filtration in a hospital tank

[mchammer]

I found out yesterday that I have Marine Ich in my new 120 gallon tank. Now I have to set up a hospital tank and I have a few questions. I'm going to use a 20 gallon long for the hospital tank and I will be putting 5 fish in (2 clowns and 3 damsels). I am going to treat with cupramine, my questions are

1. filtration (says carbon will absorb copper in tank)
2 how many times do I change water
3. should I worry about ammonia over the 5 weeks of treatment.
4. what do I have to do after treatment of fish

I plan on leaving the DT empty except for snails and hermit crabs as well as corals for 10 weeks. so my hospital tank with become a temporary DT for 10 weeks. After the 5 weeks of treatment should I use a different filtration?

 

[Mrscribbled]

Yes carbon will remove Cu. Do you have any non aragonite established filter media you can use from the display? If not then I've had good luck with Dr. TIMs one and only or instant ocean bio spira, and sponge filter or hob filter with carbon removed. Ammonia is a huge concern, only a seachem ammonia test kit or alert badge will work while using Cu. Do not use prime or the alike, they'll make the Cu more toxic.

 

[mchammer]

I had a spare 10 gallon tank laying around so I decided to use that for the hospital tank. Since all the fish are small I don't think this will be a problem. I also had a hang on back filter with a bio wheel from my fresh water days. I put the filter pad in for now and will take it out when I transfer the fish and medicate the tank. After that I will use filter pad but no carbon. I also added a heater and power head and PVC tube as well. If there is something missing please let me know. My concern is that I can't do a water change for 4 weeks while treating with copper so do you think the ammonia or NO1 will become toxic in that time?

 

[Mrscribbled]

If you plan on just seeding the bio wheel in your sump it will take 6 weeks to do so. Ammonia will reach toxic levels in qt in a matter of days. Water changes can be done as long as the copper is added back and tested regularly. Often peoples failure in qt is not the treatment but instead Ammonia issues. You can speed up the filter now by placing it in the ten gallon, along with an immediate ammonia source. Place a small piece of LR in the filter behind the wheel. You'll get bacteria cultured faster this way than just soaking in the sump.


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[MrTuskfish]

Sure you can do wcs with copper. Just test the water to make sure the new water is in the treatment range, same as the QT. Never make the mistake of adding water during a WC and THEN adjusting Cu. Just a minute of copper under the treatment level can start the whole ich life cycle all over.

 

[mchammer]

Thanks MrTuskfish. I would have changed the water and then adjusted with copper if you didn't say that. I'll make a point of adding copper to fresh saltwater mix before adding to hospital tank. I'm going to transfer fish tonight. I'm not looking forward to catching the fish out of the DT. Small and fast fish makes for a frustrating evening.

 

[wooden_reefer]

I found out yesterday that I have Marine Ich in my new 120 gallon tank. Now I have to set up a hospital tank and I have a few questions. I'm going to use a 20 gallon long for the hospital tank and I will be putting 5 fish in (2 clowns and 3 damsels). I am going to treat with cupramine, my questions are

1. filtration (says carbon will absorb copper in tank)
2 how many times do I change water
3. should I worry about ammonia over the 5 weeks of treatment.
4. what do I have to do after treatment of fish

I plan on leaving the DT empty except for snails and hermit crabs as well as corals for 10 weeks. so my hospital tank with become a temporary DT for 10 weeks. After the 5 weeks of treatment should I use a different filtration?

Hate to tell you that you are just now preparing the combat ich so you are facing a calamity; much is far too late but much can still be done.

Depending on the size and number of fish, ammonia can be as great or greater threat than ich. Fish can die now or a couple of months later after high enough ammonia exposure. What is low to some is actually high enough.

You have to do massive WC until ich is no longer fatal. This can be just a few days. And I believe often you should not design to eradicate ich on the first round. You have to wait for the fallow period to expire and to actively treat for ich to eradicate it in QT. This will be a nightmare for ten long weeks if you have many fish.

WC to remove ammonia is not simple. You cannot just siphon off 25% each day. You have to remove all poops and uneaten food before it decays. Generally, I do 100% WC daily with alternating containers. This is the way to remove poops and uneaten food. I transfer in a way to reduce chance of bacterial infection.

No matter what, your most urgent task is to start a cycle ASAP in a separate container. Such a cycle can be just 20 days until nitrite has peaked. You can use the half-cycled medium after nitrite has peak by rinsing the medium with NSW of the same salinity.