Quaratine Tank Questions

Braves Fan · Mar 6, 2011

I am working towards setting up a SPS tank, and with all that I have read, I think it would be best to set up a Quarantine tank for any corals that I might be getting. I am guessing that in the beginning I will try to buy some where around 10 to 15 frags or more to get the tank started. Since it will be a quarantine tank, it won't be tied into the display tank. How big should this tank be, should it have its own sump with a skimmer or will a HOB filter be good enough, water changes once a week? What should my daily regiment with the corals be, take them out and dip them every day, how long should the corals stay in the Q. Tank before I should feel safe to put them into the display tank, pest free. Maybe someone could write up a sticky on this.

BlazinNano · Mar 6, 2011

Well first off I would start by buying from a reputable seller. Most vendors pride themself on pest free. They don't want a bad rap for infesting peoples tanks. I have never quarantined corals just fish. Most of the time I just dip them.

But if you are going to quarantine then you will basically need a complete system. Lights and filtration. If you are not going to be feeding this tank you could probably get away with no Skimmer and the HOB will work with water changes. Maybe just a cheap HOB skimmer.

I would do like a 10 gallon with lights, a powerhead or two and like an AquaC Remora skimmer or a Coralife HOB skimmer. Should do what you need it to do.

butts182 · Mar 6, 2011

in a perfect world, vendors and people would ship corals with no pests, but since that will never happen, a qt system is recommended. i think most people don't actually have one, but if you are able to have one, go for it. if you had no fish and didn't feed the tank, you could probably get away with a hob filter or a smaller skimmer.

mdb_talon · Mar 6, 2011

Think you are on the right track planning for a qt. Just relying on vendors not having pests is asking for trouble. For me i dont have a sump on qt, but i do water changes of about 25% every other day. No, do not dip corals everyday assuming you have no known problems. Even if you have problem you probably dont want to dip daily.

returnofsid · Mar 6, 2011

For a short term QT system, you can get by with a HOB Filter, and even lower intensity lighting. The lower intensity lighting isn't going to be a problem, since corals will be in the QT, short term. Once you move them to your display, you'll want to acclimate them to the display lighting, over a few day period. You could even get away with using a standard fluorescent fixture. Keep the Alk, Ca and Mg stable and you're good to go! I would recommend something in the size of a 29 or 40 breeder.

Braves Fan · Mar 6, 2011

How long should the corals be in the quarantine tank, should the corals be treated before they are placed into the quarantine tank as if they were infected with AEFW or red bugs or should you just leave the corals in the quarantine tank for a period of time and after a waiting a certin amount of time and no pest show themselfs, into the display tank they go? I think a 29g or a 40g tank would be rather larger for the quarantine tank. What I mean is, most people only buy a frag or two at a time, keeping a 30 to 40 gallon set up seems kinda large.