Just starting...

[dpotts]

I've finally made the decision to start a salt water tank. My goal is to have a 70-90 gallon tank with some soft coral and small easy fish (ie clown fish and the like). I'll get more daring when I get some experience. I've been doing a like research and have a few questions. I want to set up a smaller QT tank to start with...Is a 30 gallon big enough for a QT tank? Can I set that up as a small reef tank with sand,live rock and some soft coral? Is it okay to keep soft coral in a QT tank? I'm thinking that I set up the QT tank for about a month or so than start with my main tank...is this okay? I want to take this slow and do it correctly. Any tips or comments welcomed.

Thanks,
Deanna

[NanoReefer1]

Alot of people are into Nano Reefs (I myself) which is basically creating a reef only tank out of a 10-29gal tank. So I would think a 10gal qt is plenty big enough as alot of people get away with making glorified reef tanks/fowlr's/or combo out of 10-29gal tanks. It would also be ALOT less expensive, and time consuming with water changes since the tank is small.

Just my .02

[Ninong]

Hi Deanna,

I want to set up a smaller QT tank to start with...Is a 30 gallon big enough for a QT tank?

The size of the QT tank is a matter of personal preference. I think 30-40 gallons makes a decent sized quarantine tank but I know some people who have 80-gallon QT tanks. A larger tank is better if you plan on acquiring larger size fish or several fish that you want to quarantine at the same time.

Can I set that up as a small reef tank with sand,live rock and some soft coral? Is it okay to keep soft coral in a QT tank?

It's okay to keep whatever you want in a quarantine tank. However, once you start putting sand, live rock and corals of any kind, it can't be used as a hospital tank. You can still use it to quarantine fish, you just can't medicate them with anything or treat them with hyposalinity.

There are two approaches to a QT tank. One approach is to use a bare-bottomed tank with no sand, no live rock, nothing but a few PVC fittings for shelter. That sort of tank can be used for both quarantine and as a hospital tank to medicate fish with copper-based medications. This article discusses setting up a QT/hospital tank.

The other approach is to set up a nice sized tank with a sand bed and live rock as a place for newly acquired fish to rest up while you observe them for any possible problems before adding them to your main display tank. Most people do not, however, add corals to such a tank. You could if you want to but it's usually not done. This sort of tank is a quarantine tank in the strict sense of the word. It's not a QT/hospital tank. Wayne Shang uses this approach. He has an 80-gal quarantine tank with a sand bed and live rock. His main display tanks are a 718-gal reef tank and a 300-gal FOWLR tank.

I'm thinking that I set up the QT tank for about a month or so than start with my main tank...is this okay? I want to take this slow and do it correctly. Any tips or comments welcomed.

Yes, you could start up with a quarantine tank first but I think you should wait more than a month or so before moving up to the main tank. Plan on waiting at least six months. That will give you more time to think about how you want to set up your main tank.

Again, the size of the quarantine tank is up to you but if you're thinking of anything in the 30-gal range, I would suggest you consider a 40-gal breeder (36"L x 18"W x 16"H) if you intend having a sand bed and live rock. It's an easy size to light with fluorescent lighting. Normal output fluorescent lamps if it's just a quarantine tank, even one with soft corals. If you ever wanted to keep SPS or clams in that tank, you could switch to T5 HO lamps.

A typical 30-gal cube tank (such as Oceanic's 30-gal cube) is a nice nano-tank for corals but a poor choice to quarantine fish because of the dimensions. A 30-gal cube only works for small fish or fish such as the smaller species of clownfish. It doesn't have enough swimming space for most fish.

[CubsFan]

Good Luck with it and the best advice I can give you is buy as big of a tank as you can afford because you will always want bigger

[dpotts]

Thanks for the suggestions. After talking with some local "fish" people, I decided to start out with a 29g Biocube. They were very helpful and talked me through some of my fears. They also suggested that for a QT tank I just use a small (10g) "empty" tank with no sand and/or rock. So last night I set up the biocube with 30lbs of "uncured" live rock, sand, and pre-mixed water. They told me a wait a week and then bring them in a water sample. I plan on getting my own testing kit this week...what kind should I get? So what should I expect this week while the tank is "cycling"?

Thanks,
Deanna

[NanoReefer1]

A week is kind of moving fast you might want to consider letting it run for a month even if levels are ok to mature the tank. I let my tank run for a month before I even put snails in it.

Just food for thought...I know it in some ways would help prevent problems down the line.