Blah.. depressing

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I have been doing daily 20% water changes in my QT for the past 5-weeks of hypo. Even with that many pwc my nitrite is still high. I have also had to add Amquel+ everyday for the past 5-weeks. I am starting to bring the salinity back up today. It is definitely doable. But a lot of extra work (probably 10-minutes every single day just for the QT) I do have to say, I can't wait till it is done! One more week. By the way, I got that link on the Hypo from Kurt about 6-months ago. I tried to do Cupramine/Copper on an uncycled tank once and the fish died. Way better luck with hypo.
 
Yeah I figured with my first two fish to not have one right away then set up one before I got others would be a good idea. I did tell you I was a newbie right? Ppftt. I do feel a little dumb now after buying a swing hydrometer as well, none of the LFS had a refractometer...bah. Lesson learned. I do really want whats best for my fish, honestly. I heard a floating one is the next best thing? Ill have to see if they have one..

So hypo is the way to go? if thats best that's what I'll do. So say I have a 5-10 gal tank, seems like I change about a gallon every 12 hours until it reaches 1.009? and then leave it at that for a few weeks ( about 4-6 ) then slowly change about a gallon until reaches 1.022 again right?

again of couse now Im getting a QT tank but would hypo be ok to treat in my regular tank with the live rock or would it kill off everything?

And too since I wouldnt be using copper, in that case would it be ok to put say a spoonful of sand from my regular tank to add some bacteria?

thanks so much for your help guys, this is quite frustrating!!
 
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Dont feel dumb about the hydrometer and starting without a QT. I would bet that the majority started that way. I know I did. A refractometer is a must if you are going to do hyposalinity. I got one from Aquarium supplies for your tropical fish tank, saltwater fish tank, saltwater aquarium fish, freshwater aquarium fish & reef aquarium. Aquarium filters, aquarium lighting, aquarium tanks, protein skimmers & more for your reef tank. it was the cheapest one (under $50) it was the marinedepot brand. I love it, works perfect. As far as doing the hypo in the main, I think it would kill you LR and LS. But I am not positive about that. Do it in the QT, way less work. 55gallon tank doing hypo would be tough in my opinion. The way I did hypo was not exactly how you described. What I did was add enough RO/DI or Distilled water each day so that it would decrease by .002 each day. For example day 1 would go from 1.024 down to 1.022. And then day 2 would go from 1.022 to 1.020. All the way down to 1.009. You will need a lot of extra water because your biofilter is going to be way off. Do you have any media in your main tank filter like bio balls or bio wheel or biopad etc etc? That is what you would want to put in the QT. I dont think a spoonfull of sand would do anything. When you are done after 6 weeks in your case then increase each day by .002. For example 1.009 up to 1.011 etc. I went through a lot of marine buffer(very carefully) and Amquel+ because the hypo throws everything off in the uncycled QT. Measure PH ammonia and nitrite regularly. I said 6-weeks because you need to keep your main fallow of fish for 8-weeks. So put the clown in the QT take 1-week to bring it down to 1.009 then do hyposalinity for 4-weeks after you see NO more white spots. Then take 1-week to bring the salt back up for a total of 8-weeks and then your main tank will be free of ich by that time too.
 
Read Hyposalinity Treatmentwhich IMO is the bible of how to do hypo. It's teh same link that Ryshark gave you.

Inverts will not live through hypo and neither will many of the critters that live in/on the LR and LS.
Clowns are NOT prone to ich, so this is unusual. Do the hypo in QT. Ryshark gave you the proper advice. Please follow it. Don't be discouraged. I had an outbreak in a stocked 125 gallon tank a couple years ago. I had to remove most of the rock to get all the fish out. I had 8 fish in a 30 gallon tank for 8 weeks. I was doing 2x daily pwc's till the biowheel and HOB filter got going, then 1x daily pwc just to keep levels near normal. It's not easy but it is worth it.
 
just went and got my QT tank ( 10 gal set up ) and just waiting for the temp to get to the right range and I'll start treatment. I sure hope this lil guy makes it. Luckily the LFS I got my fish from gave me a $20 credit and 10% off buying my stuff there due to the fish losses. I noticed the fish in the tank I got my two from were developing ich ( they looked fine when I bought em, otherwise I would have never) I may not buy any more fish from them, but at least they were understanding in giving me credit.

thanks again for the help
 
Sorry to hear you got such a ruff start in the hobby. Hope your clown makes it. Best of luck to you both.
 
Good to hear the lfs made up for the fish lose in equipment discounts. Just take your time and it will all work out.
 
Agree with cmor... that was nice for the LFS to do that. Smart folks running/managing the place.

However, I would watch their livestock over time as you wait impatiently for the hyposalinity to kill off the ich. I've found LFSs with less than adequate quarantine procedures, or that buy from less careful wholesalers, can go through cycles where everything looks good, and then everything is diseased. Makes sense, since most of the tanks are plumbed to a common source. If one tank has ich, more than likely most of the others do too - unless they have several separate systems. It's just something to keep an eye on. Sounds like this LFS has at least a conscience, so maybe just ask them how they contain an ich outbreak in their tanks. Not all LFSs are bad - I actually have a couple that will more or less refuse to sell you a fish if it looks bad to them.
 
So far so good with treatment, hes alive and acting non stressed as far as I can tell on day 2.

I never thought to ask for QT should I leave the light off the whole time or should I continue the regular on/off light cycle? Someone told me it makes it less stressful if they're kept off. Just checking on this one..
 
I kept the same lighting cycle on my QT as on my main. Only reason was because I'd figure it'd cause less stress! I figured I'd at least leave one thing that was familiar for the little guy!

Leaving the light off during acclimation and just after entry into a new tank is definitely a good idea. But hypo is going to take 6 weeks minimum and I'd think lights off that entire time would be strange for the fish. Also, you're going to want to be able to look and confirm when the white spots have finally disappeared. That's when you start the actual hypo time clock ticking. Without lights, it makes it tough to really see how your fish is progressing.

Again... no science or books, just my opinion.
 
I pretty much agree with Kurt, though I only lit my QT tank for a few hours each day (dusk/dawn with '03 and 10k) when I was home. The tank got ambient room light the rest of the day.
 
Thanks for the help ;) Ill try and do a pretty normal light cycle.

And then again I always seem to think up more questions LOL.

Should I add any 'tastier' foods to his diet while in QT? right now Ive been feeding 'new life spectrum' marine formula thats pretty well balanced ( read the ingredients, contains fish, vegies, kelp etc) in tiny pellets. I know its best to vary the diet, but im worried about frozen foods etc causing pollution in the QT. He seems to eat it, spit it back out, and eat it again when it hits the tank floor, odd fish. At least hes interested in eating.. been producing feces too, so I know hes eating something..
 
I think frozen(ie. mysis) is ok as long as you defrost it in tank water or RO/DI water first and then pour that water out. Then put the thawed food in the tank. Just slowly put enough that he can eat in a few mintues and thats it. Keep an eye out on you water parameters with lots of tests, PH, ammonia & nitrite. In my opinion you will be doing so many water changes to get the water down to 1.009 and then to keep the ammonia and nitrite down... that you don't even need to test for nitrate.
 
Nitrate is not a really a problem in QT. Fish don't stress with higher nitrate levels till it get really high (80 or so). As ryshark said, PWC's should keep them way down along with your ammonia and nitrite.

Do keep an eye on the pH and ammonia though.
 
Thanks :) so far so good. He's doing well.

I just got my protein skimmer two days ago and set it up today on the main tank. Amazing how much gunk its getting when I only had two fish in there for two days! Im still playing with it to get the water level just right, but its getting there..

I also got two peppermint shrimp and 3 narssius (probably spelled that wrong lol) snails.. they love the live rock!

after a bit of a bump so far so good. thanks for everyones help!
 
help tiger goby gone

hello all, as i said in a early thread, i put a tiger watchman goby in my tank on wednesday. it swam to the bottom and hid in the LR. the thing is i have not see it since,i am abit worried. i have checked for ammonia its 0ppm. have not got a nitrite kit, but ammonia would show up first wouldnt it. so i dont think its died. i just dont know, iam thinking about taking all the LR out to look for it. or should i wait a few more days. thanks for any advice.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but gobys generally like to hide don't they? I would say keep a good eye out for it and test every day for ammonia just in case. If after a few days you dont see it, I would move some rocks and look. My little clown that died went under a rock and did so when he did.. never hurts to be cautious
 
I don't know your tanks specs ex: size, amount of LR etc. But you won't always see a spike in ammonia or nitrite if a small fish dies in a decent sized tank with LR LS and a good cleanup crew. In my experience.
It also could be in your sandbed. Personally, I wouldnt tear my tank apart looking for it if my water parameters were all good.
If you don't have a nitrite kit how do you know your tank is fully cycled and there is no Nitrite in the water?? If he is dead that could possibly be why. Are you able to test for PH, salinity, nitrate? Did you acclimate the goby to your tank?
 
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