Opinions needed from all you hardcore Coral growers
 

So I am in the process of a setting up several tanks for growing corals out and fragging and just wanted to get some input
should I set up a separate quarantine system for the corals?
or will having separate tanks but connected by a common sump be sufficient to keep any problems or diseases from spreading?
are diseases mostly contact to contact or are they water borne that would just go thru the overflow into the other tanks.
so what would you do?
the big thing is I don't want to have to buy yet another large skimmer.....and another sump.
thanks in advance for your input
Neal

A common system is alright. But I highly recommend iodine dips of all crags and colonies after the fragging process that way Any corL disease will be eliminated and iodine dips of all new coral being introduced to the tank.

What do you think you should do? You're the one who has to look after it. I personally find it enough work to manage the water chemisty of one system so keep it all together.

Red bugs, flatworms, sundial snails, aptasia, majano, hydroids, fire worms, crabs, nudibranchs, bacterial infections... yes you should quarentine.

i am definitely quarantining.
I am just wondering if being in separate tanks will suffice vice a totally separate system.
thanks
Neal

I think that the QT should be a separate system but maybe just a small one. That is just what I would do but that doesn't mean I am right. :biggrin:

id vote for seperate if you can afford and maintain both, being able to quarentine/treat in a different system will eventually pay off

This is when I would say UV light would be most effective. It would help prevent waterborne disease from spreading from tank to tank.

How large a system(s) are we talking? A few little tanks off of one sump makes more sense to me. You'll probably benefit more by having them all more stable than if you keep them separate. But if you intend on having large tubs containing hundreds of gallons each you probably want to keep them separate and specialized. That is the conclusion most people seem to come to. Small frag tanks running off of the main display and sump are pretty common. But in commercial green house style operations several independent systems seem to be the norm.

the 2 quarantine tanks are about 100 gallon each.
the remaining system will be about 750 gallons.

that is not something you do in a small back room,

what dementions will the 750 gal frag tanks have, and what are you planing to put on it to lid it all up?

other sugestion would be that in case you split it up, you can even devide LPS from SPS (I think for growing them it would be a benefit) if not that you even have a third one for softie's, each there own needs

se than you can run SPS ultra clean, the LPS you can tolorate some debr. and the sorfies you cna give the less cleanest set up, as for instance mushrooms dont need ultra clean water, thy even do better with a bit less