FOWLR for quarantine?? Help needed

[reefboarder]

In the process of setting up a FOWLR 55 galllons with the intent of using it as a hypo salinity quarantine.

I am wondering if the live rock will be able to continue being live or will it become devoid of life such as copepods and other beneficial life being that it will have a specific gravity of 1.020-1.021?

I have a sick powder brown (ICH) that I intend on hopusing along with two black O's two blue/green chromis one coral beauty two lawnmower blennies and one target mandarin for the suggested 8 week period to ensure the display is no longer infected with ICH.

My biggest concern is a food source for the mandarin, take into consideration that I am aware of the fact that 55 gallons is too small for that stock list but I have no extra cash to buy another tank.

 

[Chris27]

With a sg of 1.021, you wouldn't lose too many inverts, microfauna, or activity on your live rock, however hypo is generally accepted to be around 1.010-1.009 and not 1.021.

At 1.009 you will most likely loose most invert live, however the biological filter (live rock) will still be live from a Nitrification perspective, just no critters.

Mandarin's are really cool fish, they are just hard to QT, you can keep throwing pods in there daily and try to train it to eat frozen preparations, but it will take some work on your part to keep it happy. It can be done BTW, so don't be discouraged.

Good Luck.

 

[wooden_reefer]

With a sg of 1.021, you wouldn't lose too many inverts, microfauna, or activity on your live rock, however hypo is generally accepted to be around 1.010-1.009 and not 1.021.

At 1.009 you will most likely loose most invert live, however the biological filter (live rock) will still be live from a Nitrification perspective, just no critters.

+1

A more fundamental question is why are you using LR in QT while doing hypo?

Is it because you already have cycled LR? In time pressure this is a valid reason; otherwise, you do not need LR in QT ever.

A cheaper and better medium in QT is better.

LR is a superior medium in DT due to a better balance between nitrification and denitrificatiuon, and perhaps greater diversity of other microbes. There is greater spread of extent of oxygenation in LR in a DT. This is good and important in a more established and stable environment in DT, when you just want to improve upon a fair to good situation.

In QT, you want to solve the problem of nitrification only and intently, since even a 10-week QT session is rather short so you do not need to worry about nitrate.

The medium for QT is better to be portable and compact so that you can take it in and out of a power filter easily. Sometimes you have to use a drug that harms nitrification bacteria and you want to use the filter for aeration and circulation only while such a drug is in use. And, you can later set up a QT more easily if you can set aside the medium for storage, if you maintain its nitrification activity.

One choice in medium is between calcareous and non- .