Help with Mistake and ICH

R

RioReefer

New member
Let me start by saying thanks for reading this, It started a week ago. I have read so much bad on bio balls and that was what my system was running on. My LFS said to just remove them and replace with Live (Cult) rock and it will all be ok. I did not like that idea so even though I am new to all this. I read some postings here on RC and said to slowly remove bioballs and then when down to the last of them replace with live Cult rock. So I did that and every thing has been fine until yesterday when I did my daily tests and showed N02 and N03 with just a very small trace and my ammonia was starting to show, so I tossed in a ammonia pad to help reduce it and also did a 20% water change. After doing this I noticed my Yellow tang has a couple white spots on her and not the good ones on the tail. (LOL) So my LFS said to get it while it was early by doing a fresh water dip on her. So I did. That was scary. So now I will give you some info on my tank.
I have only been reefing for a little while now, and im so frustrated. And now the tanks is still showing trace amounts of ammonia. the PH is at 8.4 and the temp is at 81 (trying to help the tang with ich)
90 g show: 75lbs rock/80-100 LSB, frogspawn kena tree, two types of leather, tree sponge. Both leathers right now are lumped over and shriveled (but not dead) My water flow with head loss is puts me at about 12 times an hour.
Fish: True Perc, Yellow tang. Flame Angel and a Blue Chromis, Cleaner shrimp, Tiger tail cucumber and a Cleaner crew.
15g sump
10g refug
uv sterilizer
and Skimmer

What should I do?????
Can I treat ick in the Show tank?
I dont have a QT as of right now?
(Wife is going to kill me)
Thanks again for your time in reading this.

Rich
 
Maybe I read your post wrong... but am I correct in stating that your liverock that you used to replace the bioballs is above the water line???

Did you just take out the bioballs and put the live rock back in the same trickle filter area? I guess that's what I'm trying to ask..?
 
Kind of, The trickle filter was removed and placed a plexy with a tube so it would fill and all the rocks are covered with water. and a small rio pump to help cerculate water in that area
 
Kind of, The trickle filter was removed and placed a plexy with a tube so it would fill and all the rocks are covered with water. and a small rio pump to help cerculate water in that area
 
the only good way to get rid of ich is to quarantene the fish you can set up a QT tank for a small amount of money with a 10g tank
 
I'm having trouble envisioning this setup. I would loose the tube, just let the water flow into your sump and place the rock on the bottom of the sump. If you have Live Rock in your tank it will do the job.

My guess is that you are causing die-off on your rock and that is where the ammonia is coming from. Kinda like a mini-cycle. The rocks should be totally submerged. Remember that the water doesn't need to flow through them, over them will be fine.

If you have to have a powerhead in your sump to increase the flow, you don't have enough flow going through your sump.

Do you have any liverock in your main tank? If so, how much?

Don't jump the gun on the ich. It has most likely been in your tank all along. But b/c of the recent drop in h2o quality your fishes health has dropped and allowed the ich to progress. I would begin soaking all their food in garlic gel tabs or other garlic supplement. First and foremost is getting your h20 quality back up.

Is there anyway you could snap a few pics of exactly what's going on here with your sump and how you modified it?
 
I can post a few when I get home tonight around 6:00 MST
I have a ton of flow but the water comes done into a filter box that had egg create in the bottom and then into the sump, with that the rock did not get covered so I put plexy it the bottom and a over flow pipe to take the water level up to the top of that box, I was wored the cause the water came from the top trough the trickle filter/pads, that all the water was just going out the tube so i tossed a very small rio to pump water from the bottom to the top, the box that sets in the sump where the rock is about 10x10x9 tall the I just want to make sure water is moving , My LFS said more is better. (T or F) ??
Thanks for helping me I will get pic on soon.
 
Should I stay one the water changes to get Amo. down, it 20% evry day to every other day ok? and what shoult I try to aim for on the SPG, right now Ive been at 1.025 since the ich I started bring it down and Im at 1.023. ??
 
I would suggest something more along the lines of a 50% change out the gate then step back to 20% as needed for the ammonia levels. Also I've heard that carbon will help reduce the ammonia levels by several people. I can't be sure how true this is (I've never tried it) but it surely won't hurt.

Also you never answered, How much liverock to you have in your display tank??
 
just saw this
came from the top trough the trickle filter/pads,
Click to expand...

Pull them out!! Especially if they are old!! But pull them out anyways. Run raw water directly into your sump.


When most people pull the bioballs they usually just add some liverock to the display tank. It will do the same thing there as it will in the sump. I'm not saying that having the LR in the sump is a bad thing..... I'm just not sure it's a good thing the way you have it setup. I would almost suggest that if you have lots of LR in the main tank, just to remove the lr from the sump -or- simply move the lr from the sump into the main tank.

Until I see some pics I can't really make an accurate recommendation though.
 
I would ask if you have lighting on your sump? I may be wrong but there could be things dying on the live rock just due to it being in the dark in your sump. Any snails, pods, or algea that was on or in the rock would die without lighting. That would raise your Ammonia levels quickly.
 
Snails and pods would be ok without light, but you are right about any algae. It would die off but I doubt it would cause any cycle unless there was alot of it.
 
will post with pic right now my computer at home sucks so I had to wait till i got to work. will be a new thred I guess, so I can attach
 
You've got a tang in a tank going through that much change? I'd get him out of there pronto. Get your tank stable and then reintroduce him. Let him spend six weeks in QT while your tank settles down.
 
Ok so I was able to post a few pics on my gallery only though. The pic of the sump is one there.
I tested last night and ammmo. was hardly their, but no2 & no3 was still present so I still did another 20% water change. So let me see if I follow I should take my ammo filters out. Why? isnt that what is saving me right now.
 
From the looks of the pic there is rock in the sump that is not totally submerged... Is this true?

I didn't suggest that you take out the Ammo pad. I suggested you take out the filter pad that you have where your 'trickle' filter was before.

You need to totally loose the concept of a trickle filter.. Just forget it, that's not what you are trying to accomplish here. Actually that's what we're trying to get rid of. Your tank water should flow directly into your sump, no filters, no pads, no rock, no bioballs.... just water flowing into water....

Does that make any sense? If you have an ammo pad where the 'trickle' filter was just move it into the sump. Anywhere should be good.
 
Cool, I can do that, No all the rock in under water, the pic shows the black lines were the water is in the sump but the top of the white PVC in the "LR box" is where the water is in that. Now my LR is rubble insted os large rock, Thats what thr LFS said to use, is that ok? its about 20lbs of med to small rubble. is it ok that my over flow splits and half gos into the sump and half gos into refug then to the sump.
 
Right now I have very very few if any pods, the LFS said to get a primer bottleof live pods and put it all in my refug and that will help with no2 and no3 cause they eat that stuff. should I do that.
 
Now my LR is rubble insted os large rock, Thats what thr LFS said to use, is that ok?
Click to expand...
The rubble will be fine in your fuge, but for your sump it's going to do the same exact thing that the bioballs did, trap detrius before your skimmer and/or fuge have a chance to process it.

Put the rubble in your fuge. That's where it should be, that's where it will be beneficial. It will be a virutal pod condominium in there, in your sump it will just be a poop catcher.

I don't think the pods eat no3 or 2. They do however eat the poop and the algae that grows off poop in your tank which otherwise would decompose and pollute your system. Go ahead and throw the bottle in AFTER you move the rubble to the fuge. :D
 
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