Quarantine setup

Punk

Punk

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hi guys, hope this is the right place to post this...

i need to get a quarantine tank going (new additions + to treat sick livestock)...

i guess it needs to be a completely separate setup with it's own skimmer etc. etc. (like a nano)? or could one leave out certain components?

what size is ideal & what equipment would you recommend?

many thanks! :thumbup:
 
if you can keep up with regular water changes you can leave out the skimmer.simple t8s will do the job on a QT tank regarding the lighting
 
mekaeel said:
if you can keep up with regular water changes you can leave out the skimmer.simple t8s will do the job on a QT tank regarding the lighting
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thanks mekaeel, how often do i need to do water changes in a QT tank if it doesn't have a skimmer connected & won't it interfere with medicine that's in the water (if applicable)?

would a Reef Octopus DNW-110 be able to handle a 100 liter QT tank? btw, where can i get the liter ratings for the Reef Octopus skimmers?

thanks for the info man! :thumbup:
 
millepora said:
The Reef Octopus DNW-110 is rated for tanks up to 350 liters.;)
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wow, that's awesome, plus they're well priced!

does the lighting not have to be sufficient to keep corals happy (as per your display tank)? and does it have to be subdued when you're treating a sick fish?

btw, when you guys buy new corals, how long do you need to keep them in your QT to be sure they're safe to be introduced into your display tank?
 
mekaeel said:
ok in my case i dont QT corals.but i found that it is essential.what corals you planning on keeping punk?softies,LPS SPS?
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eish all of the above! lol

i'm just starting out with marines but i want to do it right...
 
I would recommend that your quarantine is fed from your main display sump. When you need to quarantine new livestock, simply cut off the feed to the quarantine tank. Therefor same water conditions in quarantine than in system.
I don't believe a skimmer is really necesscary for a quarantine system, simply using carbon or chemical filtration such as purigen and some filter floss is sufficient.
During quarantine do small water changes on the quarantine tank using water from your display.

Once the quarantine process is complete, simply transfer the subject to display by following normal acclimitization protocol.

Empty the quarantine tank, fill with ro, then salt, (in that order) aerate and mix. Turn on feed pumponce thoroughly mixed. I.e. a small waterchange is done with any new tank additions.

Obviously the above does not apply to hospital tanks, as you might need to use copperbased remedies, which will end up in your display, killing iff corals and inverts.
The importance of quarantine for newly aqiuired corals is often overlooked (sadly so, think of the recent "epidemic" of monti eating nudis on SA message board)

For this reason, hospital tanks and quarantine tanks should be two seperate entities.
 
W.r.t. quarantine of corals: Like i said above, unfortunately a procedure seldom practiced................
The most important part of coral quarantine is observation and inspection.
Corals generally show signs of ill health/dissatisfaction with water quality very quickly. RTN, STN, Brown Jelly Infection will usually settle in within the first few days. Two weeks should be enough for the coral to show any signs of ill health. Whilst corals are in quarantine, they should be very closely observed and inspected for parasites such as red bugs, acro eating flatworms and monti eating nudis.
 
thanks for the great help so far! :thumbup:

so far i'm thinking of setting up 2 3ft tanks (QT + hospital) on top of each other with their own canister filter...

would it be a good idea to add a UVC reactor to each also and should the flow in a hospital tank be limited to reduce stress?

thanks!
 
Is a hospital tank running 24/7 really worth it? Surly a tank on hand ready for water will be ok. If you have a sick fish you can fill with main tank water and treat fish, other wise if you keep it running 24/7 and don't have any ill fish then you just throwing away water/salt and time....
 
SIMS said:
Is a hospital tank running 24/7 really worth it? Surly a tank on hand ready for water will be ok. If you have a sick fish you can fill with main tank water and treat fish, other wise if you keep it running 24/7 and don't have any ill fish then you just throwing away water/salt and time....
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nope, i'll empty them when they're not needed

here's some great advice i also got:
"Ideally you want a system about half size as your main setup, for example I have a 2.5m display and a 1.2m QT tank... Also preferably you want a seperate hospital tank so that you can treet sick fish even while you have others in qt QT I keep a std 900mm tank for this. For filtration nothing fancy required, you can use a canister filter with all the usual stuff that we love to hate ie bio balls ceramic rings etc... What I do suggst is that you not keep the system setup and running as it will turn into a fully used display system if you do. To ensure that you have atank ready for live stock at the drop of a hat, just keep a filter sponge in the sump of your main tank then when you know you are going to buy something new or you make an impulsive buy (we all do from time to time) the all you have to do is take water from your display (water change) and add it to the QT system take the filter sponge out of the sump and put it in your chosen filter (HOB or canister) and hey presto a setup QT system, just on a side note when you remove the sponge from your display replace it with a new one and throw away the used one at the end of the QT period... I also suggest that you change as much water as you can every week ie take your water change water and add it to the QT system (don't use fresh salt mix) this way the fish will not require a lenghthy acclimatisation period when you add them to the main tank. So to round off you do not require any LR Skimmers etc...
Also minimal lighting will suffice (less stress for the fish) even when QTing corals just feeding well will make up for the lack of light..."
 
Hi kingfisher and welcome to MASA. You should probably create a new "thread" about your tank setup. Visit the Beginner discussions section and click on the "new thread" button.
 
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