First QT

Y

Youngeshark70

Member
Okay so this will be my first ever qt tank.

20 gal tank
HOB filter rated for 55 gal
Powerhead
Need to get a heater

I have read all the post i can find about qt and basically everyone has a different approach. I want a simple and quick approach because mostly all my planned fish are easy and hardy fish. I have planned two clowns, flasher wrasse, Catalina goby, and a kole tang. Then later starting the corals. They are all going in a 75 gal DT

So my questions are is it okay if i just use water from Dt and run filters seeded from the DT (i know not to put these back in the DT). And also do frequent large water changes.
What steps should i take just as proaction i like the idea of waiting till the fish is eating for a week or so and checking for any signs of anything then using the prazi pro regardless of any signs. Then after treatment waiting a week or so. So like a total of 4-6 weeks in the QT. Is this a good way to QT all my fish or should i treat the Tang for ich as a precaution?

I am also stocking all fish before starting corals so i can take down the QT and clean it out because i know some things for fish treatments can harm the corals and inverts. Also will have to add a light at this point What would be the best treatment plan for soft corals? And do you qt snails and such?
 
I would add a small protein skimmer, if only for the additional oxygen. A small air operated would be enough.

6 weeks would be the minimum quarantine period, 8 would definitely be better.
With the small fish you have in mind, unless you want to quarantine them all at once, 10 gallon would be sufficient. Two 10 gallon tanks would be even better in case you plan on doing TTM or want to buy fish in smaller groups.

I hope you understand that Catalina gobies as a California native species require cooler water. At normal reef temperatures their lives may get cut short and they may be especially prone to catch diseases.

As for the plan with getting the fish first and then the corals: I would switch that around.
Start with a clean up crew and after the tank is stable add the corals.
Let the tank run for 3 months after the last wet item was added while quarantining the fish in the QT(s). Otherwise you would need to quarantine the corals which requires a much more sophisticated quarantine system to keep them alive for 3 months.
 
ThRoewer said:
I would add a small protein skimmer, if only for the additional oxygen. A small air operated would be enough.

6 weeks would be the minimum quarantine period, 8 would definitely be better.
With the small fish you have in mind, unless you want to quarantine them all at once, 10 gallon would be sufficient. Two 10 gallon tanks would be even better in case you plan on doing TTM or want to buy fish in smaller groups.

I hope you understand that Catalina gobies as a California native species require cooler water. At normal reef temperatures their lives may get cut short and they may be especially prone to catch diseases.

As for the plan with getting the fish first and then the corals: I would switch that around.
Start with a clean up crew and after the tank is stable add the corals.
Let the tank run for 3 months after the last wet item was added while quarantining the fish in the QT(s). Otherwise you would need to quarantine the corals which requires a much more sophisticated quarantine system to keep them alive for 3 months.
Click to expand...

Agreed in all regards. Bold added because they will not do well at normal reef temperatures.
 
I remembering reading that years ago about the catalina goby. Not my choice (girlfriends lol) so she will have to repick. Thanks for the advice.
 
And the reason i was mainly thinking corals second was i thought they needed a even more mature tank. The tank has been up and running for almost a year already. And also the cost of adding a protein skimmer to the DT and also a light. What light and skimmer would yall suggest for a 75 gal soft coral tank?
 
If you really want Catalina gobies I would recommend a 10 gallon species tank. You can easily keep 2 to 5 of them in that size.
A heater may not be necessary if your room temperature doesn't drop too low in the winter or go too high in the summer.
They also do fine under low light, ideally blue.
 
So now i just needa get a protein skimmer, a light, and what all other than sand should i have in the sump? Also what is a good start at soft coral stocking? I like mushroom corals and toadstools
 
Are we talking about the QT or the DT?

A QT usually doesn't need sand.

A fish/snail/crab QT needs either a powerhead or a HOB filter, a heater and ideally also a skimmer. Light is optional, especially for fish, a place near a window is sufficient. If you want you can hang a standard LED Daylight bulb (50 to 75 W equivalent) over the tank. That will be enough light to get algae growing. Algae growth is beneficial for many fish and mandatory for CUC quarantine, though may cause more maintenance effort.

A coral QT needs an appropriate powerhead flow pump, a skimmer, a good quality light source (ideally the same you have over your DT), a heater and for stony corals ideally also a basic dosing pump (unless you want to dose daily by hand). On top of that it will likely also need a minimal clean-up-crew of some snail to keep algae in check.

A DT usually benefits from having a sump to hide much of the equipment in it, but it is not an absolute requirement.

BTW: his is the skimmer I use on my QTs: Red Sea Fish Pharm 17-Inch Berlin Air Lift Protein Skimmer
It's a great skimmer and perfect for a 10 or 20 gallon tank.
Unfortunately it is out of production, so what you find online are the leftovers. The real issue with this is that they also stopped making the fitting airstones.
 
All I have in the sump of my 42 gallon tank is a skimmer, the return pump and lots of Chaetomorpha algae. For the algae I have this Ttaotronics led grow light: http://www.amazon.com/Efficient-Hydroponic-TaoTronics-Greenhouse-Combination/dp/B00GNWK2XO
It is on 24/7 and nitrates and phosphates are at undetectable levels despite good feeding.
The corals in that tank also seem to like it.

My new system will have a sump tank (currently a standard 40B but later a custom designed 50 gallon tank). It will have compartments for skimmer, Chaeto and return pump but otherwise be another tank with fish and coral.

Sand is not required in the sump.
 
For light I would look into the Marsaqua LED lamps. I have the 165W model and so far it seems my carpet anemone I have it over likes it a lot. Only issue for me is that it is not Apex ready, but it is manually dimmable and blue and white have separate power lines so that you can switch them independently with a standard timer.

For your tank you may need the 300W model if you want to light your tank edge to edge.

The skimmer depends on if you have a sump.
 
Im leaning on getting the 300W, with that light would it be possible to do a few hard corals at the highest spots on the rock? Also i put the specs on the space for a skimmer in the sump, 6 in by 12 in with a 10in water level. My sump doesnt have a bubble trap, if i put a skimmer would i need to rebuild it?
 
Many use the Marsaqua over SPS tanks with success (there is a thread about them here) and 300W is a lot of light - you should be able to have SPS on the bottom with that.

A good and correctly set up skimmer shouldn't let any micro bubbles out.
I have a Hydor (as far as I know out of production) and it works well. It's very similar to the Eshopps PSK 150 which fits your budget.

I also like the Tunze skimmers but they are a bit more pricey. The Tunze Master DOC 9410 would be my recommendation - a bit oversized for your tank but the smaller ones are not as good in maintenance or performance.

BTW: it is best to oversize the skimmer a bit (x2), especially if you may end up with a lot of fish.
 
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