Second hand equipment, live rock & lfs livestock

[vespula13]

Hey Everyone! New to saltwater but long time planted tank enthusiast.

I have the opportunity to buy someone's system including all equipment and rock. While I understand live rock will be useful in getting the system up and running it also seems like a huge risk for introducing pests; is there a way to fully sterilise (bleaching maybe?) or is the best option to get rid of the rock, start with dry and cure it myself?

In my freshwater systems, I've come across all manner of diseases both plant & fish so I'm careful about quarantine and have a small system dedicated to it. My understanding is that it's even more important in Marine systems so will set up a dedicated saltwater quarantine. However...when looking at my lfs, while they're spot on with freshwater fish and plants their tiny marine section leaves a lot to be desired; I see a lot of bubble algae, other algae species and aptaisia etc. Is this common to see in lfs systems and the expectation is on the hobbyist to quarantine correctly? Should I avoid this entirely and go to shops further afield (limited here in Scotland)?

Finally, is there any particular equipment that I should bin and get new, considering my disease/pest paranoia?

Cheers!

Alex

 

[Idoc]

If you are purchasing someone's tank while it is still running, you can see if there are pests already in the system (with the live rock). If you don't see any aptasia, bubble algae, bryopsis, turf algae...then you are probably in good shape to use their live rock. You can bleach the rock or use muriatic acid on the rock, but then you are killing everything in the rock...this will then require you to "cure" the rock since there will be a lot of dead organic debri to clear out of the rock. I started with dry rock...it was a rough process!

As for a LFS with bubble algae, aptasia, etc... I don't support those establishments. There's no excuse for a business to be "dirty" in appearance...it says a lot about the owner. I have one locally that has those problems and I used them early on in my experience and it was terrible...I ended up with a terrible dino attack and now that I look back and understand dinos, that LFS's coral tanks were full of them!

I quarantine all corals. It is recommended to quarantine for 76 days due to possible encysted ich on any hard surfaces. I don't follow that exactly for corals...I remove the plug and replace it which helps remove a big portion of where ich could encyst. I also dip corals in Coral Rx and sometimes peroxide solutions prior to going into the quarantine tank. During quarantine, I'm inspecting each coral regularly with a high magnification lens for bugs, aptasia, bubble algae, etc... They will only go into my DT once I see the corals are clear for a good amount of time...typically around 30-45 days. I'm glad I've done this....I've caught small aptasia and bubble algae that would have gotten into my main system.

 

[Dbichler]

I would use evrything except sand and water. Acid bath for all equipment scrub and rinse rock. Cycle tank and go fallow for 2 months to be safe and you have a fresh start with huge savings

 

[vespula13]

If you are purchasing someone's tank while it is still running, you can see if there are pests already in the system (with the live rock). If you don't see any aptasia, bubble algae, bryopsis, turf algae...then you are probably in good shape to use their live rock....

Appreciate the thorough reply; will be viewing the system this coming weekend so will do my best to inspect the rock for the major pests and will inspect more closely with a lens/loupe when I pick it up. Assuming there's some coraline algae on the rock would it be best to keep it in a heated bin with light or is it likely to survive a couple weeks in the dark while I set up the system in my fish room?

Will definitely drive the extra few hours for a shop that doesn't have 'dirty' frags, I'm sure it'll save me time and money in the long run. The more I think about the particular shop, the more certain I am they don't have a Q/T system for anything so will probably avoid unless I'm in a pinch for equipment.

Can I ask what light you're using on your quarantine set-up for corals? Is it necessary to have decent PAR/PUR or is the aim just for pest control and the corals recover once in the DT?

Cheers!

 

[vespula13]

I would use evrything except sand and water. Acid bath for all equipment scrub and rinse rock. Cycle tank and go fallow for 2 months to be safe and you have a fresh start with huge savings

Appreciate the advice, hopefully there aren't too many pests and then I can 'cheat' and not have such a hard first year. I'm pretty patient and a fallow period has been expected alongside a permanent Q/T tank.

Cheers!

 

[Idoc]

Appreciate the thorough reply; will be viewing the system this coming weekend so will do my best to inspect the rock for the major pests and will inspect more closely with a lens/loupe when I pick it up. Assuming there's some coraline algae on the rock would it be best to keep it in a heated bin with light or is it likely to survive a couple weeks in the dark while I set up the system in my fish room?

Will definitely drive the extra few hours for a shop that doesn't have 'dirty' frags, I'm sure it'll save me time and money in the long run. The more I think about the particular shop, the more certain I am they don't have a Q/T system for anything so will probably avoid unless I'm in a pinch for equipment.

Can I ask what light you're using on your quarantine set-up for corals? Is it necessary to have decent PAR/PUR or is the aim just for pest control and the corals recover once in the DT?

Cheers!

If you're worried about algae on the rock, then storing in the dark will keep it from growing. Otherwise, an open bin with a heater and powerhead should be fine for a couple weeks.

Im using a cheaper 16" Reefbreeders basic light on my coral QT. It's great...i think my corals like it better than the RapidLED lights on my DT! I keep the whites around 10-20% and Blues around 25-30%. The Chinese black boxes can be strong lights.