Stocking suggestions / Stocking order suggestions

howme127 · Dec 10, 2020

My latest tank, 70ga system, I’m approaching things differently than I have in the past (more informed and more structured). I’m close to a 2ppm reduction in 24hr of ammonia and nitrites. I have 2 full QTs setup, one for inverts and one for verts and both are 16 ga. My question is what order of stocking the DT would you do? And could/would you bypass qt if the first stocking of the DT was invert only as long as no verts were added to the DT for 80 days?

ichthyogeek · Dec 15, 2020

Oooh, somebody who understands the power of quarantine!!

I'd do both honestly. Or rather, I would grab the inverts first, since you'll have to feed them for a good 80 days, and by that time the vertebrates will have done something to cause a small bloom of food for them. So grab your CUC and a pretty coral and start quarantining. Then when your wallet allows you to, grab your first fish and stick that in the quarantine system.

I think that it depends on what you're quarantining for. If you're mostly worried about ich/velvet, then yes, you could theroetically make the DT invert only as long as you didn't add any fish to the tank. Now, banded sea kraits (certified verts) probably wouldn't worry about ich/velvet, and are a nonissue when it comes to most disease.

BUT, if you're worried about pest algae, coral pests, or anything else, I would quarantine in the designed invertebrate quarantine tank. It's far easier to manage in a smaller system than in a larger system. Plus you can just, hydrogen peroxide and tear down everything if things go bazonkers in the QT as opposed to the DT.

howme127 · Dec 21, 2020

Yeah, I'm bouncing all around with ideas now... most likely because I'm getting close to a solid 2ppm in 24hr cycle.

Ok, I'm leaning towards this... pickup a couple of hardy corals and a basic, maybe 1/3 sized cleanup crew. Dip corals, and put all the inverts in QT for monitoring for 2 weeks... if nothing shows up ( hitchhikers of some sort that didn't get removed from dipping) then move on over to DT. All while trying to slowly adjust lighting in QT to DT just to help a bit with the corals. What I'm also thinking of doing is getting the Vert QT going at the same time with a bond pair of clowns. Do a copper, to metroplex, to prazi, and an 80 days QT monitoring, then if all is well add to DT.

I think I would be pretty safe with that. Thoughts?