Long-term SPS QT help

jessezm · May 29, 2019

Hey folks -

In the interest of keeping all pests out of my main system, and in addition needing a place to QT all my montis for several months to eliminate monti eating nudis, I set up a QT using a 14g IM Fusion AIO.

I built a frag rack for it, with live rock underneath the rack, and marine pure spheres in the back section. I added a few small fish and some peppermint shrimp, and have a 4X24w T5 overhead, and a 1/10 hp chiller running through the filter section as well.

All well and good, right?

So I dipped, brushed, and transferred all my montis over a few weeks ago and I've found that with the small water volume and large number of montis (several large colonies and many frags), the alk consumption was pretty high, and daily manual dosing of 2-part and testing was both necessary and time consuming. Even staying on top of it daily, I feel the stability of the water chemistry is iffy throughout the day. Plus, with week long vacations coming up, there's no way I can ask someone else to stay on top of that for me.

So my question is, for those of you who run a QT permanently for corals coming in and out of your system, what is your secret to long term, low maintenance success? Do I need to invest in a dosing pump, for example? does the system need it's own Apex controller (I do have an extra...)? Should I move everything to a 40b that I have instead? I would really like to hear what you all are doing! just live rock? no live rock? other media? Your thoughts would be very helpful. Thanks!

Big G · May 30, 2019

jessezm · May 30, 2019

Much obliged :-)

jda · May 30, 2019

You are on this... just gotta figure out what works for you.

I like larger tanks and CaRx along with the same lights as my display (MH). Everybody is different, but a dosing pump or even dripping kalk might be OK.

jessezm · May 30, 2019

I think I will try with kalk in the ATO, and maybe add a fan to encourage evaporation if it isn’t keeping up? I do hate leaving kalk in a bucket with the ATO pump - it just kills the pumps and makes a mess... maybe I can find a cheap secondhand kalk stirrer. I’m going to attempt to drill this 40b and use a 10g for a sump, and just do it ghetto I guess....

jda · May 31, 2019

You can drip the kalk. It is not forever... just while you have corals in QT... this is not the end of the world. This is a scenario where you are going to have to do some manual work or spend a ton of cash - no way to have it all here.

Antics · May 31, 2019

Do you have space in your home to accommodate a large sump? You could throw a massive Rubbermaid tub on for the filtration for a couple hundred bucks and not have to worry about any other additional equipment costs. Could easily 5x your water volume space permitting.

Edit - just saw that it was an AIO, but if you love to a 40 etc it may be a possibility.

jessezm · May 31, 2019

Actually all of my filtration and tank stuff (save for my DT) is in the basement, with ample room for sumps and equipment. I really think I need to move away from the 16g AIO just because of the sheer number and size of the montis that need to live in QT, and the limited margin for error in that small volume of water. JDA, you're totally right, there will definitely be work involved, but what I'm more worried about is having to ask a non-reef person to do that stuff for me while I'm out on vacation and relying on them not to kill all my high-end montis... So I think moving to the 40g is a good idea, and maybe tossing in a larger rubbermaid for a sump (of course, now I'm bumping up against the limits of a 1/10th HP chiller...). But if I add a fan and drip kalk (already have a Tunze osmolator), I think it will work.

Next question - can you drill the back of an Aqueon tank? seems like some have had success and some not.

SeaDweller · May 31, 2019

I used a 60 cube for about 3 months and just ran LR, two fish and a skimmer to hold my frags, dosed by hand. Topped off by hand; that’s not the long term you’re looking for but it worked. I feel the larger the system the better, and the lights were similar to my DT. I wouldn’t overthink it, but I wouldn’t use that small of an AIO, personally.

jda · May 31, 2019

It is a QT tank, plan your additions and QT around your vacations. Ideally, the QT tank will be vacant some/most of the time and you can just make sure that it is empty while you are away. I plan my trades and new additions around my coaching schedule.

I have drilled AGA tanks, but not the 10g. 40g and 15g drilled fine in the back.

jessezm · Jun 5, 2019

Okay, I've made a little progress! I'm trying to do this semi on-the-cheap, using as much equip and plumbing as I can that I already have, and not going super high end on equipment (yet still setting up a rock-solid system).

I found a brand new 40g breeder on my local Nextdoor Listserv for $40 so I jumped on that, and got a used 29g for the sump for $20 from another member/work colleague. So off to a good start.

Next, I did shell out a bit and bought an Eclipse M ext overflow box, and drilled the 40B:

I went to Lowe's and got some scrap lexan for free, and made my first sump!

Thankfully, I had some leftover plumbing from an old frag tank and the return manifold fit nearly perfectly!

I did all of that last nigh, too, including the trip to Lowe's :-)

Next steps for tonight include finishing up the plumbing and making a custom filter sock bracket with my leftover lexan, and robbing my UV filter on my main system of it's pump so I can use it for the return, then plumbing my UV into the outlet of my chiller.

For lighting, I have a 150w HQI that I will use on half the tank, and a 4X 24w T5 for the other half. I just happen to have both lying around. I have heaters, a 1/10th hp chiller, a fan, and a Tunze ATO set up, which I will install, plus a HOB cones skimmer I'll work into the sump somehow, and I think I'll be in business to fill her up shortly! I already have rock and marine pure spheres cycled in a 16g AIO QT, so hopefully that will be enough to prevent much of a cycle so I can get things moving.

Biggest wildcard still is Alk/CA addition, and hopefully Kalk in my ATO will do it...

I'll update once I make some more progress