SPS quarantine setup and log

[reefwiser]

Great setup. QT of corals is very important. It lets you focus just on the new corals and any hitchhikers that might show up over time on their bases.
As aiptasia and bubble algae can show up after a month in a tank and then you have a real problem in a display tank. Also the ability to easily treat the corals is important.

 

[FarmerTy]

I think you're doing all the right things regarding ich and also with the QT. I'd honestly stop water changes and just rely on your dosing to keep foundation elements in line as well as nutrient levels.

I'm in the same camp as you with ich so I'm glad you are taking the same precautionary steps, it'll pay in the end.

The only thing I would have done different would be to cut the corals off the plugs immediately and glue them to new plugs. Those plugs can bring in so many things that is not worth it to me to keep though I'm sure your hydrogen peroxide soak did a good job on them.

 

[FarmerTy]

Oh, and just wanted to mention, in my experience, I've actually killed more SPS with too little light than too much. I've taken new mariculture colonies and thrown them right into 700 par with no issues. When I do the opposite and put them in 100-150 par, they brown out on me and lose their color... sometimes, even start to STN on the bases.

 

[spscrackhead]

I see you Were asking for advice in the first post. Just a few things I would like to touch on, not completely sure if someone has mentioned these previously as I simply grazed through.

It doesn't seem like you are doing this so I would like to HIGHLY suggest removing the corals from their plugs and re mounting immediately. Do this even before you dip the coral. Many many parasites are on these plugs.

I like to do small water changes on my main tank and use that water for the qt on a weekly basis. On a system this small you can do them more frequently if you wish. Just remember you are then diluting any meds you have in the water (more for fish qt).

 

[SPSREEFS]

I dip my corals with a mixture of bayer insecticide and thats it! I think I dip them for 10 minutes. I have so far never had a problem with anything eating my corals. Maybe I have been lucky. After the dip there usually things at the bottom of the bowl. Then into the tank they go!

 

[VJV]

yes, it looks a little brown. Its a pretty forgiving coral and very hardy compared to acropora in my opinion. Yes I would certainly increase it gradually for sure. Any idea what kind of PAR your getting from the light?

I do have a par meter which I may use but at the moment I do not know the par. The reason why I have not used it is because it is part of a device called a Seneye Reef monitor (Bulk Reef Supply is using one on their latest build) which also controls ammonia and temp and I have it in my fish quarantine setup. This means it has been exposed to copper so I am a bit reticent about putting it in the coral qt tank. The fish QT tank has been copper less for about one month and have run carbon and cuprisorb. Do you think it would be safe to use it in the coral QT?

 

[VJV]

Great setup. QT of corals is very important. It lets you focus just on the new corals and any hitchhikers that might show up over time on their bases.
As aiptasia and bubble algae can show up after a month in a tank and then you have a real problem in a display tank. Also the ability to easily treat the corals is important.

Thanks. That is precisely my goal here [emoji4]

 

[VJV]

I think you're doing all the right things regarding ich and also with the QT. I'd honestly stop water changes and just rely on your dosing to keep foundation elements in line as well as nutrient levels.

I'm in the same camp as you with ich so I'm glad you are taking the same precautionary steps, it'll pay in the end.

The only thing I would have done different would be to cut the corals off the plugs immediately and glue them to new plugs. Those plugs can bring in so many things that is not worth it to me to keep though I'm sure your hydrogen peroxide soak did a good job on them.

Thanks! I did consider that but these being my first SPS I was afraid I would just smash and ruin the little sticks[emoji1]. But I hear that rom seasoned reefers time and time again. I probably should do it...

 

[VJV]

I see you Were asking for advice in the first post. Just a few things I would like to touch on, not completely sure if someone has mentioned these previously as I simply grazed through.

It doesn't seem like you are doing this so I would like to HIGHLY suggest removing the corals from their plugs and re mounting immediately. Do this even before you dip the coral. Many many parasites are on these plugs.

I like to do small water changes on my main tank and use that water for the qt on a weekly basis. On a system this small you can do them more frequently if you wish. Just remember you are then diluting any meds you have in the water (more for fish qt).

^^As per above. Afraid that my typically clumsy ways just kill the coral. I hope the peroxide bath did a good job with that...

 

[VJV]

I dip my corals with a mixture of bayer insecticide and thats it! I think I dip them for 10 minutes. I have so far never had a problem with anything eating my corals. Maybe I have been lucky. After the dip there usually things at the bottom of the bowl. Then into the tank they go!

I have seen tons of how to videos on that and looked everywhere for that product but unfortunately I do not think it is for sale in Europe (Portugal, to be precise). I envy you guys that have access to what seems to be the perfect pest control dip. I just wonder how/why the guys from our industry have not picked it up yet, changed the bottle to Seachem/Red Sea/Tropic Marin, applied a 200% margin and sold it as the ultimate dip!

 

[FarmerTy]

I'm just going to say, I did the above with dipping in Bayer and then putting them right into the tank. With over 40+ different acros in my tank over the last 4 years of dipping with Bayer, I've had a run in with AEFWs during that time. It is definitely not a fool proof method and it's just a matter of time before AEFW gets introduced.

The best would be exactly what you are doing, full QT and observation period before introduction into the tank. I know not all of us have the option to do that but a full QT will save you some headaches down the line.

If you don't have access to Bayer, see if you have the ability to get some Potassium chloride (sold in the States as water softener pellets). I've observed raising your potassium from 400 ppm to 1600 ppm for about an hour in a dip pretty effective at killing most things off an acro frag. I borrowed that from someone's failed attempt at trying that as a whole tank treatment for AEFW. As a dip, it seems pretty effective at killing most things though it is a tad bit more harsh than Bayer is but I've had no casualties from it yet. Best part, no pesticides! I'm not going to sign off on it being totally foolproof yet until I test it for more than a year but if still successful, I may ditch Bayer entirely from my dipping regiment.

If you end up able to get the potassium chloride in the form of water softener pellets, I was using two teaspoons per gallon to roughly get 1600 ppm of potassium when starting at 400 ppm of potassium, where most reef tanks are.

 

[FarmerTy]

Here is the actual product I use.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Diamond-Cr...e-Water-Softening-Pellets-100012447/100614656

 

[VJV]

Here is the actual product I use.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Diamond-Cr...e-Water-Softening-Pellets-100012447/100614656

Thanks! I may give it a go if I can find it over here .

 

[FarmerTy]

Here's my tank so you know I'm not an internet expert only and actually do keep SPS. [emoji12]

 

[VJV]

Wwhhhooooaaaa! Nice tank! And nice emperor angel! Did it ever bother any coral? What are you doing? Zeo, Triton, refugium,? If you have a tank thread let me know so i can look it up.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Here's my tank so you know I'm not an internet expert only and actually do keep SPS. [emoji12]

Thats one Bad A oregon tort. You sure are an expert sir.

 

[FarmerTy]

Thanks! That Oregon is definitely one of my favorites. Had it for almost 5 years now! I've found once it gets bigger than a fist, the reputation of being a slow grower is shed and it actually grows pretty fast. I frag it quarterly.

Sorry, wasn't posting my tank to say I'm an "expert", just that I actually have SPS. There are many real experts out there.

I took advice from someone when I first started with SPS doing all kinds of silly things and then realized he only had two acros in his system and they weren't even that happy.

Here's my build thread. It's not as robust as the one I keep on my local forum but it sums up my tank well. I wish you well with the QT and keeping SPS. They truly are rewarding to keep and also can bring a lot of frustration sometimes, but totally worth it to me.

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/207702/

 

[FarmerTy]

Oh, and to answer your questions, yes, the emperor eats zoas and some LPS, that's why I didn't really get him until I was planning on going mostly SPS. He even munches my ORA Hawkins Echinata from time to time.

No zeo, no Triton, no refugium... actually, no water changes. Just run a calcium reactor, biopellets, GFO, carbon, and a large skimmer. I dose aminos 2x weekly and feed the heck out of my fish. There are more details in my build thread.

 

[SPSREEFS]

Nicetank Farmerty!
I need to learn to take better pics for sure! I can say this: There are things you can do to live in harmony with some of the so called pests. I have one spot under a large Tricolor colony that has a few aiptasias that I cannot get to as well as my bristle toothed filefish cannot get to. However, no spreading! Because my filefish will eat anything that gets out of that area. Also, there are filefish that will eat eggs and other pests on your corals.
So maybe thats why I have not had any huge outbreaks in the 24-ish months this tank has been running. Keeping animals in a holding tank is fine and watching them is fine. But for how long can you do it? I wish I had the time to set up a true hospital tank but I do not and do not want to.
I am very careful who I get my livestock from and use the same people. Then I dip as well. Works for me!!!
VJV picked hardy corals to start with which was smart. However, more delicate Acros will not be so forgiving....
You will spend good money setting up a whole nother tank for them with the correct/sufficient equipment for them to start thriving right from the get go.
Sop for me my method works well.......

 

[VJV]

Thanks. The way I see it the cost of a simple setup like what I have pales in comparison with the cost of several of the higher end SPS out there. And I know I may loose one or two acros along the way but to me this is a cost well worth taking to prevent introducing pests that sometimes lead to full tank teardowns. Aptasia is what I would call a simple pest. Red bugs or AEFW are another story altogether. And in both cases your dip will get the bugs but potentially not the eggs.

I am starting now and prefer to ensure from day one that I keep as much as possible out of the tank, rather than a couple of years down the line watch thousands of dollars of acros going down the drain.



As far as buying livestock I am privileged enough to have a marine biologist buying direct from the importer, so I guess you can not get any safer than that.

However, some things may come unseen. Not only coral parasites but also fish parasites, as ich Tomonts usually attach to hard surfaces and may remain there for up to almost 2 months.

After two times having to catch all my fish and running quarantining them I do not want to risk it again.

As with so much in this hobby, to each it's own. I will continue to do this process with future purchases so all feedback from seasoned SPS keepers on how to keep them is much appreciated [emoji4]