Hello everyone, I live in Taiwan. I started a 250 gallons (not including the sump where ATS is working) in April of this year, and after cycling for a couple of months, I started intruducing fishes into the tank. All the fishes got infected with ICH and most of them died. I managed to trap 2 of my favorite fishes in the tank ( Achilles tang and a sohal tang) and took it to the LFS for treatment. He used hyposalinity treatment and both fishes are now very healthy. 3 days ago, I finally got fed up and told the LFS to come over and setup a 25 gallons quarantine tank. I pulled some algae from the main tank and covered it over the overhead filtration with a acrylic plate where the water from the cycling pump would drip over it. Now, the owner at the LFS placed substrates into the tank while I was at work and already had the mixed salt water running when I came home. I told him I wanted a BB tank as he didn't know I'm expecting the ATS to do all the work and thought I needed the susbstrates and bioballs to take care of ammonia and nitrite. So, all was taken out that night and I measured the nitrate at the time and it was off the chart. After running the system with only the algaes for filtration over the night, the next morning I check the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and everything was 0. That was an unbelieveable surprise. Holy Christ I thought. Therefore on that same day, I called him up and said that I had lower my salinity down to 1.014 and buffer my water to PH 8.3 and wanted my fishes in.
Now, check this, my favorite fishes are tangs, so I want all my favorite tangs put in all at the same time. The quarantine tank salinity is at 1.014. I acclimate the fishes with drip method over a period of 1 hour from 1.024 and put them in the tank. It's been over 2 days since I acclimate my Achilles tang, Sohal tang, new Purple tang, a yellow tang, and this other tang the owner gave me as a gift. There's also a fireangel, bicolor angel in there too. I know everyone must be thinking having all these tangs in such a small space is not a good idea right? Right. Yesterday was a chaos to say the least. But I've snip off the daggers from each and everyone of those tangs before I put them in. So they were just bumping their asses against eachother. Today, they now only do a little chase now and then. And each and everyone of them are eating Nori and other foods like pigs. Now, I have a couple of questions, do I really need to lower and keep the salinity down to 1.009 because it's already there and I'm a bit weary about keeping the fish at that salinity. I believe the only nutrient that I have to worry about is ammonia. There's no other filtration stages. At this time of typing (finishing this post, it's been 2 weeks and the ammonia reading is 0). I don't even bother to check other readings anymore. It's so easy to setup, I'm still in disbelief. Did a check again before posting, it's still reading 0. I must say, these algaes are truly amazing.
Thanks for any input,
James
Here's some photos
Now, check this, my favorite fishes are tangs, so I want all my favorite tangs put in all at the same time. The quarantine tank salinity is at 1.014. I acclimate the fishes with drip method over a period of 1 hour from 1.024 and put them in the tank. It's been over 2 days since I acclimate my Achilles tang, Sohal tang, new Purple tang, a yellow tang, and this other tang the owner gave me as a gift. There's also a fireangel, bicolor angel in there too. I know everyone must be thinking having all these tangs in such a small space is not a good idea right? Right. Yesterday was a chaos to say the least. But I've snip off the daggers from each and everyone of those tangs before I put them in. So they were just bumping their asses against eachother. Today, they now only do a little chase now and then. And each and everyone of them are eating Nori and other foods like pigs. Now, I have a couple of questions, do I really need to lower and keep the salinity down to 1.009 because it's already there and I'm a bit weary about keeping the fish at that salinity. I believe the only nutrient that I have to worry about is ammonia. There's no other filtration stages. At this time of typing (finishing this post, it's been 2 weeks and the ammonia reading is 0). I don't even bother to check other readings anymore. It's so easy to setup, I'm still in disbelief. Did a check again before posting, it's still reading 0. I must say, these algaes are truly amazing.
Thanks for any input,
James
Here's some photos
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