Quarantine tanks - coral and fish. Reefer 170?

[The JLP Experience]

Hi all, first post - noob here. Apologies in advance if this is the wrong sub-forum.

Long story short: I found a used Reefer 170 off Craigslist and set it up but immediately realized I wanted something larger as my DT. So I bought a Reefer 250 which is off to a beautiful start with two clowns, two hermit crabs, and two snails.

In my readings, I've realized that if I want to do things properly it sounds like I need TWO additional tanks for quarantining purposes (one for coral, one for fish). I grabbed an aqueon 10g bundle off petco for reasonably cheap. Just need an ammonia monitor and some PVC. I'll use that for fish QT. I'm planning to go ahead and put something in that pretty quickly since by the time I'm done QT'ing the DT should be more than ready to accommodate the new fish.

I've never gone down the coral route but it sounds like most people advocate QT'ing coral and that needs a SEPARATE tank. I'm trying to decide if I should just keep my Reefer 170 (currently listed on craigslist) and use that for a coral frag/QT tank. I've got to imagine I'll want to be adding coral pretty regularly and so I'll want a constant QT tank. this would be pretty convenient since I'd have everything I need including ATO/skimmer for a more long-term kit. it has an AI prime light.

anyway, wanted to get you guys' opinion - should I just sell the reefer 170 and go for a 20 long from the ground up for a coral frag/QT tank? or will the reefer suit my needs.

note that I have no plans to make the 170 a DT right now. I'm already beyond pushing it by bringing in TWO QT's (my wife is going to kill me)

thanks everyone in advance

 

[Mjrenz]

Hi all, first post - noob here. Apologies in advance if this is the wrong sub-forum.

Long story short: I found a used Reefer 170 off Craigslist and set it up but immediately realized I wanted something larger as my DT. So I bought a Reefer 250 which is off to a beautiful start with two clowns, two hermit crabs, and two snails.

In my readings, I've realized that if I want to do things properly it sounds like I need TWO additional tanks for quarantining purposes (one for coral, one for fish). I grabbed an aqueon 10g bundle off petco for reasonably cheap. Just need an ammonia monitor and some PVC. I'll use that for fish QT. I'm planning to go ahead and put something in that pretty quickly since by the time I'm done QT'ing the DT should be more than ready to accommodate the new fish.

I've never gone down the coral route but it sounds like most people advocate QT'ing coral and that needs a SEPARATE tank. I'm trying to decide if I should just keep my Reefer 170 (currently listed on craigslist) and use that for a coral frag/QT tank. I've got to imagine I'll want to be adding coral pretty regularly and so I'll want a constant QT tank. this would be pretty convenient since I'd have everything I need including ATO/skimmer for a more long-term kit. it has an AI prime light.

anyway, wanted to get you guys' opinion - should I just sell the reefer 170 and go for a 20 long from the ground up for a coral frag/QT tank? or will the reefer suit my needs.

note that I have no plans to make the 170 a DT right now. I'm already beyond pushing it by bringing in TWO QT's (my wife is going to kill me)

thanks everyone in advance

Welcome to the forum! The refer 170 already sounds like it has everything you need for a proper coral qt. The larger the volume of water, the easier it is to keep everything stable. A 20 long would still be a good idea for a fish qt instead of a 10 gallon for the same reason.

For what’s it’s worth, I had a lot more of my paycheck left over each week to spend on fish and corals after my divorce