Quarantine 40-50 fish from existing 500 gallon reef

[justingraham]

Fox face get him? Possibly?

Ps been following from a distance congrats on sticking to ur plan and seeing this all the way thru like many people have said if u can do it there is no reason everyone can't

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Thank you for the kind words Justin! Definite possibility on the Foxface getting grumpy and nicking him; never seen aggression from him but these are stressful times they're living in right now, brings out the worst in a fish.


And that's exactly my hope; to show others who have been just dealing with and managing ich or other disease like I was, that it's possible to solve the issue, and it will be MUCH, MUCH EASIER than what I went through if you have a smaller tank!

I liken it to what my wife just made me watch on TV...she forced me into an episode of My 600 Pound Life. If someone who weighs almost 700lbs can lose 450lbs, than no one has an excuse to not drop a few lbs.

But seriously, everyone needs to quarantine. JUST DO IT. Or your future self will be very, very sad.

 

[MatsReef]

But seriously, everyone needs to quarantine. JUST DO IT. Or your future self will be very, very sad.

@Jeffdstafford Yup and you've done a great job. I learned my lesson back in 2015 after being out of the hobby for a few years. Got some awesome help here. Nothing wet goes into either of our tanks unless it goes through quarantine. Having a third tank up and running a few months during the year does suck sometimes but dealing with ich sucks WAY more. It's really a good feeling knowing nothing is going to die from a preventable issue.

Sorry to hear about the Naso. It's the one fish I miss but can't have with my now smaller tanks. I had a beauty who passed during an extended blackout in 2003.

 

[Brew12]

Jeff, you inspired me and I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction!

Couldn't find a red one that was healthy enough to buy, but I did find a green and purple on that are happily residing in my invert QT!

 

[Jeffdstafford]

@Jeffdstafford Yup and you've done a great job. I learned my lesson back in 2015 after being out of the hobby for a few years. Got some awesome help here. Nothing wet goes into either of our tanks unless it goes through quarantine. Having a third tank up and running a few months during the year does suck sometimes but dealing with ich sucks WAY more. It's really a good feeling knowing nothing is going to die from a preventable issue.

Sorry to hear about the Naso. It's the one fish I miss but can't have with my now smaller tanks. I had a beauty who passed during an extended blackout in 2003.

Thanks! And the work of a QT definitely outweighs dealing with ich!

Jeff, you inspired me and I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction!

Couldn't find a red one that was healthy enough to buy, but I did find a green and purple on that are happily residing in my invert QT!

Awesome, you'll love the Monti Cap! Make sure to place it low in your DT, as it truly does grow at an exponential pace, and will shade anything below it.

 

[Brew12]

Awesome, you'll love the Monti Cap! Make sure to place it low in your DT, as it truly does grow at an exponential pace, and will shade anything below it.

That is the plan. I want it to grow up into the chalice shape that look so amazing in your system. I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction on this. There are so many options in "chalice" corals it was driving me nuts. Once I knew exactly what type of coral to ask for it made this much easier. Can't wait to get them in my DT!

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Keep me posted with some pics once you get them mounted in the tank, glad to hear your system is coming along!

BTW, did you escape tragedy regarding the issue you had with a possible cross contamination scare between the QT and your system?

 

[Brew12]

Keep me posted with some pics once you get them mounted in the tank, glad to hear your system is coming along!

BTW, did you escape tragedy regarding the issue you had with a possible cross contamination scare between the QT and your system?

Yup... there really wasn't much risk of actual cross contamination. I only thought there was for awhile. Had I used the magnet from a fish QT it could have been a problem. Since it was from an invert QT there wasn't really ever much danger.

It is coming along. It is coming along very slowly though. Since I have been doing 100% QT on everything since day 1 and had my first batch of corals wipe out from my being too new, stocking the tank is taking a long time. Right now my goal is 100% survival for everything that goes into my DT and stocking fast doesn't accomplish that goal.

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Glad to hear it! And I'm truly impressed with your patience, that is something I did not possess in the beginning of my setup but wish I did...it will most definitely pay off for you.

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Hey everybody, I guess a final update is in order to close out this crazy chapter of my quarantine experience. The Sailfin, Foxface, and Kole tang are all doing great in the display, and disease free!!! They got over their stress and everyone is eating well and chilled out. Regarding the home we were going to buy, the seller flaked out on us and it's a dead deal now, so we are submitting an offer today for a different house and will start the process over again. At this point, I'm probably going to move this fish out of the garage quarantine system and back into the display, as it will be another 1-1.5 months before we can get moved into the new house, assuming everything works out with this new house. I will start a new thread regarding the move and new setup to document that adventure.

I just wanted to say a final thank you to everyone who stuck with me through this process, I just noticed this was started late November..it has been a very long and wild ride!! I could not have done this process without the input of everyone on this thread, so thank you all SO MUCH! It's been such a cool experience having you all there for assistance when I hit a road block and needed answers, and this group never disappointed, and always responded almost instantly with help...cannot say enough how grateful I am!

If I can ever be of assistance to anyone in the future from all the lessons I've learned, please hit me up and I'll be more than happy to help.


THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

[revhtree]

Thank you for documenting! Best of luck!

 

[melypr1985]

I hope the new house works out for you this time around!

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Thank you for documenting! Best of luck!

Thanks Revhtree!

I hope the new house works out for you this time around!

And thanks Meredith, you and me both!

 

[tj w]

Hey Jeff, how are things going? I hope all is well.

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Hey Jeff, how are things going? I hope all is well.

Hey buddy, going great! My water temp was getting up to 83 in the garage and already dealing with rust on my tools due to evaporation, so I called it quits and moved everyone back in the display. I did it much slower this time with an hour acclimation and didn't lose any fish thankfully. I am getting some tang aggression due to the new surroundings, which I find quite fascinating... They were all fine in the tank prior to quarantine, and no issues in the QT for the 5 months they were in cramped quarters with each other, but now getting some squabbles. It is starting to die down so I don't think it will be a lasting issue.


We are under contract on yet another home, and this one is actually looking promising, so if all goes well we'll close end of this month. I'll be building a 10x12 shed for my equipment room, and luckily it will be a pretty short run for the drain lines that will not see any direct sunlight, so that will make for a much better piping scenario. So, as long as nothing falls through, I'll finally be able to start on the nightmare of moving this system along with all our home moving... It's going to be quite a challenge but well worth it!

 

[Brew12]

Hey buddy, going great! My water temp was getting up to 83 in the garage and already dealing with rust on my tools due to evaporation, so I called it quits and moved everyone back in the display. I did it much slower this time with an hour acclimation and didn't lose any fish thankfully. I am getting some tang aggression due to the new surroundings, which I find quite fascinating... They were all fine in the tank prior to quarantine, and no issues in the QT for the 5 months they were in cramped quarters with each other, but now getting some squabbles. It is starting to die down so I don't think it will be a lasting issue.


We are under contract on yet another home, and this one is actually looking promising, so if all goes well we'll close end of this month. I'll be building a 10x12 shed for my equipment room, and luckily it will be a pretty short run for the drain lines that will not see any direct sunlight, so that will make for a much better piping scenario. So, as long as nothing falls through, I'll finally be able to start on the nightmare of moving this system along with all our home moving... It's going to be quite a challenge but well worth it!

Umm.... I know your busy but... PICTURES!!!!!! ;Woot;Joyful

 

[Jeffdstafford]

Umm.... I know your busy but... PICTURES!!!!!! ;Woot;Joyful

I know, I know, should have known better!

Here's a few random pics and a video I had on my phone from a couple nights ago under actinics; please excuse the mess that is my tank. After the last teardown to catch that one remaining fish, around 4am I literally tossed all my rock back into the tank in one pile, and just spread all my corals out as best I could across the sandbed, and will wait to re-aquascape until I get moved.

 

[Brew12]

I know, I know, should have known better!

Here's a few random pics and a video I had on my phone from a couple nights ago under actinics; please excuse the mess that is my tank. After the last teardown to catch that one remaining fish, around 4am I literally tossed all my rock back into the tank in one pile, and just spread all my corals out as best I could across the sandbed, and will wait to re-aquascape until I get moved.

I'm so jealous!!!

Are all of those survivors? I need to crash my tank if that is what it takes to look this good!

 

[Jeffdstafford]

I'm so jealous!!!

Are all of those survivors? I need to crash my tank if that is what it takes to look this good!

Never say that, I wouldn't wish my last 5 months on my worst enemy!!!

Yep these are the surviving members, pretty awesome to not see a speck of ich on anyone.. Don't think I've ever seen that before in my tank. And it *almost* makes me feel good about the torture I put myself through And thanks for the kind words.. These have to be bionic fish at this point if they can survive all they went through and look this healthy on the other side!!

 

[Brew12]

Never say that, I wouldn't wish my last 5 months on my worst enemy!!!

Yep these are the surviving members, pretty awesome to not see a speck of ich on anyone.. Don't think I've ever seen that before in my tank. And it *almost* makes me feel good about the torture I put myself through And thanks for the kind words.. These have to be bionic fish at this point if they can survive all they went through and look this healthy on the other side!!

Some day I will get there. It just takes so long to do everything the right way. I really think when I get these 4 anthias out of my QT this weekend it will really liven my tank up.
Unfortunately, I lost my purple Monti Cap. My green one is doing well though. Corals are crazy. I bought them from the same store, in the same tank. Put them through the same dips side by side in my QT. The purple one died, the green one did great.