Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

drstardust

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Quick question. When quarantining corals, do you have to reset the clock everytime anything new is added to the QT? Is it possible for free swimmers on new corals to "lay eggs" on corals that have already been in QT for a month? Also, is it possible for tormonts on new corals to "hatch" and lay "eggs" without a fish present?
No, it is not possible. Tomonts hatch and either find a fish host or die. They cannot continue their life cycle otherwise, and they cannot "re-encyst." Thus, the clock need not reset every time a new (non-fish) thing is added to that QT. However, many do reset the clock, or add everything at once, out of an abundance of caution. Since, technically you could remove a coral and bring with it free swimmers that hatched from something you added later. Some just rinse it thoroughly before adding to DT. Others avoid this possibility and reset the clock.

Hope that helps. And welcome to R2R!
 

chicago

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I have been QT all my frags in 30 gallon .. I must say QT in a 30 gallons as opposed to a larger DT is not easier.. the QT is nutrient free to the point that the lack of it actually hurts the frags.
smaller system has also greater chance of imbalance.. for exmaple.. last week my alk in the 30 QT dropped some how to 4.1 ouch..
I cut the frags off the store plugs.. and replug them to new ones..
Question is how to shorten the 76 day time period. No real solutions posted. So they sit for 76 days in the QT..

Question i was wondering is.. if I add a new frag on day 30.. does that reset the entire tank of frags or just that one batch waits 76 days.. in other words batch one is in for 70 days. add batch two on day 70.... did i mess up and now instead of in 6 days putting those in the DT.. they wait 76 days. I think i know the answer.. but hoping I am wrong..
 

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I have been QT all my frags in 30 gallon .. I must say QT in a 30 gallons as opposed to a larger DT is not easier.. the QT is nutrient free to the point that the lack of it actually hurts the frags.
smaller system has also greater chance of imbalance.. for exmaple.. last week my alk in the 30 QT dropped some how to 4.1 ouch..
I cut the frags off the store plugs.. and replug them to new ones..
Question is how to shorten the 76 day time period. No real solutions posted. So they sit for 76 days in the QT..

Question i was wondering is.. if I add a new frag on day 30.. does that reset the entire tank of frags or just that one batch waits 76 days.. in other words batch one is in for 70 days. add batch two on day 70.... did i mess up and now instead of in 6 days putting those in the DT.. they wait 76 days. I think i know the answer.. but hoping I am wrong..

The post immediately above your addresses this issue, but no, the life cycles are such that it isn’t reset on new addition provided certain precautions are taken
 

Gablami

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I have been QT all my frags in 30 gallon .. I must say QT in a 30 gallons as opposed to a larger DT is not easier.. the QT is nutrient free to the point that the lack of it actually hurts the frags.
smaller system has also greater chance of imbalance.. for exmaple.. last week my alk in the 30 QT dropped some how to 4.1 ouch..
I cut the frags off the store plugs.. and replug them to new ones..
Question is how to shorten the 76 day time period. No real solutions posted. So they sit for 76 days in the QT..

Question i was wondering is.. if I add a new frag on day 30.. does that reset the entire tank of frags or just that one batch waits 76 days.. in other words batch one is in for 70 days. add batch two on day 70.... did i mess up and now instead of in 6 days putting those in the DT.. they wait 76 days. I think i know the answer.. but hoping I am wrong..

I’ve posted on this before earlier in this thread. For stony corals such as acropora that show new tissue loss (no exposed skeleton), there is no evidence that ich can encyst on live coral tissue. There no evidence that it can’t either. It just makes sense to me.

As you’ve described, it’s very difficult to QT acros 76 days without impacting the health of the frag. Most people will end up with a bunch of skeletons half way through.

So the compromise is, cut off the plug and the glue, cut off any exposed skeleton (like cut ends) or bury with glue, and place in your DT. If you want to be safer, QT for 2 weeks in the best possible QT you can run (keep it running, don’t just set it up for frags as needed). After 2 weeks most cysts have released. The 76 day recommendation takes into account all the stragglers and the tail end of the curve. Follow these recommendations at your own risk! I’m not saying you won’t get ich. This is just risk management.

Note: we are just talking about sps here. Not LPS and other coral skeletons without living tissue on them.
 

chicago

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yep...agreed Gablami..thanks for the restatements. I have a few of those white skeltons..
 

NoobReeefer

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so with chaeto by dipping it in coral rx and giving it a really good rinse your killing off the pods that may have tomonts attached to them then 16 days in qt is starving out all the free swimmers....am i correct here..?
 

Punchanello

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One of the advantages of a fishless tank is you can control nutrients. You could setup a bare bottom 29 gal (for example) coral QT and blast as much flow as you wanted in there without worrying about kicking sand up. You should get more than enough PAR using one of these: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25292

A good HOB skimmer and proper dosing to keep up with supplement demand. There's no reason why it can't work. ;) I did it for years (dedicated frag tank) using a similar configuration back during my SPS phase.

I have a question about dosing a quarantine tank. Understanding one is often inverse to the other, but how can I dose my QT easily and cheaply?
 

Hermie

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Quick question. When quarantining corals, do you have to reset the clock everytime anything new is added to the QT? Is it possible for free swimmers on new corals to "lay eggs" on corals that have already been in QT for a month? Also, is it possible for tormonts on new corals to "hatch" and lay "eggs" without a fish present?
No, it is not possible. Tomonts hatch and either find a fish host or die. They cannot continue their life cycle otherwise, and they cannot "re-encyst." Thus, the clock need not reset every time a new (non-fish) thing is added to that QT. However, many do reset the clock, or add everything at once, out of an abundance of caution. Since, technically you could remove a coral and bring with it free swimmers that hatched from something you added later.

What could alternatively happen is that on the "new" inverts or corals added to the QT, trophonts that freshly left a fish host could be loosely "attached" to the coral or invert (not truly attached but in the water that's in contact with the invert's or coral's surfaces), and when that invert/coral is introduced to the QT, the trophont swims away from the invert/coral's surface and finds a spot to encyst on one of your already existing corals/inverts in QT before the 48 hour encyst timer. So I would suggest a "mini QT" of 48 hours for any new additions before adding them to a QT, so that incidental free swimming trophonts are forced to encyst on that "new" coral/invert (or their container) instead of giving them an option of encysting on your already existing QT coral/inverts.
 

NoobReeefer

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im getting some chaeto from a local reefer today and want to qt it before i add it to my fuge, i just wanna make sure i do it right and have a few questions.
I've never ran a refugium before so this is all new to me....

first you dip it in coral rx to kill all the pods and hitchhikers, should i rince it after? if so tap water, rodi, salt???

i have a little 5 g glass tank im gonna use for the 16 days with a heater in there.

how many hours should i run the fuge light? i have a kessil h160 but id rather just use a par38 led bulb i have laying around.

how hardy is chaeto, will running the par 38 then switching over to the kessil after 16 days shock it, kill it ect?

how should i feed the chaeto? i don't have any no3, po4 in a bottle and id rather not buy any, can i just throw in some pellets or somthing?

any tips and tricks are welcome.
thanks
 

Pbh-reef

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I picked up a used jbj 12 gallon led cube aquarium to use as a fish qt. Now I am considering using it to qt new corals for the 76 days needed to ensure I don’t introduce any fish diseases into my main tank (which is only a 10 gallon nuvo with a kessil a80).

My question is- is the jbj light enough for any coral I’d get? I don’t really plan on getting acros but montis are a possibility. Do I need to build frag racks so some corals Are closer to the light or is putting them on the bottom of the tank fine? If the jbj light limits the corals I can keep that is fine for now but would prefer to know that before going to a frag swap/buying any coral!
 

Gablami

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Is it a good idea to have a skimmer on a coral quarantine tank?

I don’t think it’s good or bad, but generally, unnecessary to have a skimmer on a coral QT. Usually it’s a fishless system that doesn’t have much nutritive input.
 

Gablami

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No. TTM is based on a certain phase of the parasite life cycle. When it is on the fish, it stays on for a few days feeding before dropping off the fish to reproduce by encysting on a hard surface. When you transfer every three days, you let the promonts drop off without allowing new parasites to hatch and attach.

On a snail shell, the amount of time to hatch is much more variable in the tomont phase, ranging from several days to a couple months. So you can’t predict it. Also in a fishless system you don’t need to transfer an invert since the parasites life cycle requires a fish. It won’t reattach after hatching.
 

sean rand

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If I have inverts in qt for 5 week and add more inverts to the qt do I have 2 start the clock over again?
 

mfollen

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45 days minimum is the wait time for ich tomonts. But does anyone know how velvet tomonts & other disease tomonts differ? Is the wait period for these not as long as ich?

I did a full QT protocol. Internal, external treatment. The whole works. But somehow ich got in my display. I think on a rock.

I’m going to see how the fish live in the display with the ich. Keep them happy and run a UV.

That said, since they have ich, I’m wondering if I need to wait 45 days. As my main concern now is to avoid velvet, brook, etc. not ich.

Thank you!
 

Bthomas

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Question on quarantining chaeto..
I know the 16 day quarantine applies to chaeto but if I have it in my coral quarantine with corals that were added before it is the 16 days still effective for removing ich free swimmers? The coral that were already in there could be releasing them during that 16 days making that uneffective correct?
In this case would I just need to watch it for a couple days to see if there are any unwanted pests and then give it a good rinse before going to dt? Would rinsing it be enough to remove ich free swimmers?
 

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