Advanced QT setup

[JoeyK@OCMD]

I have only lived in Ocean City for about 3 years after moving from Salt Lake City, Ut. Reef keeping is not exactly a popular hobby here in O.C. but through random encounters I have met many of the aquariusts here, and it would not be an insult to say they are novices. In one situation my buddy thought it was OK to leave his lights run 24/7 and did so for months. I have quickly become freinds with most of them but mostly I am their go to guy for info. I have turned all of them on to RC, so my phone will stop ringing. The Purpous of this thread is to gather any info you guys can share on larger, elaborate QT setups. Everyone allways wants me to nurse their sick fish and corals back to health. The corals are not a problem, as I have a holding tank for such things, but I want to set up a 75 gallon divided tank to QT fish. I am thinking about running this tank at a constant state of Hypo, and using a canister filter. I am not a big believer in these filters but, I think in this situation it would actaully work well. I will divide the tank into one large section, and two smaller section for various types of fish. It is already setup with bulkheads for bottom drainage.

[billsreef]

For a permanent QT set up, the biggest concern is good biological filtration and lots of water for water changes for when you end up needing to use med's that require frequent water changes or effect the bio filter. Canister filters can be good, might be too much of a hassle when it comes to removing or adding carbon...that's a personal choice, but I find many people often neglect the maintenance on those because it's not a quick and simple job. I'd actually be inclined to run two aquaclear 500's with some good biomedia, as they are very easy to service and add/remove carbon without even turning the filter off...and all while standing upright ;) Alternatively, since you already have drains, set up a trickle filter for the biofiltration and one aquaclear for particulate and carbon filtration.

[toddlaco]

If you run the QT in a state of constant hypo, how will you acclimate the fish to the lower SG? You would need another tank just for SG acclimation if you run constant hypo in the QT.

Have you discovered Dr Mac's yet. He is not too far from Ocean City. If you haven't, just do a search for "Dr Mac's" or "Pacific East Coast Aquaculture". He has some of the best coral you will find anywhere. Well worth a drive.

[JoeyK@OCMD]

Hey guys thanks for the responses. I am going to use a sump with a wet dry in it. I will also utilize a skimmer below. This QT setup will have a drip system for VERY SLOW acclimation. My plan is to acclimate new or sick fish directly into hypo. I have done this before with great luck. I just don't want to use meds if I can get away without it. I would rather try to isolate the fish individually and insure proper feeding, as well as run hypo for extended periods. I also have the same Drip system for reacclimation back into the main system. Let me know what you guys think, and if anyone else has done something similar.