What % of sps you buy are infected by pests?

[YoungREEFA]

I am soon going to be stocking up on sps and want to know how often these guys will have red bugs, aewf, and such. Is it safe to dip, put the coral in the tank and dip 2 more times over the next 2 weeks?

 

[ridetheducati]

Dip and quarantine ALL corals.

 

[mc-cro]

100% of the corals you buy are infected. That is my assumption. Everything I buy goes into a dip and QT regimen for a minimum of 3 weeks. NO matter where or who it comes from.

 

[YoungREEFA]

How does one keep the parameters such as alk and phosphates in check? My quarantine would be a 10 gallon. Also i know ammonia becomes a problem?

 

[mc-cro]

I keep a 5g tank up at all times. with no fish there's no ammonia. I manage alk and calc with water changes once per week.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Okay ya so one coral at a time wont suck up that much alk or calcium, so i would do a 2 gallon WC a week.

 

[jerpa]

You could also hand dose 2 part if necessary.

It doesn't matter the percentage once they get in your tank. I got AEFW's and redbugs off the last two pieces I was planning on adding. No worries. I now have plenty of space for new frags.:debi:

 

[dkeller_nc]

It's true that it only takes one infected piece to really wreak havoc on a reef tank. But quarantining a coral isn't the same as quarantining a fish, where a simple bare tank, and airstone and a heater is all that is necessary.

If you want to QT coral, you're going to need to set up a small tank with reasonably intense lighting and a biofilter of some sort, though you can get away with not using a skimmer.

It's true that most corals will survive several weeks with insufficient lighting, but doing this and then placing the coral in your main, brightly lit display tank is asking for light shock, even if the coral is placed on the sandbed.