Noob with lots of questions also am I off to a good start?

[sirdan89]

New to the hobby, started the tank at the end of may. HOB 2 very cheap powerheads live rock and live sand. so far just 2 clowns and clean up crew. Did not quarantine the initial inhabitants but everyone so far is happy and healthy. I want to set up a quarantine before adding anything else. I just got a light so I am thinking I should add a soft coral next.

My first questions are about a QT tank. I have a 10 gallon tank with lid and a submersible filter with a little spray bar the water comes out of. I'm not sure if the filter I have would be appropriate for QT purposes. It seems it also might depend on my QT procedure which seems to vary from person to person. My thoughts would be to hopefully use the tank to QT coral and fish but I would not QT both together at the same time. I am curious if I could just get a bulb for the t5 light that is on the hood to keep the soft coral alive while in QT? Maybe its more cost effective to just buy a cheap led?

also wondering if I can put my QT next to the display tank or if there is potential for contamination from the close proximity of the tanks?

I also bought a light so I can start getting some Soft corals. I got a glowrium smart reef coral light. Reviews seemed good and it has app control which I liked, it went on sale cheap for prime day. BRS says to do a 1-8-1 so I am going to do that. I currently have just one of those clip on shop worklights with a LED screw on bulb that honestly probably runs 12 hours a day right now. any tips when it comes to the new light? I watched a video and it said to just set the settings and leave it for a while before messing with it again. I am guessing I should tread on the side of less light so the corals don't bleach out. Is there anything I should watch out for like algae growth as a red flag/sign I have too much light?

I have been using the non reef salt in the tank so far. Should I just switch to reef salt at this point and save what is left of the normal salt for my fish QT? anything to be wary of here?

Another wrench in the gears is I am going to be buying a house and likely moving in 3-4 months. I was thinking maybe I could get 1 cheap soft coral and QT it before the move happens. I am likely moving an hour or less away from my current location so it seems like moving the tank wouldn't be too big a deal. But appreciate any advice maybe I need a reality check. I've moved freshwater tanks before I don't think this would be all that different.

I am going to do some searching around and try and learn some more, this hobby is basically like being a scientist so there is lots to learn.

 

[Formulator]

You really don’t need to quarantine coral. Just dip it in coral-rx or similar and put in your tank. Seriously, I’d wager 99% of folks don’t bother with quarantine for coral. Its just overkill.

This will be a really unpopular opinion, but you also don’t really need to quarantine fish IMO if you get them from a good vendor and know what to look for at the store.

Almost 9 years in the hobby and I’ve never had a quarantine tank. I’ve also never had a fish disease. Fish get sick when their immune system is compromised due to poor water quality, insufficient nutrients from poor quality diet, and stress from lack of good hiding places. If you avoid these things, you don’t need to worry.

You can switch the salt anytime. Some people have success with corals in regular salt mix without a specific “reef” designation.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Did not quarantine the initial inhabitants but everyone so far is happy and healthy. I want to set up a quarantine before adding anything else.

If you didn't QT the fish already in the tank and you're planning on QT'ing future fish, I would recommend taking your current fish out and QT'ing them prior to add other QT'd fish - as a general rule, it doesn't seem to end well when people mix Qt'd and non-QT'd fish.

My first questions are about a QT tank. I have a 10 gallon tank with lid and a submersible filter with a little spray bar the water comes out of. I'm not sure if the filter I have would be appropriate for QT purposes.

The filter's job in a QT situation is really just to keep the ammonia levels in check while the fish are undergoing treatment. You don't want it pulling stuff out of the water, so mechanical filtration isn't generally used that I've seen - it's really just biofiltration that's needed. To that end, generally, people just add material that they've already cycled (like the sponge from a sponge filter in their display tank) to the QT to handle the ammonia.

The bigger the expected bioload/ammonia production in the QT, the bigger you want the biofiltration to be, so the more surface area you need for nitrifying bacteria to colonize - it's not recommended to use calcium carbonate based rocks/sand for this, as that interferes with copper medications, but you can add stuff like PVC pipes or more pre-cycled filter media (like the sponge from the sponge filter again) without issue.

It seems it also might depend on my QT procedure which seems to vary from person to person.

I'd recommend the forum's QT procedure:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

My thoughts would be to hopefully use the tank to QT coral and fish but I would not QT both together at the same time.

Good choice - medications for common fish diseases kill inverts (including corals), so QT'ing them separately is a good call.

I am curious if I could just get a bulb for the t5 light that is on the hood to keep the soft coral alive while in QT? Maybe its more cost effective to just buy a cheap led?

I'm honestly not familiar enough with t5 lighting to say for sure, but I would guess it would work; I do know there are some cheap LED's that people have used successfully with corals (like the ABI Tuna Blue, for example), so if the t5 doesn't cut it, something like that could.

also wondering if I can put my QT next to the display tank or if there is potential for contamination from the close proximity of the tanks?

There is potential for contamination, yes - If I recall correctly, a QT should be at least 10 feet from other tanks to prevent contamination (the aquarist also should be careful not accidentally contaminate the other tanks when working with the QT).

any tips when it comes to the new light?

Knowing the spectrum and PAR of the light is useful for setting up a light, especially if you can map the PAR in the tank; too little light will kill corals like too much light will, though generally slower.

Is there anything I should watch out for like algae growth as a red flag/sign I have too much light?

Just to note here, if the light can grow coral, it'll grow algae too.

I have been using the non reef salt in the tank so far. Should I just switch to reef salt at this point and save what is left of the normal salt for my fish QT? anything to be wary of here?

As long as it's a marine salt mix, it'll work regardless of whether or not it says it's for reefs; the general advice I see here is to pick what parameters you want to aim for and find a salt that's close to those parameters (a lot of people just Instant Ocean, as it has historically been the cheapest salt on the market, and it works just fine).

You really don’t need to quarantine coral. Just dip it in coral-rx or similar and put in your tank. Seriously, I’d wager 99% of folks don’t bother with quarantine for coral. Its just overkill.

This will be a really unpopular opinion, but you also don’t really need to quarantine fish IMO if you get them from a good vendor and know what to look for at the store.

Almost 9 years in the hobby and I’ve never had a quarantine tank. I’ve also never had a fish disease. Fish get sick when their immune system is compromised due to poor water quality, insufficient nutrients from poor quality diet, and stress from lack of good hiding places. If you avoid these things, you don’t need to worry.

You can switch the salt anytime. Some people have success with corals in regular salt mix without a specific “reef” designation.

I try to address the various QT/non-QT stances in the hobby in my quote below in a fair manner, as I agree that fish kept in good conditions generally shouldn't succumb to disease - it's just not always easy for starting aquarists to keep good conditions (otherwise the disease forum here wouldn't see so much traffic).

Anyway, OP, as mentioned, most people don't QT corals, inverts, etc. Doing so is the safest from a biosecurity standpoint, but most people don't bother.

Personally, (at least for newcomers to the hobby) I'd recommend at least QT'ing the fish or ordering pre-QT'd fish to be safe; I would also recommend QT'ing anything else that's "wet" (live rock/sand, corals, macroalgae, inverts, etc.), as I have seen a few instances where they brought in disease and wiped out tanks, but I recognize that these instances are statistical outliers (so they're incredibly rare, and you're not likely to be one with these issues).

So, OP, whether you want to QT fish and other things or not is up to you - the below may help you decide what course to follow:

generally speaking if a fish makes it through QT it’ll be fine being transferred to the DT (the only exceptions I can recall hearing about involved instances of established fish aggression against the new fish).

That said, there are basically three camps that I’ve seen with QT:

-Full, medicated QT (the timeframe for this can vary, but Jay Hemdal’s 2023 protocols suggests 64 days); this is likely the most stressful option, but the thought for this is basically that disease can’t wipe out your tank if it isn’t in your tank. Some people believe this weakens a fish’s immune system and may lead to them dying relatively young.

-Observational QT (I generally see this from reefers in places where it’s harder to get fish meds); this option is probably still stressful for the fish, but it seems to be more about avoiding particularly deadly diseases (such as velvet) or knowing in advance what you’re allowing into the tank. This method carries a lot of the same risks as no-QT (see below), but it can give a heads-up about issues new fish may have/introduce.

-No QT; this avoids the stress of being moved between tanks, but I feel like Paul B’s comment above is a pretty accurate description here. The thought here is that a healthy fish with a healthy immune system won’t die except from old age. Basically, this method can work if you’re able to provide good water, good food, and a good environment for the fish. Most newcomers to the hobby are probably not capable of that when they start, and when the fish isn’t healthy/is too stressed (such as because of inadequate water, food, or environment), them any diseases they’re carrying flare up and can take them out (hence why the disease forum here is full of no-QT tanks getting wiped out by diseases). This method does carry the risks that 1) a deadly disease like velvet may come in and wipe some or all of the fish in the tank out unexpectedly and 2) if a stressful event (such as a bacterial bloom, for example) happens unexpectedly, you may face a disease outbreak in the tank at the same time. Jay Hemdal has some posts about other potential weaknesses of this method here on R2R too, but these are the most important in my mind for most people to be aware of.

So, for most people a properly done, full, medicated QT is probably the safer route to go with when just starting out - honestly, this is why I’m personally a fan of pre-QT vendors, as they have a pretty good track record of delivering disease-free fish (meaning that sub-optimal care like the average newcomer is likely to unintentionally give the fish is less likely to kill it), and it’s hassle-free for the buyer.

Again, all of these methods when done properly can work, and they all have some pros and cons, but those are my two cents on the matter.

 

[KTinner]

Anyone know what these little tentacles coming from the center of my torch are and if I should remove it?
I think it’s some sort of filter feeder attached to the skeleton but I’m not sure

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Anyone know what these little tentacles coming from the center of my torch are and if I should remove it?
I think it’s some sort of filter feeder attached to the skeleton but I’m not sure

That's a coral-boring barnacle:

Those are coral-boring barnacles - harmless filter-feeders.

They can cause the coral to grow a bit oddly (deformed), but they shouldn't actually harm the coral at all unless they're large and the coral's small. Additionally, they're unlikely to reproduce successfully in a normal reef tank.

Personally, I'd keep them and enjoy.