Starting new after move and question on setting up quarantine system

[reeferkid]

Hello all,

I recently moved. I had a 90 gallon mixed reef system with new dry rocks running for 7 months. I took it apart before I moved and moved everything into a 20 gallon tall. I just acid bath all my rocks yesterday that have been dried since the move back in July. I want to run the 90 gallon pests free so I'm also setting up a quarantine tank along with this. I will be cycling my tank with Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride with Bio-Spira.

Here are the questions.
I noticed some of my rock still have dead tube snails attached. Will they impact the tank down the road?

Is it possible to run a frag section in the sump? I will not run a refugium since this tank will run full zeovit system. I will using a 30 gallon long for my sump.

In term of quarantine system, I have read a few different information on rather or not to medicate the fishes even if they don't show any symptoms of diseases. I want to hear what some of the people here do.

How to Quarantine Marine Fish

 

[kschweer]

Welcome back and best of luck with the new tank. I don't believe the tube works will cause any issues with the tank. If you provide enough light it is possible to keep frags in the sump. As far as qt goes I think the only fail safe way to keep disease out of the display is to treat all fish for disease whether they show signs or nor

 

[Mark_C]

Personally I never QT. I'm a believer that its stress that lowers the fish's immunity (just like people) and moving a fish from shop to a barren QT then into a new tank with tankmates is mega stress. Especially if you're treating them for diseases they may not have with hardcore chems along the way. I just acclimate and let them loose.
I do feed my fish well with quality homemade food (occasionally with a bit of garlic and/or Omegas added) or live food (blackworms) and let them do their fish thing.
I have had sick fish in there, two have died in the past, two have recovered in the past. No concerns. The tank goes on.

Dead tube snails will not harm the tank. I have a few rocks with them in 2 tanks, with one rock covered with them, never an issue.

Frags in the sump would be tough. As Kevin mentioned, the lighting requirement would be expensive and you'd have to have it reversed with the main tank lighting. Sumps are also where most of us make chemical additions and such, unsure how frags would take to that. Also, a lot of softies prefer slightly dirty water, putting them in the cleanest place in the system may not work well, but thats just a thought.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[Ocelaris]

I just set up a new system with existing live rock and added a lot more dry rock. I think you miss out on some of the cooler organisms starting from a completely sterile environment.

As for quarantine, I definitely am a believer in 1 month with the tank transfer method to rid yourself of ick. I treated the two clowns and yellow tang in a 40 breeder for a month with prazipro and 2 formalin baths. The clowns have been in the display tank for a month and just came down with hexamita, so they're back in the hospital tank getting medicated. Getting a sick fish out of your display tank is a royal pain, so I'd suggest just doing some alone time to observe. Chances are the fish have had a long trip and are weak, hospital/quarantine tanks let you feed well and observe. Mine is right next to the water changing station, so it's easy to do a good water change.

Next time I get fish they will also get metroplex and fuse by seachem in their food, which is what I missed last time. Also a gram negative and gram positive antibiotic like furan 2 will be in the next quarantine I do.

A simple hang on the back filter works fine for this purpose. In between tank transfers I use a Rubbermaid 30 gallon storage container. The transfers are the hardest part, but I'm going for a clean tank long term.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[reeferkid]

Thank you.

The 3 meds I am considering are prazipro, cupramine, and maracyn oxy in that order(not all at once). May be put the fishes in QT tank for a week with no meds and let them eat (if no symptoms), then start medicating after that.

I was thinking using a kessil a150w alternating with lights in the DT

 

[horseplay]

Like @Mark_C I don't QT either. And I am a sucker for difficult to keep fish too. I have loses but mostly new fish that are added and these are difficult fish to start with. My fish get ick but ick disappears after a while so I know all my existing fish are immune to the parasite. I would say my survival rate is higher than a lot of people including these who QT their fish.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

Like @Mark_C and @horseplay I do not QT my fish (if I had room to setup a proper QT tank I might). Now knock on wood I have not lost any fish to an illness. I have two tangs and have not had ich once. I have fish in my tank aging from 13 days to 1.5 years. Now I have not purchase any fish from online. I got 99% of my fish from the same LFS and always look them over nicely before purchasing (which I know doesn't 100% protect from getting a sick fish).