible to set up a 55 gl under my DT and tie it into my incomingDT water line and put a UV sterilizer in the return line to purify the exitingwater??? Is that still too risky? Has anyone tried this? Or should I simplekeep it completely separate? Please advise the beginner. I do want to set it upcorrectly the first time.

My main tank. 250gl

 

[Steelerfan747]

You could set it up under the dt but do not plumb it in to the same line as that would defeat the purpose

 

[Steelerfan747]

Very nice tank by the way. I love the look of it. Would love to see more pics

 

[Vareefer804]

Awesome tank

 

[Parrishreefer]

thanks for the reply

 

[Parrishreefer]

Thank you. I have lots of pics but they have to be resized. I hope to have some up soon.

 

[Trevor40]

IMO I would just order from liveaquaria where they guarantee the fish for a few weeks and the fish will arrive in decent condition. I would say quarantine them below just to watch their eating and make they they can rest from the stress of shipping for a few weeks.

 

[SPSjunky]

that tanks is amazing

 

[Pappy]

Beautiful tank and agree with steeler fan on don't plumb together. Keep them separate in case you have to qt a fish and medicate it. Medications and corals don't mix

 

[Parrishreefer]

thanks all. My thought was to have a quarentine to acclimate the fish to the existing dt water to reduce stress and make sure they eat before putting them in dt.There is a new medicated food product that is reef safe. I would set up a seperate treatment tank for ill or weak fish. Maybe quarentine tank is not the right name for it. acclimation tank maybe. what do most ppl do?

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I would not plumb a quarantine tank into a DT. The cross contamination risk is too great. The goal of a quarantine period is to prevent the disease from making it to the DT. There is a thread coming on how to properly quarantine fish.

 

[impur]

IMO I would just order from liveaquaria where they guarantee the fish for a few weeks and the fish will arrive in decent condition. I would say quarantine them below just to watch their eating and make they they can rest from the stress of shipping for a few weeks.

+1 its amazing how much of a relief it is to rarely/never have to worry about disease with your fish. Liveaquaria and specifically their Divers Den fish are top notch. Using a QT tank for your corals is a must IMO, I learned the hard way. Never fun watching something much away at your favorite corals. Keep it separate from your DT though. You are definitely on the right track. Is there a club around you where you might be able to get some corals from members?

 

[Cl0ne1]

I don't have a LFS. I have to drive about an hour in any way to find good fish stores. I have even contemplated driving to clearwater, about 1.5 hrs away just to get into the area and then fight traffic once I get there to go to any stores, to find a good/different supply of fish. I can tell you that a good cooler can go a long way. Simply ask the fish store for a little extra water with your fish, maybe even bring the cooler inside and have them put your live stock in that, and float the bags in the water. I wouldn't put them all loose in the water while you travel. The LFS water will help keep the water temp inside your bags normal and the cooler will help with that alot. Here in florida, unless you have a really good way of transportation, the summer sun can kill fish in a bag if you drive more than 1.5 hrs. As far as QT goes, I agree with the masses....don't plumb into DT. And unless the fish has special acclimation requirements, I wouldn't acclimate into the sump either. You will have to move it again after it is acclimated to the sump. The acclimation period in the DT is gonna happen at the final move to the DT whether you acclimate to the sump or not. Don't waste the time and stress the fish out even more.

Tank you for your time,

Kevin

 

[kmaintl]

Awesome tank!

I learned the hard way almost 20 years ago when we didn't quarantine livestock. Unwanted pests, parasites, etc. can destroy an entire tank in no time at all.

Great idea with using tank water from your main tank, but the QT needs to be completely separate system. Keep the QT simple, just a bare tank, air stone, circulation pump and heater. If any signs of disease shows up, you can treat immediately and not worry about affecting any corals or absorbing into live rocks or sand.