Another sps qt thread......

MichaelW

MichaelW

New member
Hi guys,
I know this has all been done before but anyway let's get some more info going.

So I am going to be rebuilding my acro collection after my mysterious deaths. This time I want to ensure no pests get in the tank so a qt procedure is going to happen.

BRS came out a few weeks ago with a video on their qt routine and wanted I see on here how you guys do it.
Their routine as best I can remember is

1. Temp acclimate
2. Dip in coral rx
3. After coral rx dip in Bayer (i assume this means direct from one dip to the other)
4. Rinse
5. Remove corals from bases (re mount on new)
6. Place in frag qt system for observation

Now there was no mention of more dips as in weekly which I thought there should be for eggs.
What period of time do you guys leave corals in the qt. Is there anything you guys think is missing from these procedures?

Would you have other animals in the qt (such as fish) or would you leave coral only so you could get a better idea if there is a pest present?

This is all aimed at pests...what about infections or diseases?

Assuming your dt is "clean" you could use that water to perform small water changes on the qt. To keep parameters in line I assume?
 
Perhaps the most important step is to inspect the heck out of the coral for bite marks, eggs, bugs, etc. I also really look the dip over for stuff that fell off to see what I am dealing with (if any).

I would never assume that a DT is clean. Ever. If you were wrong, then everything that you have is infected.
 
If we don't think our dt is clean, and that's where the corals are ending up, is there a point in quarantine?
 
MichaelW said:
If we don't think our dt is clean, and that's where the corals are ending up, is there a point in quarantine?
Click to expand...
Yes so you can keep it clean. If you Don't it won't be clean for very long. Especially if you're buying wild corals.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
sharkboy99999 said:
Yes so you can keep it clean. If you Don't it won't be clean for very long. Especially if you're buying wild corals.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

My comment was in response about not assuming your dt is clean. I wouldplanned to have done water changes with water from my dt assuming the water there was clean. If, as previous comment states, our dt is not clean then wouldn't we just be putting nice clean, quarantined corals into an infected tank this making it pointless?
 
There is no way to be perfect on everything. Very careful people have introduced pathogens into their display who have done everything that you have stated. Are you going to QT all of your fish, snails, rock, shrimp and everything else? Why risk it?

This will not be a perfect science. Eventually, you will have an issue with your display.
 
Pife said:
Take the bases off first.
Click to expand...

Right, I have seen some people mentioning to do it first and others recommend after dipping.
Reasons I have heard for after is that if there is anything on the coral at all, even the base, they want to know about it so leave them on to see if anything comes off in the dip. What were your reasons for doing it prior to dipping?
 
jda said:
There is no way to be perfect on everything. Very careful people have introduced pathogens into their display who have done everything that you have stated. Are you going to QT all of your fish, snails, rock, shrimp and everything else? Why risk it?

This will not be a perfect science. Eventually, you will have an issue with your display.
Click to expand...

Understood. So you would make fresh saltwater to make changes in the qt.
 
Sometimes. I have a calcium reactor on mine with a MH that matches my display. I don't feed anything into the tank and I rarely change water on it. When I do, I use fresh saltwater. About all that I do is scrape the massive amounts of coralline.

You cannot afford to get cheap with this.
 
Another sps qt thread......

I dip weekly in coral rx for 6 weeks. I haven't dipped weekly in Bayer yet, or seen a need to an additional dip yet. I do keep my coral sources to a minimum which likely helps. If I were getting corals from several sources, I would probably dip both every week.

May not be the best method, but works for me. Upon dipping each week, I do a major in depth inspection with a light and magnifying glass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So my situation is that I have a small (10 gallon) frag tank connected to my system. I was planning on re doing a bit of plumbing and making it so in normal day to day operation it is joined to main system, or, I can turn a valve to isolate it and run it as a qt for a couple months on New corals (after all previous mentioned dipping procedures) then, when everything is showing no signs of pests for the couple months I can turn a valve again and make it one system and either leave corals in there for a while, transfer them to dt or transfer to my 50 gallon frag tank.
I would probably add a sump of some kind to the qt when it is running isolated to increase water volume.
 
MrsReefK said:
I dip weekly in coral rx for 6 weeks. I haven't dipped weekly in Bayer yet, or seen a need to an additional dip yet. I do keep my coral sources to a minimum which likely helps. If I were getting corals from several sources, I would probably dip both every week.

May not be the best method, but works for me. Upon dipping each week, I do a major in depth inspection with a light and magnifying glass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

So interesting you are the first person who says they do the weekly dipping. I had thought this would have been more common practice, bht, the others I have seen tend to use the qt more as an observation rather than continued dipping.
 
MichaelW said:
So interesting you are the first person who says they do the weekly dipping. I had thought this would have been more common practice, bht, the others I have seen tend to use the qt more as an observation rather than continued dipping.
Click to expand...


Strange, when I was researching earlier this year when first getting into coral QT, everyone advised weekly. Funny, they may have been suggesting it but didn't practice it themselves? Not sure how it would change so much in opinion.
 
I just dip once unless I observe signs of pests afterward. AEFW and spiders are the only thing that really scare me. I don't have any montis, or else monti nudis would scare me too. AEFW bites & eggs and spiders are really easy to see when you are inspecting the corals.
 
If you want to get things in and out as fast as possible, dip weekly so aefw don't get into the display. If you have time to observe do so over a few months or more because aefw are sneaky and will fool you Everytime.

Frags from other reefers tanks are just as likely to have pests as wild corals. Wild or maricultured corals will have a wider range of pests you have to look for so that's a tough part. There are a lot of things you have to look out for. But I have seen aefw and red bugs in people's tanks more than I have seen them on wild or maricultured acros. So treat everything like it has a pest is my advice. A lot of people collect acros before they understand what pests are and how to treat for them.
 
Piper27 said:
If you want to get things in and out as fast as possible, dip weekly so aefw don't get into the display. If you have time to observe do so over a few months or more because aefw are sneaky and will fool you Everytime.



Frags from other reefers tanks are just as likely to have pests as wild corals. Wild or maricultured corals will have a wider range of pests you have to look for so that's a tough part. There are a lot of things you have to look out for. But I have seen aefw and red bugs in people's tanks more than I have seen them on wild or maricultured acros. So treat everything like it has a pest is my advice. A lot of people collect acros before they understand what pests are and how to treat for them.
Click to expand...


Great advice, assume everything has pests, no matter the source.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've used smaller 10-20 gallon cheap tanks as QT for the past few years until recently. I just got a Red Sea Reefer 170 just because I think it will make my QT process cleaner and more organized.
When I get a new frag, I always cut it from the plug and throw the base away. I then dip the frag in Bayer for 6 minutes while blowing water across it with a turkey baster. After the dip, I soak in saltwater for another 5 minutes or so. Before it goes into my QT I examine it for any visual pests. I repeat this once a week for at least 6 weeks before I will put it into my display or frag tank.

My QT is constantly running and completely separate from my main system. I use separate buckets, hoses, etc. Everything I use for QT is marked in red tape so I don't use a hose on my DT that was just used on my QT by mistake. I am fairly confident my display is pest free so I do use water from my main system for weekly water changes. If I have a lot of corals in my QT, I will dose 2 part as needed, otherwise weekly water changes keep parameters in line. I do not keep my QT as sterile as some, I have sand in there and some live rock in the sump. I feel these corals go through a lot of stress in the dipping process so I think the "aged" water helps. (just my theory)

My QT now has a vortech for lighting, MP40 for flow, and a few heaters in the sump.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Help: SPS peeling strangely.
Replies
5
Views
207
griss
griss
J
Bare Bottom QT tank won't start cycle :(
Replies
13
Views
434
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
K
Setting up QT
Replies
3
Views
215
katestack
K
NancyT3
Butterfly fish in QT - newbie and need advice please
Replies
10
Views
382
leebca
L
K
Copperband butterfly
Replies
1
Views
207
OrionN
OrionN
Back
Top