Need acclimation/quarantine advice

rackmsukr · 08/20/2008, 07:09 AM

I'm awaiting a fairly large livestock purchase in the mail for Thursday 8-20.
Here's what I'm getting...
100 nassarius snails
100 cerith snails
10 blue leg hermits
2 emerald crabs
1 yellow tang

I have a 150 gal DT with 55 gal sump/fuge and a 30 gal QT.

I am definitely planning on quarantining the Tang and probably the crabs but am not sure what to do with the snails. Are they ok to put directly in the DT? Will all these critters cause a dangerous ammonia spike? I don't have a skimmer yet and only have a few pieces of live rock in the 150. Thanks!

inachu · 08/20/2008, 07:24 AM

Your tank needs to run at least for 3 weeks all alone with all equipment running as if it was fully stocked.
Better to do the 3 weeks with live rocks.

How much live rock do you have?

abulgin · 08/20/2008, 07:25 AM

You can QT the inverts, but I personally don't think it's necessary. Acclimation and then a good rinse in system water should be fine.

Depending on how old your tank is, you may or may not have an ammonia spike. These inverts shouldn't put off much ammonia, but they will add a load to the system, especially considering you will have to feed them something. You might consider getting some more fully cured live rock from your LFS before adding them.

rackmsukr · 08/20/2008, 07:49 AM

I only have about 15 lbs of rock right now. I know I eventually need about 250 lbs but I don't have the cash to buy rock at this time. The tank has been cycled for a few months and I have a shrimp and 2 fish that have lived happily in there so far.

ChrisKirkland · 08/20/2008, 07:53 AM

You should be able to put the inverts in, the best way to do it is to use a drip acclamation and let them acclimates for a couple of hours in a bucket. It is much less stressful. I would QT the tang they are very ich prone.

abulgin · 08/20/2008, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rackmsukr
I only have about 15 lbs of rock right now. I know I eventually need about 250 lbs but I don't have the cash to buy rock at this time. The tank has been cycled for a few months and I have a shrimp and 2 fish that have lived happily in there so far.

I would reconsider the amount of LR you intend to add. The general rule of thumb you will see pronounced here is that you need 1 to 1.5 lbs/gallon. You need to consider what fish you'll have, and what their space/swimming needs will be. If you cram 250lbs of rock in a 150 gallon tank, you won't have much room for fish to swim. If you intend to keep only small fish (which you clearly don't, as you've purchased a Yellow Tang) and mostly corals, then you can load up on the rock. But if you are going to keep tangs that need some swimming space, I would make sure your tank has ample swimming room.

I think you would be fine with 100 to 150 lbs of live rock, especially if you have substrate, which will also give you some filtration capacity. If I were in your situation, I would order a couple boxes of uncured live rock from an e-tailer, and cook it in some rubbermade trash cans or another vessel to cure it and then add to your tank BEFORE you add much live stock. This will save you a considerable amount of money. For example, for around $400, you could buy 125 lbs of Fiji from http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.co...x?CategoryId=5 or http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...t_parent_id=7.

08/20/2008, 07:09 AM	#1
rackmsukr Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 39	Need acclimation/quarantine advice I'm awaiting a fairly large livestock purchase in the mail for Thursday 8-20. Here's what I'm getting... 100 nassarius snails 100 cerith snails 10 blue leg hermits 2 emerald crabs 1 yellow tang I have a 150 gal DT with 55 gal sump/fuge and a 30 gal QT. I am definitely planning on quarantining the Tang and probably the crabs but am not sure what to do with the snails. Are they ok to put directly in the DT? Will all these critters cause a dangerous ammonia spike? I don't have a skimmer yet and only have a few pieces of live rock in the 150. Thanks!

08/20/2008, 07:53 AM	#5
ChrisKirkland Reef and Coral Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lexington, Ky. Posts: 1,739	You should be able to put the inverts in, the best way to do it is to use a drip acclamation and let them acclimates for a couple of hours in a bucket. It is much less stressful. I would QT the tang they are very ich prone. __________________ Chris Kirkland Reef Nerd. Current Tank Info: Getting back into the hobby.

08/20/2008, 07:24 AM	#2
inachu Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Maryland, metro area Posts: 1,219	Your tank needs to run at least for 3 weeks all alone with all equipment running as if it was fully stocked. Better to do the 3 weeks with live rocks. How much live rock do you have?

08/20/2008, 07:25 AM	#3
abulgin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,664	You can QT the inverts, but I personally don't think it's necessary. Acclimation and then a good rinse in system water should be fine. Depending on how old your tank is, you may or may not have an ammonia spike. These inverts shouldn't put off much ammonia, but they will add a load to the system, especially considering you will have to feed them something. You might consider getting some more fully cured live rock from your LFS before adding them.

08/20/2008, 07:49 AM	#4
rackmsukr Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 39	I only have about 15 lbs of rock right now. I know I eventually need about 250 lbs but I don't have the cash to buy rock at this time. The tank has been cycled for a few months and I have a shrimp and 2 fish that have lived happily in there so far.