Spa QT tank help

[rogergolf66]

Ok so I broke down my twin 120 gal mix reef tanks. I moved all other types of corals to a different system. This new 240 I put up is for spa only. I don't think I have any pests but I am going to use a qt tank for all corals that enter this new system. I am looking for info on the best way to setup the qt tank.

Here is what I have so far. It will be for spa only no fish or other types of corals.

Qt is a 48x18x12 tank it has 2 t5 one actinic plus and 1 abs. Also I have a true lumens pro blue led strip on the system. The lighting is much to low for spa but it just needs to keep them alive.

I purchased the dos automatic water changer is what I plan to use the dos for. So I plan to have it change 3 gal of new salt water into the 240g display and take 3 gal from the 240 display into the qt system everyday. I plan to have the qt tank with a drain as the dos moves water to the qt it will overflow into the overflow box and into a drain outside.

I do not plan to use a sump or a skimmer.

I was thinking about a marine pure bio block 8x8x4 for biological filtration. Do I even need biological filtration with no fish and the Ati water changes going on?

I will also use a heater and a fan to maintain temp to with in a couple deg. I also have a auto top off I can use on the system to maintain salinity too. I can add Kalk ATO water if u think it will be needed. I will have a large volume of corals in the beginning as I said I have 240gal with of spa corals to go through qt. I will have to do it in 3-6 stages.

Roger

I plan to dip the corals every week. I was thinking for 3-4 weeks is that long enough? Any info on this type of qt tank is welcome.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

Depending on how large the corals are, and how many, your Dos may keep up with the water changes, Kalk top off would work as well but you may have inconsistant swings due to the fact that some corals may take up alk/ca on some days before or after dips.

Dipping once a week for 3-4 weeks is good. leave them in qt for additional 2 weeks to check for remainder of pest is worth it,

I would add may keep a fish or two, to keep the biological filtration up. the bio blocks needs at least 4-5 weeks in a running system that's established in order for the blocks to work properly.

as far as everything else, get some powerheads and you should be good !

 

[scrapz]

If you are QTing all your corals , there is no reason any water should exchange from either of the tanks until after 6-8 weeks. This is to guarantee all the life cycles of the pest/ich/etc dies off in the main tank where you are transferring everything to.

I'm not sure what you meant by 3-6 stages. You either QT all at once or don't QT at all IMO. Guessing since you have other systems, those systems can house some SPS so you can do it in batches. Just make sure never to cross-contaminate the two. Might end up being a 24 week process..:crazy1:

Live rock is essential to any QT IMO. There needs to be somewhere for the bacteria to populate. With cured LR from my old tank, I was able to place SPS into my tank after 3 days of setting up, that was with 4 (2 4+ tangs) fish also. I would recommend setting up your QT a week ahead of time and wait for it to go through it's diatom cycle so the system can stabilize. Pureblocks are good but will need some time to populate.

Fish are essential to a QT system but picking the right ones is key. I would start with a tang then some sort of wrasse to pick at pest. I originally had 4 fish in my tank and it doing fine for 6 weeks until the bioload became too much. I dropped the fish count to 1 and it began to suffer due to the low availability of nutrients.

I don't use a sump but I do employ a skimmer. Keeps the water clean and air oxygenated. If something dies during the night, you might not be able to catch it in time before it fouls the water. I purchased a used Octopus 180 INT for $80 and it pulls out 1 cup of skimmate every week.

Heaters, I would recommend them to be used on a controller. This QT will be housing all your livestock during these 8 weeks, I would keep it as stable as I could. My apex is being used on my QT since my main tank is basically just recycling. A 250W shouldn't heat your tank over 82 degrees even if kept on without a controller, YMMV as I have a ambient temp of 70.



Your QT is basically your tank for the next 8 weeks, keep it stable and treat it like you would any other tank. Be diligent in your dipping schedule and good luck!

 

[rogergolf66]

Well maybe my post was confusing. I do understand that th bio blocks take time to populate the bacteria. I am in no rush to move the corals to qt. like I mentioned I broke down 2 120 gal tanks full of corals mostly sps. Some of the corals are very large 18 inches tall I will have to lay them down in the qt tank of they will be out of the water. By stages I ment I won't be able to fit all my corals into my qt tank at one time. They are in what will be my frag tank for sps in the future. It is 72x30x12 frag tank. I was able to jam all the sps is that smallish tank but dealing with a lot of chem warfair cause they keep touching. Not to much of a worry. This tank is maintained by my apex. And all sps are growing and doing well. They have been in there for 2 months or so.
So moving forward. Yes I will be adding another pm1 the apex for the qt tank. It will control the heater, fans, and lights.

I don't c why I need the fish is a qt tank. The water that will be changed into the qt tank if from the new setup that has cycled. So story behind that tank. I used a couple hundred lbs of dry rock (no pests) cooked it for 2 months then added 3 dead shrimp to cycle the tank and ghost feed it after shrimp disappeared. Then moved eock into the display tank with new salt water so this tank has no pests. This is where the water will come from for the daily qt water changes. That tank is cycled it has 2 clowns in it now. I will slowly keep adding fish from my old stock all healthy fish I have had for more then 2 years into the new display tank.

So the qt tank will get about a 10% water change everyday that seams like it would be enough to not need a skimmer and to maintain biological too but if not I will use a type of artificial biological like the bio block or the matrix bio filter support media

 

[rogergolf66]

The old display tank old pic

The old frag tank. Old pic


So u can see I can't fit all corals into the qt tank. All will go through the qt tank but in 3-4 stages.

 

[rogergolf66]

New display tank


Future sps frag tank but for now it is everything from the old display and frag tank including sps, fish and all rock
This is old pic too. This was only the display tank corals. After this pic I broke down the frag tank and added that to this tank it is very full currently more then what is pictured


After all r done going through qt I will drain this tank clean it then refill it and attack it to the new display tank sump.

Hope this clears up questions.

So my questions still unanswered. With the water changes be enough to keep up with no skimmer and no biological? If I have to I can use a sump but I don't want to

 

[bobssecrtsn]

you are definitely going to have to dose, considering the size of the clam..

 

[rogergolf66]

you are definitely going to have to dose, considering the size of the clam..

That brings me to my next question what do u do to at a clam? I have had it for years so no pyramid snails or anything like that.