Hyposalinity: how-to; when-to; how-long-to

It normally take me 4 days to drop the sg from 1.024-5 down to 1.008-9 but since your sg is already down to 1.020 you can probably do it in 3 if you want. I keep the sg at 1.008-9 for 10 weeks before raising the sg and I take almost double the time to bring it up so it will be less stressful to the fish. Some fish may experience hlle especially tangs and angels while in hypo but once they come out of hypo with good feeding they will be fine.

Cougaran make very good points on water quality so follow his points carefully. I normally perform 20-25% water change every 3 days the first week and every 5 days the second to third week the drop back to every 2 weeks once the fish looks better.

btw--80g from display and 20g from rodi should be fine.
 
It normally take me 4 days to drop the sg from 1.024-5 down to 1.008-9 but since your sg is already down to 1.020 you can probably do it in 3 if you want. I keep the sg at 1.008-9 for 10 weeks before raising the sg and I take almost double the time to bring it up so it will be less stressful to the fish. Some fish may experience hlle especially tangs and angels while in hypo but once they come out of hypo with good feeding they will be fine.

Cougaran make very good points on water quality so follow his points carefully. I normally perform 20-25% water change every 3 days the first week and every 5 days the second to third week the drop back to every 2 weeks once the fish looks better.

btw--80g from display and 20g from rodi should be fine.
I never had issues with hlle using hypo now cupramine yes every time but quickly heals after removal
 
100 gallon hypo tank a much better idea, I would have suggested that but sometimes the fish are just too big, no room for another tank, or the expenses of another tank..... On a hypo treatment you can use carbon, but just be aware that if you decided to try any medications the carbon will absorb most of them. Now for testing-- I like to use a teaspoon of baking soda in my water changes and this helps keep it rock steady ph. So I very rarely check this.. As for ammonia I mention an inexpensive ammonia badge in the tank helps, there like $7 or 8 bucks..Other wise I would check ammonia the most often. Nitrite would be high only after an ammonia spike..so no ammonia spike no nitrite. check this once in awhile...Fish can tolerate some nitrate, but generally this doesnt get too high in QT. Try and keep feeding to normal levels and not go overboard. Check nitrate once in awhile.

As for the nitrifying bacteria from another tank that can be a mixed bag. I normally always run a mechanical filter in my set up, this way i always have filter media available with the bacteria on it that can be used in a qt tank. The problem what I have been told, but have no way to verify is that during the process of going from salt to less salty I was told that the bacteria thats there dies off..However it never seems the case as when I have gradually changed the salinity my ammonia,nitrite stay at 0. But I do use water treatment as well, so who knows.. All I know is that ammonia is bad for fish!
 
I setup my hypo tank today and it actually a 80 gallons tank instead of 100. I added 60 gallons of display tank water and 20 gallons of ro/di. I check the salinity and it measured 1.015. I check the water quality and here is what I got does this sound right

PH - 8.0
Ammonia - .50
Nitrite - .50
Nitrate - 160

Should I continue to lower the salinity tomorrow by change 10 gallons of ro/di or should I change it water new saltwater with salinity at 1.015?

Thanks
 
My plan is try to catch it without removing the rocks. It hide in the rock when I removed it and didn't know until I put all the rocks back.
 
The clock doesn't start till you get the last fish out of the DT and the same for the HT till the last fish in. It's best to remove it and put into the HT as quickly as possible for the 8 weeks or 10 weeks you plan to do hypo so the clock can start the countdown.

Best of Luck. Let us know how the fishes are doing as you should see marked improvement once you drop the sg.
 
I will catch it today. Does my test result sound right? Should I continue to lower the salinity again today with 10 gallons water change with ro/di?
 
I would start considering the water treatment stuff, like Amquel or ammo-lock...sounds like you are not cycled and your ammonia will continue to go up. Remember ammonia is one of the major causes of loss of fish....Unless of course you have a tank of damsels, but even then...
 
Got Amquel plus and added 8 cap full to the tank and also did a 20 gallons water change yesterday morning and 25 gallons water change this morning. My salinity is at 1.010. Will test again tonight.

Will high Nitrate harm the fishes?
 
Got Amquel plus and added 8 cap full to the tank and also did a 20 gallons water change yesterday morning and 25 gallons water change this morning. My salinity is at 1.010. Will test again tonight.

Will high Nitrate harm the fishes?

Why would your nitrate be that high? You started out with 60g from DT and 20g rodi, then you changed out 20g and another 25g?

Don't overfeed and rinse the filter (I remember you mentioned of using) with tank water as you perform water change. A little high nitrate shouldn't harm your fish but need to know where the source is coming from.
 
I test the water from the display and Nitrate is high and also the new saltwater is also high. I clean out the drum that I use to hold new saltwater. I will test it again to see if it made a different after cleaning it.
 
I test the water from the display and Nitrate is high and also the new saltwater is also high. I clean out the drum that I use to hold new saltwater. I will test it again to see if it made a different after cleaning it.
Seems strange that your new SW would be high in nitrates. And what exactly is high?
Are you by any chance using an api test kit to test your nitrate? If so, that may be your problem and your nitrate may not even be really high at all....
 
Yes I'm using API test kit. Just got it from marine depot before I started the treatment. What test kit should I use?
 
Yes I'm using API test kit. Just got it from marine depot before I started the treatment. What test kit should I use?

It's just that they're known for reading highly inaccurately. Some people have ok luck with them but I have heard countless stories like yours. The first thing I'd do if I were you is take a water sample to a lfs or buddy who uses anything other than api and have them test your water for you. If it's way off you know it's just your test kit. I noticed you had slight readings of ammonia and nitrite as well.... I'd have the same person double check those levels, too. Ammonia, especially, is harmful to fish even at very low levels. When dealing with ich, or any other disease, you want to make sure water quality is pristine so as not to add stress to the fishes immune systems.
Hope this helps and the really isn't any problem going on.
 
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