Quarantine tank setup for corals....

[mufflerguy]

I am very adamant about dipping all of my additions to my reef with interceptor, levamisole, etc..., but after reading some of the horror stories about pests destroying tanks, I am going to setup a quarantine tank to house all new additions for at least a couple months.
My question is, how are these setup?
If you are leaving the corals in here for a couple months, obviously they would need conditions similar to our main display tanks.
Should I allow the tank to cycle or setup with display tank water, any live rock or substrate, filtration, water movement?
Maybe Greg or any other knowledgable member could chime in, as I am getting a shipment in a couple days & want to quarantine before trouble starts...
Thanks, Matt

 

[Greg Hiller]

I would set up like any other tank, just smaller. Try to use water from your main tank.

 

[mufflerguy]

Thanks Greg, that what I figured.....
Just wanted to be sure though.

 

[seahorse1]

I have a 10 gallon for my QT. I used water from my main tank so no waiting to cycle. All I have in there is about 2 inches of sand and 2 PVC pipes. I have a small Aquaclear filter, a small heater, and a powerhead.

 

[jacqur]

Matt,

If you use your existing tank water, a couple pieces of existing LR and some existing sand, there really isn't any reason to cycle in my opinion. I've set up a 10 gallon Qt in the past this way and went from empty tank to live stock inside in under 30 minutes and never had a problem.

 

[jacqur]

One more thing, If your tank volume is small enough you can probably get away without a lot of eequipment, ie. sans Protein Skimmer. Just dump half the water every couple days and replace with your display tank water.

This keeps your Ca up and your nutrients down, especially if you are only housing a few SPS or LPS frags.