Quarantine Tank

[btang]

OK, I know what they are used for. My question is what is the best way to set one up? And do you maintain it going forward, or do you drain and start fresh every time you use it?

[tdwyatt]

Bare bottom, bioballs, fluorescent lighting (PC or vho) capable of being increased from low to high intensity in stages, sump, no live rock, no sand, sponge filters either in tank or for the overflows, temp controller and good heaters, a skimmer is nice, but not absolutely necessary, although post formalin dips require good aeration for the vertebrates. A media bag for carbon is useful as well. If you really want to go high-tech, a reactor for some Phosban would be good.

If you use the bioballs, make sure to keep water in the tank running all the time, or keep the bioballs in the sump of your main system (this is to keep the bacteria alive for denitrification). Nitrate levels in such a system are not an issue, you can change the water to get rid of it, but carrying pathogens back to the main tank is an issue.

Bioballs allow for short-term ramp up of mineralization of ammonia and nitrite while allowing for sterilization of the media after use (Clorox) without ruining the rock or sand.

Lighting otion is to allow for smooth increases in photoperiod and lighting without bleaching coral specimens

No sand and rock for obvious reasons.

Sump for larger water volume and good circulation.

Sponges may be sterilized after use, but need to be kept with several spares in an area where they can keep colonies of bacteria seeded to the sponge and alive for mineralization of ammonia as well as the bioballs.

Heaters and a good controller allow for high temps or low temps if needed for treatments for fishes.

You can take this system down between uses, but I find that it is always good to have u and running for those unexpected opportunities. I'm sure I left something out, but folks should be able to chime in on missing items.

hth

[Geoff]

that is a good way to do it. leave the tank empty except when needed. that way any parasites or other baddie has been killed by being dried out. in order to have it ready at a moments notice keep a filter attached to the sump with a chuck of LR in it. a HOB makes a great choice. that way it has a good biological base for the quarantine tank.

a couple of important things to consider though. be prepared to toss the LR when done. you do not want to reintroduce Cu or the pathogen back into the system. you may also not want to put that filter back on either. they are cheap so not that big of an deal. the LR on the other hand can get pretty expensive.

G~

[Kevin1000]

Heres a great write-up on Qting - written by a clown fish breeder so take this into account.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=288805

Hope this helps.

[btang]

Can anyone recommend a good HOB bio filter. It would seem to have it running in your sump until you need it for the Quarantine tank, then just move it to the Qtank. After the treatment, you would totally wash it (sterilize it) and start it back on your main sump. Does that sound correct?

[Kevin1000]

Any inexpensive powerfilter will work fine in a Qt setup. Many will toss the original inflexible cartridges and just use foam inserts which are easy to hide in either sump or show tank to keep charged with beneficial bacteria.

[btang]

thanks for all the advice. Ordered a Aqua Clear 30 filter. Will run it on a 10 - 20 gallon Qtank

[Allyson]

Tom...I'm sure the quarantine system you're describing is the ideal way to go, but I won't have the room to set up a dual (main/sump) system.

I've been searching the net but can't find layout of the actual formalin dip process. How long do you keep the acquisition in the dip / quarantine? How effective would it be to just have a 10 - 20 gal BB tank with a hang over biofilter and do water changes for nitrates? Of course using equipment (tubs/etc) dedicated to this.

[Allyson]

Also, how about quarantining / dipping LR? Would it kill the cool critters?

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Allyson

Also, how about quarantining / dipping LR? Would it kill the cool critters?

don't dip the live rock, if you're worried about the bad critters, leave it without fish or other possible hosts for a few months in the dark, that will leave the good stuff (for the most part) alive while stamping out the really bad critters.

Me personally, I would rather take the chance on some baddie and get a much better assortment of LR critters.

Send me an email, I'll send you the formalin information a a .pdf file, but you really only need to do a fw dip as an intro precaution to the quarantine tank. Then 3 weeks in quarantine will show anything that you may have missed