Questions about a QT

[CleverBs]

So i want to have a 15 gallon QT for my saltwater stuff, I just dont know what to use for a light to QT corals, you should qt corals right? I have an extra marineland Double Bright would this be enough to QT corals if they were Right under the light?

 

[CleverBs]

or should I grab a 2bulb t5ho?

 

[Starblenny]

I'm not too sure for SPS. A qt tank lighting is good enough so you can supplement it lighting during qt stages. As long the qt isn't too tall. I have a 5gal qt tank for zoas and have a small 13w pc light for them.

 

[TLTGF]

No. Corals need to be acclimated, but not QT'd.

There are (4) main ways that people add corals.

1.) remove coral from bag and place immediately in tank
2.) temperature acclimate in bag for 10-20 minutes, then add coral to tank
3.) temperature acclimate in bag for 10-20 minutes, place in a coral dip solution, then place coral in tank
4.) temperature acclimate in bag for 10-20 minutes and / or drip acclimate for 2 hours (recommended for SPS), use coral dip, or not, and then place in tank.

The coral in all cases will also need to have a light acclimation period in which the coral is placed in the lowest light, and then subsequently moved to the highest light that makes it happy, ie no bleaching or browning.

 

[CleverBs]

Thank you very much for the information. If frags dont o want to have them as close to the light as possible? Just thinking of the frag racks.

 

[CleverBs]

So what all do I need to set up a sw qt? And how long do I qt for?

 

[TLTGF]

Depends on the frag for lighting...

For a QT, all you really need is a 10-20 gallon tank, some PVC for the livestock to hide, a heater, filter, and a small powerhead

Maybe a thermometer would help too.

 

[TLTGF]

Oh and the length of time is typically 2-6 weeks. Most people can't hold on very long, so as long as there are no signs of stress or disease after two weeks, into the DT they go

 

[Starblenny]

No. Corals need to be acclimated, but not QT'd.

I dunno, coral dipping doesn't kill all the potential pests, like Acrapora Eating Flatworms, Red Bugs, Nudibranches (especially their eggs), and aptasia/manajo. There's other pest algae, such as bryopsis and bubble algae. Coral dipping them doesn't kill them off and once those hitchhikers take a hold in your tank, it's going to be a uphill battle from there.

I like to acclimate them in my qt tank (using the water from my main tank), dip them, the put them in the qt for observations. It may be a bit of a hassle, but I want to protect my tank from any bad hitchhikers.