What is the smallest sustainable QT for SPS coral?

S

Spar

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I figure I may as well just go all out QT everything as have been screwed too much in the past in my old 180g and don't even want to imagine the pain with a 450g.

So without this becoming a dispute as to the necessity of QTing coral and critters in the first place, what would be the smallest yet feasible QT setup to do SPS with? Expecting an 8 week period? Size, equipment, lighting? Also assuming frags to medium sized coral.


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i would say minimum would be a 10gal just enough to fit a frag rack for coral and have enough room to put a few corals in it. if it were up to me and i had the space i would do a 40gallon breeder. The more water volume the more stable the parameters. but a 10gallon would be sufficient. i would do a simple hob filter and uv sterilizer. and have a carbon filter ready for it too that way you can carbon out any medication you put in there. koralia powerrhead(s) and i would do t5s to minimize heat and maybe a fan in the summer months and a heater for winter months.
 
thinh pretty much summed it up but for me it is all about how much work you want to do. a 10 gallon will take more work than a 40, smaller tanks you have to watch more closely and this it can be more difficult. i have a dual 40 breeder stackable system i was using so i could have corals and multiple fish if need be, not anymore but it worked fine.
 
Thanks guys. 40g breeder sounds about right. I have a 35.5" stretch of wall open in my fish room for a tank.... so looks like I will have to pull out a hacksaw to get the additional .5", but should be worth it :) I will have to dispose of the hacksaw before my wife finds out about the 3rd tank though [smilie=punch.gif]

If I keep the coral up near the top on frag racks, could I get away with just a single 150w MH in a reflector? The room is temperature controlled to 72F and vented, so I don't think I would end up with a temp problem, but could always switch it out later with T5's if needed.

Also, I was thinking about cornering off a section to throw in a Chaeto ball to help control nitrates, I assume no issues with that? I have never had chaeto in a display before, only sump. What water turnover would I need to look at, 30x too much? Anything else I should consider adding, other than the HOB filter, UV Ster and lights? Just parameter control after that? E.g. No skimmer?
 
@SaltNewbie wrote:
If you keep up with water changes and don't put any large fish I think you could do skimmer free. said:
This would be a fish-free tank. Just using for an 8-week isolation period for new coral and inverts. So waterchanges it is! Thanks.
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