Been meaning to ask and now seems to be the right time.

[oblio]

Lots of talk lately about the importance of QT tanks. Lets take this opportunity to discuss this topic to bring the collective borg up a notch or two on the subject.
I have a QT that is empty and I fill it when I purchase fish, but have not more than dips with corals. (in hind site this seems to be rolling the proverbial dice)
So the begs the question: What does the collective feel is an appropriate level of effort. Nothing is perfect but at some effort MOST would avoid MOST issues, this is where I would like to discuss.
Now that I've said that, I was thinking about this issue a few weeks ago and I wanted to post a few weeks ago but didn't.
If I took my qt tank, filled it with new salt water and put a coral in it, turned the pump on, and didn't put any fish or anything else in the tank other than topping it off, do I still run some risk of cycling? It seems that if I add nothing to the water let the coral do its thing that the tank would just work. Maybe even do a small water change once a week, would this be appropriate? What time length would cover "most" pests I'm likely to encounter? 2 weeks? 3? 4?
I'm just not going to run a QT 24/7 for the 3 or 4 times a year that I might purchase a new item, this number keeps getting smaller as the tank fills up adding to the unwillingness to have a qt tank running all the time.

 

[tony727]

I also wonder the same thing, as coral don't need to be fed and they don't excrete ammonia which would cause a cycle.

I haven't been quarantining my corals..I do think the biggest issue would be the eggs of any hitchhiker not being removed by the dip.

Mostly nudibranch's, flatworms, bugs, spiders, etc. Things like crabs or pest anemones can be seen during inspection. So depending how long it takes those eggs to hatch is how long we quarantine, which is up to 21 days.

 

[fishinthewall]

I agree, my main concern I would be setting up filtration in the new tank. I understand I can move live rock over but then risk infecting the live rock. At what point can you share water with your main? Is it possible to do this with frags, maybe a very high micron filter on the return to keep pests from entering. With all the posts going around I have been thinking the same thing

 

[Ah64av8tor]

This is my quote from another thread;

A small tank with appropriately sized HOB filter, hang the filter on your sump and run for a few weeks after that take the sponge or biowheel out and keep viable in your sump. Now you have a filter/QT ready for when ever you need.

I have an old acrylic 20 gal tank and pump/filter that is always ready. I also have a HOB Skimmer for it if I need to run it for a long time. Depending on the treatment to be used I may take some Live rock from my sump to aid in biological filtration.

IMHO if you spend top dollar for LE corals it is in your best interest to provide the best care possible for them. If you propagate your corals and sell/trade with your friends then the responsibility is on you to provide a healthy specimen that will not endanger or destroy their new home. This is especially true if you are trying to get LE top Dollar for the frag or colonies. When I was heavily selling and trading frags, all my corals were in top condition fully encrusted and went for reasonable price, I inspected and quarantined everything that did not come from a very reputable source.

I know lots of people have a totally different view and will take an infested colony and frag it and glue it to a plug and sell it having no visible damage as a top shelf LE coral. That is a loaded time bomb waiting to wipe out someones system.

Please be responsible and Protect yourself and our hobby.

 

[Postal]

Sponge filters are your friend. Keep one or two in your sump and you instantly have a filter for a QT tank when needed. Just be sure to properly sterilize it before returning it to your sump.

 

[Webmanny]

Sponge filters are your friend. Keep one or two in your sump and you instantly have a filter for a QT tank when needed. Just be sure to properly sterilize it before returning it to your sump.

Good recommendation. Should you keep it pumping water through it always or can you just drop it in your sump and the bacteria attaches to it? I'm only asking because I would hate to have something else in the sump to clean every month. I know, I am lazy.

I'm guessing one of these would be ok for a small 10 to 20 gallon QT tank?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=28052&cmpid=03cseYY&gclid=Cj0KEQjwoYi4BRDF_PHHu6rI7NMBEiQAKZ-JuPCiAP6TzeiprGAtwKG8jtX8c0kkW4yihb3OqRYoRRcaArpm8P8HAQ

 

[tigger2577]

found this artical

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2195588