Coral dipping/quarantining

[reefinginBD]

Hey there,
I am planning on setting up a 120 gallon reef tank. I will probably get it by 2022 or 2023. I am doing all the research needed. So, I live in Bangladesh and the aquarium temperature hits up to 114 degrees Fahrenheit or 45 degrees Celsius. So, I need a chiller for my tank. I will quarantine all my fish in a 30 gallon tank without a chiller but with a fan. I really want to quarantine corals and inverts but I cannot since the tank temperature will be too high and I would need a chiller, but my parents will not buy me a second chiller for a quarantine tank since it is so expensive. What do you suggest I do. For the snails, I will scrub their shells with a soft brush, but I do not know what to do about the other inverts which do not have any shells. But, I am really concerned about the corals as I really do not want any pests in my tank. I will have some wrasses in my tank for pest control but still. I will try to remove as much of the frag plug as possible with a dremel to reduce the chances of getting pests and their eggs in the tank. I will also dip them in coral dip, but I am not sure if I can dip them several times without any breaks. Also, can I mix dips and dip them only twice? Like first I will dip them in a mix of a few different kinds of dips, then I will rinse them in fresh saltwater and then I will put them in an iodine dip, then I will finally put them in a freshwater dip for 5-10 seconds. I will also brush the coral frag plug during the dips and put a small powerhead in the bucket where I will dip them. Once I am done dipping, I will cut off the plug and then rinse them one last time in fresh saltwater before putting them in the tank? What do you think? Is this a good or bad idea? Also is there anything else i should do or change in this process to make it even better?

 

[MarshallB]

The best thing you can do if you cannot QT corals is to find a trust worthy local source of corals.

No do not mix dips. dips are meant to be mixed at a specific ratio of the chemical and water, too much will just out right kill most corals.

There is not a 100% way of keeping pests out of your tank unless you are able to QT. It looks like you have thought out all the ways to mitigate your risks as best you can. I do not have a set up yet to QT corals. Even with dipping, scrubbing, removing plugs, i still ended up introducing a pest in. It's frustrating, but is still doable. It just takes a whole lot more work and luck to deal with the pests.

I would also suggest you start your tank out as fish only first. If you really do get temps up to 114F then you need to be sure you do not get temperature swings in the tank.

 

[reefinginBD]

The best thing you can do if you cannot QT corals is to find a trust worthy local source of corals.

No do not mix dips. dips are meant to be mixed at a specific ratio of the chemical and water, too much will just out right kill most corals.

There is not a 100% way of keeping pests out of your tank unless you are able to QT. It looks like you have thought out all the ways to mitigate your risks as best you can. I do not have a set up yet to QT corals. Even with dipping, scrubbing, removing plugs, i still ended up introducing a pest in. It's frustrating, but is still doable. It just takes a whole lot more work and luck to deal with the pests.

I would also suggest you start your tank out as fish only first. If you really do get temps up to 114F then you need to be sure you do not get temperature swings in the tank.

Yeah, I had a 45 gallon fish only tank. I will add a chiller to this tank and it will be backed up by a generator just in case. But do you think dipping the corals multiple times in different bowls one after another is ok or not? Also what should I do about the inverts? Thanks for your reply!

 

[Jedi1199]

Off topic, but I just had a shuddering realization of a house that gets hot enough inside that the TANKS reach 114* EEEgadds!!!

 

[reefinginBD]

Off topic, but I just had a shuddering realization of a house that gets hot enough inside that the TANKS reach 114* EEEgadds!!!

In Bangladesh, most houses do not have central ac but the house where I will keep the tank will have central ac so the tank shouldn't get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Jedi1199]

In Bangladesh, most houses do not have central ac but the house where I will keep the tank will have central ac so the tank shouldn't get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you have central AC, you are all set. The tank will not get hotter than the ambient temp in the room unless you set it in front of a window with direct sun or over a furnace vent or something. Set your ambient temp at 75* and enjoy the cool air and your tank.

Also note: Do NOT turn the AC off when you leave the house. It is actually less expensive to leave it run than to turn it off and try and cool the house back down later. I tested this 2 summers ago. Turning the AC off when I left for work and back on when I got home for a month and then leaving it on full time for a month. Not only was my energy cost 20% lower, but I also did not have to suffer for a couple hours every day while the system worked to bring the inside temp to a comfortable level.

 

[reefinginBD]

If you have central AC, you are all set. The tank will not get hotter than the ambient temp in the room unless you set it in front of a window with direct sun or over a furnace vent or something. Set your ambient temp at 75* and enjoy the cool air and your tank.

Also note: Do NOT turn the AC off when you leave the house. It is actually less expensive to leave it run than to turn it off and try and cool the house back down later. I tested this 2 summers ago. Turning the AC off when I left for work and back on when I got home for a month and then leaving it on full time for a month. Not only was my energy cost 20% lower, but I also did not have to suffer for a couple hours every day while the system worked to bring the inside temp to a comfortable level.

Okie I’ll try that but still in Bangladesh we need a chiller for the tank. There is no other option. So, I think I will dip the corals twice or thrice in different dips and then do an iodine dip and then a freshwater dip if the coral can handle it, if it can’t, I will just dip the frag plug. Then I will cut the plug off and then put it on the rock. Also can u please give me some tips on how to remove encrusting corals from frag plugs. Not for fragging but for putting all of it in a different plug.

 

[Jedi1199]

Okie I’ll try that but still in Bangladesh we need a chiller for the tank. There is no other option. So, I think I will dip the corals twice or thrice in different dips and then do an iodine dip and then a freshwater dip if the coral can handle it, if it can’t, I will just dip the frag plug. Then I will cut the plug off and then put it on the rock. Also can u please give me some tips on how to remove encrusting corals from frag plugs. Not for fragging but for putting all of it in a different plug.

I am not sure I understand why you would still need a chiller if you keep your house at 75? Can you explain please?

As for the second question, I am sorry, that is beyond my personal experience. I cannot offer you any better advice than what you can read for yourself here on the forum.

As for the dipping thing.. That sounds EXTREMELY excessive and honestly like a recipe for disaster. I have never tried it myself, and don't believe I have ever read anywhere about anyone else doing it either. My coral frags get a 15 minute dip in ReVive, snip off the plug stem and into the tank. That is it, no acclimation, no nothing.. From bag to dip to tank... done.

 

[reefinginBD]

I am not sure I understand why you would still need a chiller if you keep your house at 75? Can you explain please?

As for the second question, I am sorry, that is beyond my personal experience. I cannot offer you any better advice than what you can read for yourself here on the forum.

As for the dipping thing.. That sounds EXTREMELY excessive and honestly like a recipe for disaster. I have never tried it myself, and don't believe I have ever read anywhere about anyone else doing it either. My coral frags get a 15 minute dip in ReVive, snip off the plug stem and into the tank. That is it, no acclimation, no nothing.. From bag to dip to tank... done.

Okie, thanks for letting me know. Also, do you just snip off the peg in the frag plug or the coral from the whole frag plug? If you snip the coral off the whole frag plug, please let me know how you do that, especially with encrusting corals and zoanthids.
So, the thing in Bangladesh is that it’s very hot and humid here. Which is why in all the houses, we open the windows and turn the fans on every morning to circulate fresh air into the house. Which means that the temperature in the house will rise causing the temperature of the tank to rise as well. Also sometimes the electricity goes away. So, we need a chiller as a back up. Also, unlike in America, we do not really keep the ac on 24/7 as we don’t really need it. So yeah, that is why I still need a chiller. And all the reef tanks in Bangladesh have chillers because of this same reason.

 

[Jedi1199]

I use a pair of bone cutters to snip off the stem and leave the frags attached to the round plug. I have never tried yet to separate the coral fully from the plug.

I was just doing a little weather research on Bangladesh... Assuming of course I chose the correct one, Eastern India.. The weather there, as I am seeing it, is actually very mild compared to most of the midwestern and central US. Temps in the upper 80's to 90s in the summer and 70s and 80s in winter. Spend a summer in Texas and feel what constant 105 is like.. lol. Even where I live in Central California, We have higher average temps in the summer. It is 102 here today. It will cool off to about 75 overnight tonight.

I am not seeing anything, aside from direct sunlight for extended periods, that would even get close to causing tank temps to reach 114*?

 

[reefinginBD]

I use a pair of bone cutters to snip off the stem and leave the frags attached to the round plug. I have never tried yet to separate the coral fully from the plug.

I was just doing a little weather research on Bangladesh... Assuming of course I chose the correct one, Eastern India.. The weather there, as I am seeing it, is actually very mild compared to most of the midwestern and central US. Temps in the upper 80's to 90s in the summer and 70s and 80s in winter. Spend a summer in Texas and feel what constant 105 is like.. lol. Even where I live in Central California, We have higher average temps in the summer. It is 102 here today. It will cool off to about 75 overnight tonight.

I am not seeing anything, aside from direct sunlight for extended periods, that would even get close to causing tank temps to reach 114*?

So, the heat from all the equipment in the tank increases the temperature of the tank. Especially the lights. Also, unlike in the US, it is very humid here. This means that fans are not really effective like in the US as the water cannot really evaporate due to the humidity. This is also another problem. It also varies from house to house. In one of our houses, the tank (freshwater) temperature hits 114 degrees Fahrenheit, in the other house, the temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit. But, in the new house, I am hoping the temperature will be around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But, in Bangladesh, it is nearly impossible to regulate the temperature of the tank with just the ac. It is something you will not really understand unless you live in Bangladesh for a few years because the weather and the culture (basically the rules all the house follows) are way different from America. But still thanks for answering my questions.