Matt Lusk
New Member
I just completed the cycle on a new 65gal tank (and a new QT tank) and want to move some of my LPS and SPS out of a mature 30gal (15 years old) and into the 65gal. I had a recent issue with aiptasia in the 30gal but have that under control and haven't seen any in over 2 months. The new 65gal is a totally sterile environment with new sand and aquascape. I plan to decommission the 30gal sometime in the next 2 months.
Question: Should I quarantine my corals, fish, and inverts before I introduce them to the new 65gal? I want to minimize the headache of introducing nuisance algae or hitchhikers into the 65gal "as much as possible." My plan is to dip and scrub the corals I move over. So should I dip and then QT for 30 days, or can I dip and then acclimate to 65gal? I realize that even with the strictest QT protocol, some problems will inevitably find their way into a display tank - I'll face those when they come up. That being said, what "level of concern" should I have with moving stuff from the 30 to the 65?
In my 15 years of running the 30gal I've never quarantined anything. That may shock some of you. After 15 years of not QTing, the recent aiptasia outbreak was the final lesson I had to learn, and is ultimately is the reason I am starting fresh. All the live rock and sand from the 30gal are getting tossed. At the end of the day, I'll have peppermint shrimp in the new tank so if an aiptasia polyp appears, it won't be the end of my world. I just want to be smart about minimizing risk. At this point, I've only got a few things I'm transferring: a small birdsnest, a gorgonian sea fan, some mushrooms, green button polyps, and what I can salvage of a large green star polyp blanket. Leave some thoughts!
Question: Should I quarantine my corals, fish, and inverts before I introduce them to the new 65gal? I want to minimize the headache of introducing nuisance algae or hitchhikers into the 65gal "as much as possible." My plan is to dip and scrub the corals I move over. So should I dip and then QT for 30 days, or can I dip and then acclimate to 65gal? I realize that even with the strictest QT protocol, some problems will inevitably find their way into a display tank - I'll face those when they come up. That being said, what "level of concern" should I have with moving stuff from the 30 to the 65?
In my 15 years of running the 30gal I've never quarantined anything. That may shock some of you. After 15 years of not QTing, the recent aiptasia outbreak was the final lesson I had to learn, and is ultimately is the reason I am starting fresh. All the live rock and sand from the 30gal are getting tossed. At the end of the day, I'll have peppermint shrimp in the new tank so if an aiptasia polyp appears, it won't be the end of my world. I just want to be smart about minimizing risk. At this point, I've only got a few things I'm transferring: a small birdsnest, a gorgonian sea fan, some mushrooms, green button polyps, and what I can salvage of a large green star polyp blanket. Leave some thoughts!
