I've (temporarily) been forced to move some fish into my mixed reef tank, and they are putting a strain on my biological filter and have raised my nitrates to around 20. I've done multiple 50% water changes, but the nitrates are elevated within a few days. My softies seem to be doing well, but I have noticed some color changes in my SPS as well as a decrease in polyp extension. As a result, I need to move them for a month or so until I can find the fish another tank. I have a 10 gallon tank that I can move my SPS into for the time being, but it is empty at the moment. I also have a spare light, powerhead, and an old HOB filter with some carbon, and even an old, crappy, skimmer. My plan is to take a small amount of sand, a few pieces of live rock, and the SPS and place them in this tank for the time being. I imagine the tank will have a mini-cycle, but I'm hoping this will not harm the corals as much as having them in a tank with nitrates consistently at 20 ppm. Is my thinking correct on this, or am I doing damage by putting the coral in a tank that is not mature and exposing them to a mini-cycle? Any input would be appreciated.
QT tank for SPS?
- Thread starter CWP
- Start date
drawman
New member
Can you give us a little more information about your tank. What size is it and how much live rock are you using? What kind of flow do you have in the tank and what kind of skimmer are you using? If your nitrates are 20 now what have they consistently been in the past? Were you using a HOB filter on this tank as well?
