Starting a sterile tank

[SeaGirl]

Just wondering if anyone has any info on how to start a sterile SW tank?

 

[Phyl]

What is a Sterile tank and what do you need one for? That's not a word I'm familiar with, but I'm game for an education!

 

[born2chill]

You can add a UV sterilizer, but I recommend you let the tank cycle before adding one. The UV sterilizer will kill single cell algae and most parasites in the water.

 

[SeaGirl]

Thats all it is... I knew the uv thing had a lot to do with it but I didn't know if you have to steady add chemicals to it or not? I was looking at a Blue Tang at the LFS and he said they needed a sterilized tank to be at their best since they are hi risk to parasites.

 

[malkore]

Ahhh, yeah then they were talking about running a UV sterilizer on the tank, like all the time.
You'd cycle the tank first, add live rock, then once it came time to start stocking the tank, you'd start the UV unit.

In addition to parasites, it'll kill algae spores.

 

[OneBowl]

I think you'll find that many keep blue tangs successfully without a UV sterilizer. Anybody?

 

[Phyl]

Your best defense against an Ich outbreak (the number one issue with a tang) is a QT tank. Make sure the fish goes into QT before he goes into your main. You want to prevent ich from getting into your main at all cost. This way if he breaks out in an ich infestation you can properly treat him before moving him into your main.

 

[SeaGirl]

It seems to keep coming and going in my main tank, I have a copperband and a clown left in the tank. The cleaner fish takes prety good car of the Copperband but it seems like whenever I add any more fish they start dying. I just lost a clown this morning. Maybe if I do the sterile thing it would help? I had an ICK outbreak that killed everything and I waited about 3 weeks to put anything backin. They did good for about 4 weeks, then it started again.

 

[Flsprophet2]

If you have ich in your main tank you want to leave it fishless for at least 6 weeks so that the ich can go thru it's life cycle. three weeks is not enough time for the ich to be completly gone from your main