Coral qt ?

Naiad · Apr 12, 2016

So I am starting a coral/invert qt. Right now it contains survivors from my tank crashed that are injured. I wanted to give them the best chance to heal without crabs picking at them. This is in lps because most effected are lps. The sps were goners. My softies are mostly ok except for pulsing xenia. I may put a few zoas in to get them better. Of course I don't want crabs in the tank [emoji49] but would a wrasse like a six line help in a coral qt/hospital/propagation system. I would like something to help keep down uneaten foods, Produce the nutrients needed for bacteria to remain stable when the tank is not being used at full capacity and of course help keep corals healthy. I also would like suggestions on the best dips/qt procedures.

All suggestions and tips at coral qt welcome.

Shep · Apr 12, 2016

I know yellow tangs and Six-lines are popular choices for pest control in qt tanks. [HASHTAG]#reefsquad.[/HASHTAG] might have some more suggestions and @Squishie89 has been running a coral qt tank, might have a few tips for you

Squishie89 · Apr 15, 2016

Sorry for the late reply.

Fish can help, but are not necessary. I have been running my CQT fishless since I started it last summer. I do feed coral food and supplements/vitamins pretty heavily though. Right now I have snails and hermits and brittle stars as my helpers. I also do not have a sand bed which helps make clean up much easier. I keep some of my special corals on frag racks in which the hermits cannot get to (blue glow infinity racks or magnetic racks). I do bayer dips but I do not think I am doing them strong enough because a lot of stuff is still coming through.

The real question is what are you trying to quarantine against? If it is a fish parasite/illness, I would not have fish in there, because even healthy looking fish can be infected and you can't dip the corals in copper to kill off something like ich.

Naiad · Apr 15, 2016

My real reason for the qt is to have a place for corals to acclimate, heal and to be sure I don't introduce a coral eater. My cuc can really be the last straw for injured corals

Squishie89 · Apr 15, 2016

Then I would get a reef safe fish you like (that has been quarantined separately) and go with a bare bottom tank, and some snails and dry rock. You will need to continue to do water changes to remove waste and put back in depleted elements, but with a bare bottom it wont be too much of an issue (I turn off the pumps and blow all the crud out into the open and suck it all up during water changes).
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance! Here is my thread of my CQT https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/squishies-coral-quarantine-tank.216010/

Naiad · Apr 28, 2016

Ok. So the tank is up and running. The only thing I think I'm missing is a hob skimmer. Got corals in and fed today with no visible jump in ammonia. Picked up six hermits to try to clean up extra food a bit. I will be doing extra wcs until I get skimmer.

Naiad · May 9, 2016

Squishie89 said:
Then I would get a reef safe fish you like (that has been quarantined separately) and go with a bare bottom tank, and some snails and dry rock. You will need to continue to do water changes to remove waste and put back in depleted elements, but with a bare bottom it wont be too much of an issue (I turn off the pumps and blow all the crud out into the open and suck it all up during water changes).
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance! Here is my thread of my CQT https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/squishies-coral-quarantine-tank.216010/

I have algea! I have been doing waterchanges every other day but the heavy feeding to bring back bleached lps seems to have caught up to me lol. What is the best way to remove it from coral skeletons and plugs without damaging the coral. Also thinking I should get more hermits and snails.

Squishie89 · May 9, 2016

Naiad said:
I have algea! I have been doing waterchanges every other day but the heavy feeding to bring back bleached lps seems to have caught up to me lol. What is the best way to remove it from coral skeletons and plugs without damaging the coral. Also thinking I should get more hermits and snails.

I would also be adding bottled bacteria to better help process all the nutrients. To get the algae off the plugs/skeletons I would poke the coral so it deflates, this is important so they do not further damage their tissue, and it gives you a better view, take the coral out into a bowl of tank water and gently scrub with a toothbrush, rinse in the bowl to keep the algae fragments out of your tank and put back.