I am currently in the process of setting up a 44 gallon corner hex to be used as a combination QT/Hospital/Hypo/Holding Tank in order to allow my two established, but somewhat infected systems sit fallow and to treat the fish that have been exposed to the Crypt parasite. So far I have the following equipment installed and in operation:
1: One Aqua C Remora HOB Skimmer
2: One Hot Magnum Power filter 250 GPH
3: One Penguin Bio Wheel Power Filter 170 GPH
4: Two MJ 12 power heads
5: One Catalina 300 watt Titanium heater
6: Two NO 15 watt Florescent light strips
7: Refractometer
8: Fish Trap
I realize this is probably overkill on filtration and flow for a hospital tank, and I’m sure I’ll probably cut back on some of this turbulence once the fish are added, because the tank is a literal Fish Jacuzzi as it is now. But since I’ll be working without substrate, rock or cleaners I’ll have to rely strictly on skimming, filtration and water changes to control ammonia spikes, and because I have nine fish to treat I think I will need all the flow, aeration, and filtration I can get.
Of course I also realize that I can not treat all nine fish at once in a 44 gallon tank, I’m considering breaking it up into two or three sessions, but the fish are all under three inches and of fairly peaceful temperament, well all except two, so I think I may be able to do two treatments over a period of twelve weeks, starting with the five most passive fish and ending with the more aggressive ones in the next wave. I have two well established tanks to put these fish into once their treatments are finished. These are the two tanks that will sit fallow during the hypo treatments. All parameters are perfect in the two established tanks now, but both have had parasitic issues that need to be eradicated.
Here is a list of the fish I intend to treat: Most of these fish have been in my systems for over nine months and none are showing any signs of ich now, in fact all but two appear to be very, VERY immune to the parasite.
1: One GS Maroon Clown: Little Elvis: Very Immune
2: One Falco Hawk: Immune
3: One Coral Beauty: Immune
4: One Molly Miller Blenny: From Galveston Bay: Very Immune
5: One Toby Puffer: Very Immune
6: One OrangeBack Basslett Somewhat Immune
7: One Dragon Wrasse: Extremely Immune
8: One Bursa Triggerfish: Somewhat Immune
List of Causalities over the Last Nine Months:
1: Harlequin Tusk: Cause of Death: Ich
2: Ember Blenny: Cause of Death: Ich
3: Dog Face Puffer: Cause of Death: Unknown, but possibly murdered by the Tusk
4: Koran Angelfish: Cause of Death: Probably murdered by the Tusk.
5: Yellow Tang: Cause of Death: Black Ich
My Goal is to have three completely Ich Free Tanks and eight happy healthy fish by February or March of 2007: I will spare no expense to make this happen. (Within reason)
Procedure
1: I have set up the 44 gallon Hypo Tank with all the equipment listed above.
2: I have added 20 gallons of water from the most established and least infected tank, and then topped off with fresh and salt RODI water from my LFS.
3: I have stuffed the Penguin Power Filter with two black power head sponges and one of those blue CPR Bak-Pac- Bio-Bales all have been soaking in the reef tank for two weeks.
4: I have placed two micron filter tubes into the Hypo Tank that has been running in Hot Magnum Power Filters on the two established tanks for two weeks. I’m running carbon on those tanks now, which I guess I can use later in the hypo filters switching out with the micron tubes every few days.
5: I have constructed a combination PVC Playground and Hotel Hilton on the bare glass bottom with segments, elbows and T's and hopefully it is complex enough to amuse and shelter 9 fish.
6: I have hung a piece of squid in the tank on a lettuce clip for 24 hours to start the cycle.
7: I have raised heat to 83 degrees and lowered SG to 1.010
8: I have numerous air stones to help oxygenate the ultra warm water.
9: I have tested water: Hypo Tank Prams are as follows:
Temp: 83
SG: 1.010
PH: Buffered to 8.3
Trites: < .1 ppm
Trates:< .3
Total Ammonia: < .35
KH: 11
In conclusion:
Fortunately, these are some very resilient fish that eat like pigs. I have trained all of them to accept meaty foods such as shrimp and squid soaked in Garlic and Selcon dangled from lettuce clips. I think this feeding method will help me keep control of the ammonia spikes to some extent, along with water changes and vacuuming of feces.
On a slightly amusing note:
I know these fish will all be angry with me over the next few months because they will be able to view their comfortably home reefs from across the room while incarcerated in their boring, sterile, glass prison, especially the GSM (Little Elvis) who will be missing his Frog Spawn Condo I’m sure, but it is for their own good, they’ll get over it.
I feel I’m off to a good start with this project, and have received help and suggestions from members of our local forum here at DFWMAS via Private Messages and have also sought help from the crew at WWM. Reef Central has such a huge membership I felt someone out there might have something to add or suggest. I have one question in particular or maybe three, then I will end this long winded post.
1: Will the little sponge filters, the two micron filter tubes and the CPR Bio-Bale be enough filter media to establish a sufficient bio-filter in a bare bottom tank?
2: During the hypo session should I just be concerned with keeping ammonia down or do Nitrites and Nitrates have to stay at zero? I don’t see how this will be possible without substrate.
And, lastly: Would one of the nitrification products such as Stability, or the one Steven Pro mentions in his article, Bio-Spiro, or perhaps Turbo Start 900: be a good choice here? With no substrate to adhere to, where would one put such a product? On the bare bottom glass on the sponge filters or the Bio-Bale?
Any and all suggestions would be most helpful
Thanks
Sump&Pals:
1: One Aqua C Remora HOB Skimmer
2: One Hot Magnum Power filter 250 GPH
3: One Penguin Bio Wheel Power Filter 170 GPH
4: Two MJ 12 power heads
5: One Catalina 300 watt Titanium heater
6: Two NO 15 watt Florescent light strips
7: Refractometer
8: Fish Trap
I realize this is probably overkill on filtration and flow for a hospital tank, and I’m sure I’ll probably cut back on some of this turbulence once the fish are added, because the tank is a literal Fish Jacuzzi as it is now. But since I’ll be working without substrate, rock or cleaners I’ll have to rely strictly on skimming, filtration and water changes to control ammonia spikes, and because I have nine fish to treat I think I will need all the flow, aeration, and filtration I can get.
Of course I also realize that I can not treat all nine fish at once in a 44 gallon tank, I’m considering breaking it up into two or three sessions, but the fish are all under three inches and of fairly peaceful temperament, well all except two, so I think I may be able to do two treatments over a period of twelve weeks, starting with the five most passive fish and ending with the more aggressive ones in the next wave. I have two well established tanks to put these fish into once their treatments are finished. These are the two tanks that will sit fallow during the hypo treatments. All parameters are perfect in the two established tanks now, but both have had parasitic issues that need to be eradicated.
Here is a list of the fish I intend to treat: Most of these fish have been in my systems for over nine months and none are showing any signs of ich now, in fact all but two appear to be very, VERY immune to the parasite.
1: One GS Maroon Clown: Little Elvis: Very Immune
2: One Falco Hawk: Immune
3: One Coral Beauty: Immune
4: One Molly Miller Blenny: From Galveston Bay: Very Immune
5: One Toby Puffer: Very Immune
6: One OrangeBack Basslett Somewhat Immune
7: One Dragon Wrasse: Extremely Immune
8: One Bursa Triggerfish: Somewhat Immune
List of Causalities over the Last Nine Months:
1: Harlequin Tusk: Cause of Death: Ich
2: Ember Blenny: Cause of Death: Ich
3: Dog Face Puffer: Cause of Death: Unknown, but possibly murdered by the Tusk
4: Koran Angelfish: Cause of Death: Probably murdered by the Tusk.
5: Yellow Tang: Cause of Death: Black Ich
My Goal is to have three completely Ich Free Tanks and eight happy healthy fish by February or March of 2007: I will spare no expense to make this happen. (Within reason)
Procedure
1: I have set up the 44 gallon Hypo Tank with all the equipment listed above.
2: I have added 20 gallons of water from the most established and least infected tank, and then topped off with fresh and salt RODI water from my LFS.
3: I have stuffed the Penguin Power Filter with two black power head sponges and one of those blue CPR Bak-Pac- Bio-Bales all have been soaking in the reef tank for two weeks.
4: I have placed two micron filter tubes into the Hypo Tank that has been running in Hot Magnum Power Filters on the two established tanks for two weeks. I’m running carbon on those tanks now, which I guess I can use later in the hypo filters switching out with the micron tubes every few days.
5: I have constructed a combination PVC Playground and Hotel Hilton on the bare glass bottom with segments, elbows and T's and hopefully it is complex enough to amuse and shelter 9 fish.
6: I have hung a piece of squid in the tank on a lettuce clip for 24 hours to start the cycle.
7: I have raised heat to 83 degrees and lowered SG to 1.010
8: I have numerous air stones to help oxygenate the ultra warm water.
9: I have tested water: Hypo Tank Prams are as follows:
Temp: 83
SG: 1.010
PH: Buffered to 8.3
Trites: < .1 ppm
Trates:< .3
Total Ammonia: < .35
KH: 11
In conclusion:
Fortunately, these are some very resilient fish that eat like pigs. I have trained all of them to accept meaty foods such as shrimp and squid soaked in Garlic and Selcon dangled from lettuce clips. I think this feeding method will help me keep control of the ammonia spikes to some extent, along with water changes and vacuuming of feces.
On a slightly amusing note:
I know these fish will all be angry with me over the next few months because they will be able to view their comfortably home reefs from across the room while incarcerated in their boring, sterile, glass prison, especially the GSM (Little Elvis) who will be missing his Frog Spawn Condo I’m sure, but it is for their own good, they’ll get over it.
I feel I’m off to a good start with this project, and have received help and suggestions from members of our local forum here at DFWMAS via Private Messages and have also sought help from the crew at WWM. Reef Central has such a huge membership I felt someone out there might have something to add or suggest. I have one question in particular or maybe three, then I will end this long winded post.
1: Will the little sponge filters, the two micron filter tubes and the CPR Bio-Bale be enough filter media to establish a sufficient bio-filter in a bare bottom tank?
2: During the hypo session should I just be concerned with keeping ammonia down or do Nitrites and Nitrates have to stay at zero? I don’t see how this will be possible without substrate.
And, lastly: Would one of the nitrification products such as Stability, or the one Steven Pro mentions in his article, Bio-Spiro, or perhaps Turbo Start 900: be a good choice here? With no substrate to adhere to, where would one put such a product? On the bare bottom glass on the sponge filters or the Bio-Bale?
Any and all suggestions would be most helpful
Thanks
Sump&Pals:
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