in tank quarantine

[Chad Vossen]

i made a cage that goes into the main tank and the only connection it has is through a 120 micron screen. this will allow water to pass through, but flatworms, redbugs (adults for sure, not sure about baby redbugs), hyroids, and aptasia cant pass through the screen. the whole idea behind this is to have a quarantine area for new corals without having a whole different system.

for me, my tank is infested with lots of things. i made lots of new frags this evening from my red micro colony. i have them in the cage and plan to let them heal and start growing in time to sell at the ocean devotion meeting. this gives me over a month to see if any pest show up within the caged area. the cage is a "clean zone".

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/armagedon48/basket33.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/armagedon48/basket4.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/armagedon48/basket5.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/armagedon48/basket36.jpg

cleaning should be easy enough, raise the tray of corals out, put them into a bucket with filtered water from the tank (such as during a water change) and bleach the cage to clean the screen. a good rinse and its ready to go back into the tank and coral trap placed back in.

[TriggerFreak]

good idea!!!

[TriggerFreak]

So is that a frag tank or what???

[Chad Vossen]

the whole tank is my frag tank. it was my display, but slowly the eggcrate racks took over.

here is a diff pic of the tank. i took a pic of the clownfish, but you can see what the tank looks like.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/armagedon48/clowns1.jpg

[TriggerFreak]

sweet!!!!!!!

[Screwtape]

Cool idea.

I have no concept of how porous a 120 micron screen is, but is any flow able to get through there, especially with it only having screen on one side? I'm sure some stuff will just diffuse through there with the water but is it maybe going to keep too much stuff out? I honestly don't know.

I was thinking of trying to find a way to do something similar so that would be my only concern.

[clownnut]

remeber flatworms have no bone. just like anemone. i have a12" carpet go through eggcrate and kill itself.
as other mention, flow is another issue, especially when acro slime.

[Chad Vossen]

remeber flatworms have no bone. just like anemone. i have a12" carpet go through eggcrate and kill itself.
as other mention, flow is another issue, especially when acro slime.

you have a good point, which i have been paying some attention to. i kinda expect to find flatworms getting in, which is no big deal. flatworms can be dealt with if i throw money at it. my #1 issue that i want to resolve is the hydroids. i'm still watching and have yet to see any pest inside the cage.

as far as flow, right now i have an air hose in it moving the water. its enough for the lps and softy i have in there, but if i put acro in it, then i'll need to have a little powerhead in there too.

i added 4 baby mollies to the cage and they are picking at the screen keeping it clean.

[mattb]

I'd like something like this to put baby clams in....a little sand in, raise it up for a good hour, put a lot of phyto in there, and then put them back into the tank - the mesh part wouldn't work for me..... I agree with Li though..... I don't think it'll stop flatworms or RB though (good thinking outside the box!)

[Chad Vossen]

120 micron screen should be large enough to stop adult redbugs no problem. ideally i should have used 53 micron screen or less, as that is small enough to remove baby copepods, assuming red bugs have similar characteristics as the typical copepod. i think 120 micron should be fine for keeping red bugs out, or it should be close.

as far as flatworms, only the smallest would be able to distort their body enough to fit through the screen. the adults body thickness would be way to thick to even come close to passing through the screen. the babies, im not so sure about. only time will tell if any flatworms show up inside.

[Chad Vossen]

I'd like something like this to put baby clams in....a little sand in, raise it up for a good hour, put a lot of phyto in there, and then put them back into the tank - the mesh part wouldn't work for me..... I agree with Li though..... I don't think it'll stop flatworms or RB though (good thinking outside the box!)

you mean like this? http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/baby_maxima.html

[mattb]

you mean like this? http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/baby_maxima.html

exactly...

[David Grigor]

I just don't see how this would be any more effective than a good dipping routine and taking your chances. Outside of it being totally segregated from your system, I just don't see how it could be called a quarantine.

[Chad Vossen]

I just don't see how this would be any more effective than a good dipping routine and taking your chances. Outside of it being totally segregated from your system, I just don't see how it could be called a quarantine.

it may not be a true quarantine, but it should eliminate the introduction of several pest into my system without having a totally separate system running as quarantine. hydroid Medusa cannot swim through the screen, which is my biggest reason for using this.

i have recieved frags before that had hydroids somewhere on the frag plug or rock. within a month i see new colonies throughout my tank. i dont want to sell frags that have hydroids on them.

in theory, the screen should also contain red bugs and flatworms. though the babies may be able to squeeze through 120 micron holes. either way, flatworms can be treated with flatworm exit, and redbugs can be treated with interceptor. so they arent a major issue. hyroids have no cure that i know of, so some sort of quarantine process needs to be used to prevent further infection.

i'm killing all my live rock one piece at a time and restarting it in a different system. most of my liverock is infected with hydroids, and some new liverock that i bought has yet ANOTHER hydroid that i dont already have... bringing my total count of hydroids to 6 species... where does it end!

[Chad Vossen]

I just don't see how this would be any more effective than a good dipping routine and taking your chances. Outside of it being totally segregated from your system, I just don't see how it could be called a quarantine.

i dont think hydroids are affected by dipping.