Inspect before you buy !!!!

[MUCHO REEF]

Just a tip I thought I would share. For years now I have carried a simple magnifying glass with me to every LFS that I enter. I use it to inspect every zooanthid colony before making a purchase for spiders, nudis, worms, parasites, fungus, BI and others before purchasing. Parasites I can deal with as a dip will remove them adequately, but it's the fungus, Bacterial Infections and Beggitoa (sps) that I'm most concerned with. Works equally well with sps reefers who might be concerned about a potential red bug infestation. The same holds true for inspecting fish for clamped fins, parasites, sores etc. They're only a couple of dollars and well worth the investment.

Mucho

"an ounce of prevention,.........."

[TippyToeX]

Well said Mucho. I might add that some pests like the zoanthid eating pycnogonid (sea spider) lay their eggs inside the zoanthid polyp it's self. You would have no way of seeing them as larva without a trained eye.

I say go the extra mile and quarantine your frags. Indeed, An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.

[MUCHO REEF]

I set up a dedicated 10 gallon QT tank a while back, it is a life saver and I would recommend that every zoo lover does the same. A complete QT system would cost between $ 100 and $ 175. A nominal investment that will save you a lot of agony in the long term.

Mucho

[Smo]

Mucho, that is exactly what I am looking for to set up as a QT. Do you have any links, or can you list what you have done to this 10gal QT?

[TippyToeX]

I use a little 10g tank as well. A bare tank (no sandbed, or rock). A HOB (hang on back like aqua clear) filter. I let the sponge frm the HOB filter stay in my main tanks sump to get some good bacteria for filtration on it. When I am ready to QT I do a big water change on the main tank, use that water for the QT and place the sponge in the HOB filter. A small maxi-jet for added circulation. That and a PC nano light fixture that cost me $32 at the LFS. Plus a heater. I don't think I spent more then $100 on the whole setup.

Also follow that link I gave above, it goes in to great detail.

[Smo]

Thank you Amy!

[TippyToeX]

You're welcome my orange spot carbon friend.

[Kelmen]

How long do you run the quarantine period for the zoanthid?

[MUCHO REEF]

Kelmen, I QT for two weeks with a very close daily observation.

Smo, I purchased a 10 gal tank, glass top, a Skilter 250, an air pump to run the skimmer on the Skilter, a power strip, heater, grounding probe, a digital therm. made some pvc stand, egg crate shelfing and a high end Coralife fixture with dual 65 watt bulbs, one 10 K and the other actinic. I didn't need such a good light for the QT but I'll explain why later. No substrate should ever be used in a QT.

The QT will afford you the opportunity to isolate the coral and watch for rapid decline, parasites that will sometimes fall/crawl to the bottom glass where they can be suctioned out quickly. Any Nudis or egg sacks from the rocks that made it pass the dip, can and will be visible as a lot of nudis will crawl on the glass when the tank is dark and they will also lay eggs on the glass. Both can be removed quickly when this happens. The thread Tippytoex posted above is a great thread to read. I was going to post it but couldn't find it, LOL,LOL.

Regarding the reason I used the high end light for a simple 10 gallon tank is listed below. I posted this on another site so I just copied and pasted it here.

"I didn't want the tank to sit idle until I made another zoo purchase which I have slowed down on because my tank is maxed out. So I had an idea, why not use the QT tank as a grow out tank as well. Well how can you do that? Here's what I did. Every zoo purchase goes in the QT for two weeks for observation after a prolonged dip. Let me backtrack for a second. I used 10 gallons of water from my tank when I set up the QT which gave me an instant cycle so to speak. Checked all my parameters across the board and they have remained the same since the day of the entire set up. Using 4 inch PVC stands and the egg crating, I am able to see and extract ( with a simple hose ) any critters or parasites of concern off the bottom of the tank. I can also treat the colony if there is a BI, fungus etc. The bare bottom approach affords me the opportunity to see anything that crawls down or falls off the egg crating. After the two weeks have passed and the colony is transferred to the main system, I didn't want the system to sit idle and empty until I made another purchase. So I decided to take six small 3" x 3" rocks from my sump and place them on the bottom of the QT. My Sea Grasse loves to grab and turn over every small colony or frag in my tank( he has since died after leaping out of the tank) . So now that the QT is empty, I can remove all of the small 1" to 2" frags to the QT tank, making sure that a quick water change is performed first, and now I have a grow out tank and QT all in one. Does it work? I counted the number of polyps on each frag/small colony before going into the tank. There are 8 pieces and each one has 3 or 4 new polyps each in the past 5 weeks. Slow growth yes, but it worked.

Purchased a new red colony last week, so I took out the frags and placed them at the very top of my main tank where the SGW couldn't get to them. I removed the 6 pieces of live rock back to the sump, and the QT is back. Sure, swaping the zoos around once a month or so will slow their growth, but I'm able to benefit from a tank that serves two key purposes.

I didn't need to swap a filter with colonizing bacteria from the main tank to the QT because there are no fish in the QT and I have never lost a frag yet. I'm not advising anything, I'm just saying this is what I've done and it is working perfectly for me.

After reading the QT write up on RC 2 months ago, and the past history of nudi infestations, I couldn't be more happier with this decision. I think a QT tank is one of the best kept secrets in the hobby today and I would strongely recommend them as a proactive means of keeping your reef safe. "


Sorry again as always, it seems I get carried away when I right. Will try to shorten things next time.

Mucho

PS. though the article speaks mostly of the QTing of fish, the basic principles still apply to the Qting of corals. I did however disagree with one thing. I'm not keen on setting up and breaking down a QT tank when a new purchase is made. That takes a lot of the fun out of reefing and it now becomes a chore. It the tanks not in use, you can turn everything off except the pump and maybe the heater. Using my QT as a quick grow out for tiny frags has worked great for me until I set my prop tank back up again. OK, talking too much again, ...Chow.

[Smo]

Mucho, thanks very much for the information you have provided. June is Bonus check month so I know where it's going now. This is a very good investment and the suggestion as a grow out tank is great. I was going to tear my QT down after every new critter, but if I don't see any of the signs(i.e.- nudi's, ich, bad snails, DTN, etc, etc) or don't chemically treat, then I can keep it running.

I do have one more question though: Shouldn't there be some kind of LR in there?

Thanks to my orange spot carbon friend too!

[MUCHO REEF]

BUMP

[oceancube78]

what can you use (dip) to get all this off!

[MUCHO REEF]

There are many many dips to use out there, just do a search in this forum or other boards to find the one you are most comfortable with.

Mucho Reef

[gflat65]

Where can I find pictures or descriptions of these fine creatures?