QT Cycle

[levischilz]

Im just getting a new QT tank setup and have a question, I need to pull my DT fish and put them into the QT which im just setting up today. People talk about letting the tank cycle but treating the ICH with copper kills the bacteria so wouldn't that just defeat the point of waiting for it to cycle.

 

[Wrench]

Monitor ammonia daily and change water as necessary during treatment. Keep filter media in the sump of your DT to "seed" it with bacteria. Once your medicinal treatment is over, remove the medication by running carbon then add your cycled media.

 

[Indymann99]

If you are using meds your QT = hospital tank.

Daily WC may be necessary to keep Am in check.. also note that a daily WC will affect the dosage of the meds.

 

[Wrench]

I have a purple, yellow and achilles tang in a 55g QT and do a 25% water change every week. NH3 is still near zero, even after a week of dosing meds with no biological filtration. You must have proper aeration and responsible feeding habits.

 

[levischilz]

I have a question, I would like to just be able to use this tank as I dont have room to setup 2 additional tanks 1 for copper and another for coral/inverts

For this reason would I be better to try hypo instead of copper? I have never done either but i want to make sure the ick is completely clear.

People seem to favor copper for quick ick cure but i would like to be able to use this setup later for QT of new live stock and am not sure if the copper will clean out completely.

After this round of parasite i plan to QT anything wet.

Hypo will destroy bacteria also?
Also if i was to keep the media in the DT till after treatment couldnt the media carry the ick possibly?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Hypo will kill inverts and they can't host ich anyway. Keep coral and other inverts in the DT. I don't know about other brands; but Cupramine copper will not destroy the bacteria in a bio-filter. A tank is perfectly safe to use with inverts after being dosed with cupramine. Rinse well with vinegar My QT has been dosed probably 100 times with copper and copper is undetectable. Nothing but fish can prolong the life cycle of ich. If leave your DT fishless for 8+ weeks; ich will be gone. No matter what else is in there.

 

[JamesH831]

I have used copper in a HT on two different occasions. I monitored ammonia closely and was prepared to do frequent, large water changes if the bio filter failed. It never did. It's possible (for many different reasons) that the bio filtration could "stop working" but its not guaranteed to fail with the use of copper.

For a little piece of mind, I always try to be prepared to do a large water change (for my DT or HT) in case something unexpected happens.

By the way, I used chelated copper as cupramine was not available to me locally.

 

[levischilz]

thanks for all the help guys, I got the tank and filters and equipments cleaned tonight and everything is setup, working on making water now to replace the amount im losing in the DT to fill the HT.

Im using a 29g tank with a emperor hob its rated for up to 50g i also will be using a sponge filter and a power head or bubble stone.

I will be moving this list let me know if you think it will be ok.

1 blue hippo tang about 5"

1 cleaner wrasse small 2"

1 six line wrasse small 1"

1 yellow watchman goby pretty small

1 chromie pretty small

so 5 fish total all pretty small except the blue hippo tang i hope this will work out.

 

[MrTuskfish]

It may be ideal, but you don't have much choice.I've heard of more crowded HTs that worked just fine.It will work if you keep up with WCs and watch ammonia----I don't think your HT will be adequately cycled. Did you decide to use hypo or copper? If copper, what brand? Be sure you have some hiding spots, like PVC; putting fish in a smaller tank can increase stress, which leads to aggression.

 

[levischilz]

I am still making some water i ended a little early last night. Currently filling a trash can with fresh RO.

I do have some live rock I could take from the DT thats just sitting in the sump. ( I have tons of cured dried rock that I cleaned sitting in a plastic tub in the garage I could add to the DT sump to replace the lost LR) Im thinking about tossing in a little LR from the DT sump to get the bio from it initially. what are your thoughts on that?

I would of course just toss the LR i used after treatment. I've heard of the LR absorbing copper so maybe thats not a good choice.