hypo QT water changes?

[DreamLand]

Hello,

I have QT that I setup for my hippo Tang.. I did a fresh water dip and stuck him into 1.026 QT and lowered it to 1.009.. He is doing a lot letter now... question is when do I do water changes in the QT ? every day or what % of the water... thanks its.. only days 2

 

[kevin2000]

When running a QT ... hypo or normal salinity .... your goal is to keep ammonia levels at zero. In short .. forget the threads which discuss the benefits of limiting water changes to a particular amt .. those apply to reef tanks not QT's.

Good idea to purchase an inexpensive Seachem Ammonia Alert Badge .. does a good job at monitoring ammonia and will save you from doing a zillion ammonia test over the QT period.

Also a good idea to prepare replacement SW in advance .. you don't want to be screwing around with making replacement water when you QT has ammonia issues.

Lastly ... try and keep your QT clean .. siphon out uneaten food and fish debris (turkey baster works fine) .. will go along way on helping maintain water quality.

Hope this helps.

 

[DreamLand]

Thanks... looks like I have 1.2 ammonia .. this morning.. also... how do you buffer the ph with baking soda ?

 

[kevin2000]

You ammonia goal is zero .. a 1.2 ammonia level is WAY too high and likely to harm the gills and perhaps kill the fish. If you don't have any replacement water you should consider using an ammonia conversion product like amquel .. will convert free ammonia into ammonium which is less toxic. Also .. if you have some mature bio filter from your St you can place that into your QT filter .. should help. Be prepared for some major water changes.

Hypo tanks tend to be a bit low on alk .. thats because your basically using 1/3 FW and if your using RO that doesn't have any buffer. No big deal .. a small amt of baking soda is an inexpensive method of fixing that problem.

Right now .. focus on ammonia .. ph/alk is a secondary issue.

 

[DreamLand]

What should the PH be in a QT? and how do I get it up there?

 

[kevin2000]

Forget PH .. focus on whats going to kill your fish .. thats ammonia.

Once the ammonia level is zero then test for alkalnity .. if its low then add a small amt of baking soda. No big deal .. if alks OK then PH is Ok .. you don't need to test for PH.

 

[DreamLand]

yeah I did at 100% water change... and Ammonia is 0 N2 is 0 N3 is 5..
I don;t have an alkalnity test... I'll pick one up tomorrow.. Thanks for your help

 

[happyface888]

Wow 100% is that like emptying your Tank and adding new made ssalt water?

 

[DreamLand]

yup.... its only a 10 G .. but I added some water from my Main tank ..