Hey all! I post so many questions here, but I would rather be safe then sorry and want to get everything figured out before we get fish in our tank.
1.) Do you need a sump to do corals? We do not have corals and are not plan on doing them anytime soon… but I would still like to know what we need for them (plus we just got our tax return so I want to get what we can now while we can afford it). I was reading on another forum (just skimming their posts) that say live rock, a hang on filter, and a protein skimmer would suffice as filtration. We don’t have a sump… our filter is a marine land pro series bio wheel power filter emperor 400. If we we’re to do live rock and have that filter would that be an okay set up for corals. What else would we need for a reef ready tank (I know we would need a new light)?
2.) Live rock… do you need any special set up for buying live rock? We have the filter mentioned above, a heater, and a light-pretty sure it is normal output- (not sure of the brand… it is a 120 v, 40w, 60 hertz, aquamarine 48 deluxe florescent aquarium reflector). We are getting a gravel vac and a rodi this weekend. From what I have been reading it seems like live rock is a good thing to have no matter what type of tank you have.
3.) We are going to get everything we need for a QT this weekend. Can you give me some advice on QT? What do we need besides a small tank? Do you need special filtration for a QT or can we just get a small 10 gallon basic set up? Can the QT stay set up or do we have to break it down after everytime we use it?
Thanks for all of the advice you all had given us during our saltwater journey! We appreciate all of help.
There are infinite ways to do things. Some a heck of a lot easier then others. Biggest issue with not having a sump is often surface scum and lower gas exchange. You can certainly do it and I have done it, but I would highly recommend against it. You’ll have a lot better success rate with using a sump, not just with corals, but with fish and everything else as well. In my opinion.
No if you get completely cured cycled ready to go rock from other hobbyist. Post in market place a WTB Live rock (want to buy) and see if you can get some from local hobbyist. If you order rock online, getting it from an LFS, or get dry rock then you will need to take steps to get it ready.
First thing with the QT is to get a couple of sponges, like those sold for HOB(hang on back filters) and get them running on your tank. They will become colonized with bacteria in about a months time and then can be used in the QT tank.
The recommended QT set up can very greatly with personal opinion. Some would recommended setting up a tank with live rock and sand, light, heater, power head, clean up crew(including cleaner shrimp), and a small HOB filter and recommend that you leave it running year round. If you do that you need to always feed it as if you have fish in it if you plan to keep fish in there.
Some would recommend a bare bottom tank with a couple of PVC pipes in it for fish to hide in and nothing but a heater and an air pump. Some would leave it up all the times others would break it down and set it up using sponges from the display tank when needed.
The opinions will very greatly and you’ll sort of have to read up some more and form an opinion on your own. I would not recommend 10g or smaller for fish especially if you plan to run it all the time as it will be a nightmare to keep clean and healthy. It may be you set up different tanks depending on what animals you are putting in QT. I keep live rock in my corals and invert QT to stabilize conditions, but don’t in fish QT because medications and hypo-salinity would make the rock have more of a net negative impact.
Sorry there isn’t really a set accepted procedure that everyone follows. What are the main reasons you would like to set up a QT tank for fish disease isolation? For fish treatment(more of a hospital type set up)?