Coral Quarantine Support

Christopher Poore · Mar 16, 2023

Hello Everyone! I've gotten to the point in the hobby where I firmly believe everything should be quarantined prior to going into my display tank. A coral quarantine/observation tank will be new to me and I would love some support on questions I have.

My plan is to run a 20-gallon JBJ with decent light, powerhead, heater, and do water changes from my display directly to the tank during coral quarantine periods.

1) Is rock necessary? (I have uncycled rock I could start with)

2) I have cycled rock in my display sump that can be added to a new coral quarantine tank. Is this a bad idea due to potential pests already in my display? I will eventually upgrade to a new tank and start from the ground up. So the pests could move from current display -> quarantine ->

3) Let's say bubble algae gets into my quarantine tank. How do I prevent that from getting into the display tank?
The same question goes for a pest like aiptasia. Once it's in the tank, isn't it doomed?

4) How long should corals be observed before moving to display?

5) How frequently should dipping occur during quarantine?

6) What is the purpose of quarantining inverts? How will I know if THEY are pest free?

7) What are the pros and cons of having fish in the tank?
I would think a lawnmower and a 6 line would be good additions for pest control.

Would love AND and ALL feedback, protips, and learning you all have to share. Happy reefing!

Bucs20fan · Mar 16, 2023

Qting for specific algaes is going to be a task in itself. I wish you the best of luck.

blecki · Mar 16, 2023

I also think you're in for a challenge with quarantining for algae. Most of the pest kinds are hard to starve out and could lurk unnoticed only to grow rapidly once they get nitrate in the DT. IMO the coral will die before the algae if you try and starve it.

The quarantine isn't just for coral pests, it's also for fish disease, e.g. cysts of ich or velvet. So introducing fish is counter productive. I'm also in the process of setting one up and intend to cycle it with rock in the hyposalinity range to kill off any known pests like AEFW or Asterina stars. I have zero intent to dip because I'm far more concerned about fish disease than coral pests, and plan to quarantine all inverts for 76 days minimum. Or just buy everything from Dr Reef from now on...

I don't see any issue introducing rock from the display to the QT. If the display has it... the coral will be exposed when it goes in anyway... If the QT gets contaminated with something, you'd kill it the same as always. Don't QT thousands of dollars of coral at once and you won't have to stress over losing an entire batch because one of them has a pest. I've never had to deal with bubble algae personally but I imagine you'd deal with aiptasia just like in the DT. Zap it with something, smother it, get a fish that eats it, etc.

Christopher Poore · Mar 16, 2023

Bucs20fan said:
Qting for specific algaes is going to be a task in itself. I wish you the best of luck.

That is not the goal. The goal of coral quarantine is to reduce the probability of pests getting into the tank. Bubble algae is an example..

I want to prevent AEFW or Montipora eating nudibranchs from entering the display.

BCSreef · Mar 16, 2023

I'm doing the same thing to QT corals for pests. I'm using a 10 gallon, some live rock (probably not necessary), heater, powerhead, and light. I have my wastewater (~4-5 gallons/day) from my main system empty into the 10 gallon with an air break.

I don't QT fish any longer with captive bred and pre-QT'd fish available.

However, for coral pests I don't believe dipping and observation even with a good dissecting scope will be 100% effective in catching all pests.

New frags will be checked with a dissecting scope for gross infestations, dipped in KCl (and maybe Bayer later) and then into the 10. I'll treat with 3 doses of Interceptor at one-week intervals. After all that, I'll again observe with the scope but.

1) depends on QT bio load and water change volume.

2) & 3) Agree with poster above.

4) I'm treating/observing for 4 week's

5) Not sure since I'll be using Interceptor

6) Best to get inverts from fish and coral free systems like Reefcleaners. Still that may not be 100% safe.

7) For coral QT, should be OK. I don't because light is only on for one month and algae growth is not too bad.

Happy Reefing, Bob

Christopher Poore · Mar 16, 2023

BCSreef said:
I'm doing the same thing to QT corals for pests. I'm using a 10 gallon, some live rock (probably not necessary), heater, powerhead, and light. I have my wastewater (~4-5 gallons/day) from my main system empty into the 10 gallon with an air break.

I don't QT fish any longer with captive bred and pre-QT'd fish available.

However, for coral pests I don't believe dipping and observation even with a good dissecting scope will be 100% effective in catching all pests.

New frags will be checked with a dissecting scope for gross infestations, dipped in KCl (and maybe Bayer later) and then into the 10. I'll treat with 3 doses of Interceptor at one-week intervals. After all that, I'll again observe with the scope but.

1) depends on QT bio load and water change volume.

2) & 3) Agree with poster above.

4) I'm treating/observing for 4 week's

5) Not sure since I'll be using Interceptor

6) Best to get inverts from fish and coral free systems like Reefcleaners. Still that may not be 100% safe.

7) For coral QT, should be OK. I don't because light is only on for one month and algae growth is not too bad.

Happy Reefing, Bob

Thank you for the detailed reply. I guess that is a good point on #7 that the light should only be on for a month at a time during the quarantine and observation period

I think I may need to go the route of extreme abundance of caution with inverts and pay the high $ surcharge for pre-quarantined cleaners.

Spare time · Mar 16, 2023

Here is my procedure and I hope it can be of some use.

1a. Dip the coral in whatever coral dip I have. Rinse with clean tank water when done.
1b. If the frag plug can't be removed, brush it with hydrogen peroxide. If the coral is an lps, brush the skeleton with hydrogen peroxide. I also scrub the skeleton with a tough pad afterwards. This should help with hidden hitchikers.

2. Place the coral in the QT with absolutely NO rock. It is ok to add some solid bio media but it needs to be thoroughly inspected frequently. I also add a tiny cycling bacteria just because I feed the corals daily (the bacteria may or may not be necessary).

3. Inspect the coral daily. Some will dip the coral daily or multiple times a week. Keep in QT at 81F for 30+ days.

4. IF a pest algae is found, look to see if there is anything to treat it (such as fluconazole). If it is growing on the skeleton, remove the algae as best as possible and apply a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide. I might use isopropyl alcohol next time since its more aggressive in my opinion (just guessing). I had bubble algae pop up on the 30th day, removed it, brushed the skeleton with peroxide, removed all bubble algae that I could find in the tank, cleaned the filter, and then extended.

5. Finally, I repeat the first process and then place in my tank. Using this method, I have 0 bryopsis, 0 bubble algae, 0 vermatids, 0 aiptasia, etc. The only pest I have are hydroids but those came in long before I had begun to QT corals (and quite frankly I thought they were neat lol).

I would have 0 fish in the QT. Crabs and snails both get the peroxide brush and scrub on their shells. Shrimp are fine once they molt.

Christopher Poore · Mar 19, 2023

Spare time said:
Here is my procedure and I hope it can be of some use.

1a. Dip the coral in whatever coral dip I have. Rinse with clean tank water when done.
1b. If the frag plug can't be removed, brush it with hydrogen peroxide. If the coral is an lps, brush the skeleton with hydrogen peroxide. I also scrub the skeleton with a tough pad afterwards. This should help with hidden hitchikers.

2. Place the coral in the QT with absolutely NO rock. It is ok to add some solid bio media but it needs to be thoroughly inspected frequently. I also add a tiny cycling bacteria just because I feed the corals daily (the bacteria may or may not be necessary).

3. Inspect the coral daily. Some will dip the coral daily or multiple times a week. Keep in QT at 81F for 30+ days.

4. IF a pest algae is found, look to see if there is anything to treat it (such as fluconazole). If it is growing on the skeleton, remove the algae as best as possible and apply a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide. I might use isopropyl alcohol next time since its more aggressive in my opinion (just guessing). I had bubble algae pop up on the 30th day, removed it, brushed the skeleton with peroxide, removed all bubble algae that I could find in the tank, cleaned the filter, and then extended.

5. Finally, I repeat the first process and then place in my tank. Using this method, I have 0 bryopsis, 0 bubble algae, 0 vermatids, 0 aiptasia, etc. The only pest I have are hydroids but those came in long before I had begun to QT corals (and quite frankly I thought they were neat lol).

I would have 0 fish in the QT. Crabs and snails both get the peroxide brush and scrub on their shells. Shrimp are fine once they molt.

Thanks for the reply! Do you feed the coral while they are in quarantine? Or any supplementation to the water? Or should I just rely on large (50%) water changes from my display?

Spare time · Apr 27, 2023

Christopher Poore said:
Thanks for the reply! Do you feed the coral while they are in quarantine? Or any supplementation to the water? Or should I just rely on large (50%) water changes from my display?

Sorry I didn't see your response. Yes I feed the corals. I added some all for reef part way through and also did some tiny water changes but was pretty relaxed about it given I only have 1 or 2 in there at a time.

fmp47 · Apr 28, 2023

blecki said:
I also think you're in for a challenge with quarantining for algae. Most of the pest kinds are hard to starve out and could lurk unnoticed only to grow rapidly once they get nitrate in the DT. IMO the coral will die before the algae if you try and starve it.

The quarantine isn't just for coral pests, it's also for fish disease, e.g. cysts of ich or velvet. So introducing fish is counter productive. I'm also in the process of setting one up and intend to cycle it with rock in the hyposalinity range to kill off any known pests like AEFW or Asterina stars. I have zero intent to dip because I'm far more concerned about fish disease than coral pests, and plan to quarantine all inverts for 76 days minimum. Or just buy everything from Dr Reef from now on...

I don't see any issue introducing rock from the display to the QT. If the display has it... the coral will be exposed when it goes in anyway... If the QT gets contaminated with something, you'd kill it the same as always. Don't QT thousands of dollars of coral at once and you won't have to stress over losing an entire batch because one of them has a pest. I've never had to deal with bubble algae personally but I imagine you'd deal with aiptasia just like in the DT. Zap it with something, smother it, get a fish that eats it, etc.

Seems like you have never had MEN. No monti in DT for at least 72 days. And I got all my frags from a very reputable store in Atlanta. Guess what. They don’t quarantine or dip any coral.