Hey Michael, Welcome to TR and to the saltwater hobby. It seems you have been bitten, got your feet wet, experienced tragedy, got discouraged and need help. All that seems normal to me. Just kidding. OK, first bit of good news, you've come to the right place. TR has a growing number of knowledgeable reefers willing to share experiences and lend a hand. And, Rob keeps us under a watchful eye to be sure our advice is appropriate.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's sad but oh so true,
"The worst place to get advice on saltwater aquariums, be it FOWLR or a reef system, is your local fish store (LFS)". That seems to fly in the face of reason but after 60+ years in the hobby,
thats my opinion and it's echoed through the ranks of reefers around the forums. So let's see if we can get you back on track.
First, it's always a good practice to quarantine, keep up that good habit. Your 10 gallon
QT is a bit small but workable as long as you understand it's limits. The quarantine tank doesn't need to be elaborate but it does have to meet certain criteria. It needs some kind of biological filter. Some people would say a sponge filter is adequate. Not in my opinion unless it is large and properly seeded. The
QT should not be set up new to house a fish, it should be aged. It's purpose is to allow the fish (or whatever) to relax, adjust to captivity, allow diseases to manifest their presence, allowing you to treat them, allow the fish to adapt to foreign food and gain strength, all in a peaceful environment.
My personal experience taught me to use water from the display tank to fill the
QT. That is assuming your display tank water is of optimum condition. Have a small amount of sand covering the bottom of the
QT. Use a biological filter that is seeded with bacteria. Employ a UV Sterilizer. I like to use a couple of pieces of carved out coral rock for hiding places instead of
PVC. (My preference) I have not used
copper in 40 years. It is a killer, unpredictable and too easy to overdose. My choice is to keep a Vortex DE filter on the
QT for the first two weeks. They can be a pain in the butt to use but, are worth every penny of their cost if used properly. Fish in
QT should be fed anything you can get them to eat. Don't spare the cost here. If they will only take live food, provide it in abundance and try dry or frozen at alternate feedings times. Monitor the
QT water conditions at least every other day. Change water, if needed to maintain optimum conditions, from the display tank. Keep new water on hand to replace the display tank water. By using this system you can maintain the proper
salinity 1.026 and accomplish the goal of QTing, which is to bring your fish back to health from the rigors of capture, holding, transport, holding again, transporting again, holding again and finally transporting to your
LFS. Realize,
during all this time in transit to your LFS they are not fed!!! Or fed very sparingly.
I hope this helped you with the
QT part of your questions. I'll give others a chance to get in on the discussion. I have more to say but need to get something done first.
Dick
