SPS quarantine setup and log

[VJV]

Hi, I just bought my first SPS corals online (should arrive next Wednesday) and have setup a small 8gallon quarantine tank where I will keep them under observation for the next 72 days. During this time I will also take the opportunity to dip the corals and observe them. I already have several LPS (elegance coral, hammer, euphylia, acans, lobo, and trachy in my main display that is running for more than 2y. I went for the so called "easy mode SPS" to begin with so I purchased a pink poccilopora, a super pink stylophora and a milka.

Here are the photos of the setup:

I have an air driven protein skimmer on the first compartment. I do not plan to feed the corals so it's more for aeration than anything else. On the second chamber (under that green filter floss) there is a large amount of Seachem's Matrix media fully cycled, a bag of Matrix carbon and another of Phosguard. The water than flows on to the last chamber where the return is.

I also have a ATO to keep salinity stable.

As far as the light is concerned I have a Maxspect Celestial (which I love and for the money I believe is absolutely great) and flow is provided by the return and a Koralia Nano which combined add up to 1200 liters per hour, or about 30x.

I also have a dosing pump to dose Tropic Marin Calcium and Alk additive.


Why 77 days? Simply because ich cysts may live up to 72 days and they tent to encyst on to hard surfaces such as the rocks where the corals are attached to. As such I ensure that any potential ich parasites, regardless of the life stage, will starve to death as the tank will have no fish.

I will dip the corals with coral RX before putting them into the tank and probably at least one more time to kill hitchhikers. I may also dip the base where the coral is attached to in h2o2 to kill pests as well as algae that may be attached.

Any comments from the experts on the setup or proposed routine will be most welcome [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

 

[VJV]

A couple of questions to start:

1- should I feed the corals during this period? I would rather not so that in turn I could avoid water changes to keep the water quality up, but not sure if the corals can survive in such a nutrient deprived environment for almost 3 months?

2- if I do not have to feed, I guess it does not make sense to perform water changes right? Or would you still recommend water changes? Why?

3- any other dip recommendations? Would love to do the Bauer but unfortunately it is not available here in Portugal.

Many thanks!

 

[svogun]

Love the setup. I want to set up a separate frag tank as well. I run a radion Gen 3 pro in my DT. Biggest issue with me is frag tank lighting matching the radion. I see you are using the celestial. Interested to see your results. Following for sure!

 

[VJV]

You are absolutely right!!! Do not know where the razor came from [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]. Fortunately I was still able to edit the post.

Well, the light does not match what I have in the display which is currently T5. ( I have had Giesemann Teszla LEDs, Kessil LEDs and a couple of gen 3 radio a, only to find out that T5s are my favorite)

Anyway, the light will not match the display but hopefully it will not be an issue.

I may be paranoid here but already had 2 bouts of ich in my main display so do not want to have a third. If it was not for fear of introducing an ich Tomont that could be attached to the base of the coral the whole process should be much faster, probably one month. This would also make it easier on the corals but I for now I will stick to this protocol.

Fingers crossed.

 

[svogun]

I hear. I have less than a week of a 76 day fallow period. NEVER AGAIN. Better safe than sorry.

 

[VJV]

BIG Day! The corais have arrived and they are a beauty! I dipped the bases in peroxide and put them in the tank. A couple of hitchhikers included a crab in the poccilopora (who decided to take a dive into the h2o2) and a stomatela snail, which at the time I did not know what it was so decided to throw away. Several amphipods also came running out of the base when I hit it with peroxide.

In a couple of days I will dip them in Coral RX.

Some pics!

Extremely well packed!

Acclimating!

Base dip in h2o2

Everyone in the tank

Pink poccilopora in focus

Stylophora milka in focus

Ultra pink stylophora.

 

[VJV]

Given this is zero nutrient tank (no fish, no feeding) do I need to feed the corals or will they do just fine without for the 10 weeks of the quarantine? What would you recommend? Something like Red Sea Energy A and B?

Help would be most welcome.

 

[SPSREEFS]

Hi,
Neat little set up! Where is the filtration/bio for these corals you added? Did you add any cured live rock to the little tank to take up the waste from these animals?
Also, I think your being overly cautious about ick/parasites. If the fish are healthy and not being stressed out by something else, they will keep any ich at bay. Healthy animals to start is key.
That tank is very small and swings in parameters will happen quickly. Temp swings with that tank will have to be watched closely. The tank overheating will be the one to watch out for.
I have always found that the more biodiversity the better! Keep us posted how it turns out. The corals look nice!
Good Luck!

 

[VJV]

Hi,
Neat little set up! Where is the filtration/bio for these corals you added? Did you add any cured live rock to the little tank to take up the waste from these animals?
Also, I think your being overly cautious about ick/parasites. If the fish are healthy and not being stressed out by something else, they will keep any ich at bay. Healthy animals to start is key.
That tank is very small and swings in parameters will happen quickly. Temp swings with that tank will have to be watched closely. The tank overheating will be the one to watch out for.
I have always found that the more biodiversity the better! Keep us posted how it turns out. The corals look nice!
Good Luck!

I have the center chamber filled with Seachem Matrix media. It is extremely porus and had been maturing in my main display for months. In theory it should provide more than enough biological filtration.

Back to my previous question, do you think I should feed some amino acids/vitamins given it is an extremely nutrient deprived environment?

 

[SPSREEFS]

Hi,
The problem with these small systems is changes happy very very fast. You will have to be extremely cautious as to what you dose and how much. I would maybe add a small fish and a few pieces of cured live rock to add some biodiversity to the system.
I would only run a small amount of carbon in a bag and let it set off to the side in one of the chambers. I would not force water through any chemical media on your tank until you can see that it's needed. Seeing that its needed through testing gives you a baseline to start at.
Your system is pretty sterile now. The corals basically have very little to feed off as it is. Fish waste will feed them some of what they need.
Finding the right combo for these small systems can be tricky. The system STILL needs alot of maturing. Bacterial counts need to go way up. and the system needs to balance out.
Usually I will not add any SPS to a tank for at least 3 months after its up and running and I have some data from testing as to what the systems doing. A good solid starting point.

 

[SPSREEFS]

Worrying about ich like that is not worth it. Fish carry parasites on them all the time. If their healthy and not being stressed the parasites do not make the fish sick. Years ago I overdosed kalkwasser in one of my systems and my purple tang was COVERED in ich. I mean covered. I fed him well and left him alone. He recovered and was fine.....

 

[VJV]

Thanks. I did have the filter media in my main tank sump for several months before being put into this tank. Also this tank has been running for more than 3 months now (I already quarantined an elegance coral and two large acanthastrea in it) so I believe it should have plenty of bacteria already. As far as fish goes I will not have any as it would defeat the purpose which is not to introduce ich in my main display. I've seen healthy fish succumb to ich and once you have it in there you are essentially playing the odds game, and the odds are in favor of the parasite.

 

[VJV]

Worrying about ich like that is not worth it. Fish carry parasites on them all the time. If their healthy and not being stressed the parasites do not make the fish sick. Years ago I overdosed kalkwasser in one of my systems and my purple tang was COVERED in ich. I mean covered. I fed him well and left him alone. He recovered and was fine.....

Well, I guess you were lucky. I am usually not so prefer not to risk it [emoji4]

 

[VJV]

In any event, appreciate your comments on how to keep the SPS in this tank for the coming months.

 

[SPSREEFS]

VJV,
Just trying to help. I never worry about ich. I have been in this hobby since I was a kid. Im 50 now. My current fish have gone through 3 tanks. Golden pygmy angel is over 9 years old since I have had him. My tangs are over 6 years and this tank has been set up for over 24 months. I started with all small frags since money was tight when I did it and was doing a room addition on my home. Heres a cheapo phone pic of the corals now....

 

[SPSREEFS]

 

[SPSREEFS]

they are growing really fast right now. 94 mm a day of alkalinity uptake with a Kamoer doser!

 

[VJV]

I understand and appreciate your help. We are in different camps when it comes to ich and disease prevention but that is not what I want this thread to be about. I am going to stick with this protocol so what I am seeking to get from experienced SPS keepers such as yourself is how best to achieve this.

I measure the parameters several times a week using digital photo meters (Hanna checkers). I have an ATO to keep salinity in place and honestly hope the heater does not break during these three months so from a stability point of view I hope I am covered. But my main doubt right now is whether I should feed these corals or whether they would survive in this sterile environment for the duration of the quarantine.

But please do not get me wrong, I appreciate the feedback and the time you took to look into this and provide your input.

 

[VJV]

By the way, those are some amazing colonies! Hope one day I may post something similar.

 

[SPSREEFS]

Thanks. Crummy pics but just took a few real quick. They dont show the color or detail.
If you read zero on nitrates and phosphates then I would try to feed but very sparingly. Look for the corals response when adding food. Watch colors closely. Monitor with test kits like your doing.
SPS when in the right conditions grow quickly and are pretty hardy. In the wrong conditions its a nightmare! You said the tanks been up a while so hopefully params will stabilize quickly.
Good luck with it and keep us posted!!!!