Well call me crazy but I use LR. My 30 gallon is up all the time, so it works out nicely for me. Now this is not “live rock” that is heavily encrusted with invertebrates, tubeworms, or other life. It is essentially base rock that provides a surface area just like a sponge or any other type of filter media. The fish do extremely well with the hiding places, I don’t need to worry about frequent water changes, and I have a solid biological filer. Also on the setup are a couple of power heads and a skimmer. It’s essentially a complete system.
I like to alternate what I quarantine. I might go 4-6 weeks for a fish, then I might switch to a coral and some inverts, then maybe another fish. I never mix coral and fish incase I have to medicate or use hypo. I have successfully used hypo using this setup in the past, since the rock is so barren there is no die off to worry about.
So far, I have been very successful doing this. I do not use copper, and the medications I have used (mostly anti-biotic) don’t seem to cause any trouble after I move to a coral cycle. If I have to use any especially nasty medications I would probably setup a 10 gallon hospital tank with PVC and treat there, just to be safe.
I quarantine everything, and I mean everything. Corals, inverts, fish, you name it. I lost a tank full of fish once already, and learned the hard way. Ich can hitchhike on coral frags and about anything else. Then there are red bugs, aptasia, flatworms, flukes, mantis shrimp, and so many of the other nasties that can make your life miserable. Many people complain about loosing fish in quarantine, and I would submit that they are either a) diseased, or b) the setup is not sufficient to support them.
I have a 150 gallon reef, and the thought of tearing it down to deal with some horrible infestation because I was too impatient to wait out a 6 week quarantine period basically keeps me in check. Just not worth it IMHO.
