Quick question(s) on tank transfer

[NTP66]

From the Ich thread, but I don't know how much viewing that gets these days...

I went into my new saltwater tank thinking that I'd just use Cupramine and PraziPro beforehand, while in QT. After reading a ton of threads these past few days, I think I want to switch that Cupramine to the TTM.

I've got a 3" One Spot Foxface and a 2" Papuan Toby Puffer currently residing in my 29g QT, which is at 78° and 1.018. Both fish look fine right now, after one day, but obviously that doesn't mean much when talking about Ich. That being said, I have an abundance of 5g Home Depot buckets that I'd like to use for TTM, but have a few questions:

• 
  Should I put both fish in the same bucket? If so, I assume I'd just fill it up nearly full?

• If I have to put the fish in separate buckets, do I still fill each bucket up for, or does it even matter?

• If I put the fish in separate buckets, any issues with using a single pump to power one airstone in each bucket?

• Any issues with my salinity being at 1.018, or should I wait a few days for that to raise, allowing evaporation to take care of it gradually?

I'd like to start this one afternoon this week, once the extra heater arrives, and then start actually moving the fish the 4th morning after that (hoping that it doesn't matter what time of day you starts TTM). I'd plan on using Prime to deal with ammonia. I have plenty of PVC to use inside the bucket, and think those two fish - who currently don't bother each other - would be okay in a 5g bucket together, but I'm new to saltwater tanks, so I'm looking for some advice here. Once I start the TTM, I plan on emptying the 29g tank and cleaning it for when the final stages of QT and PraziPro.

I just wish I had read this thread sooner so that I could have planned a little better, as my QT was already cycled and ready to go!

 

[NTP66]

...anyone?

 

[MrTuskfish]

I think you're looking at an ammonia problem with 2 fish, for 3 days in a five gal bucket. You have a 29 gal QT, I'd just make the 2nd tank a larger brute tote. They're dirt cheap at Wally World. BTW, I think TT is a good move. Easy and fool=proof...and very safe.

 

[reeferman1128]

+1 . might run into water quality problems. if you are going to try to use the 5 gallon bucket, check ammonia every day. feed pellets or flake to avoid pollution.

 

[NTP66]

Ammonia problems even with the use of Prime? The Foxface would have no issues with pellets, but so far the Puffer has only wanted to eat frozen foods (mysis and brine shrimp). I do have a spare 32g Brute that I could use, but I was originally planning on using it to store the NSW for the new buckets every 3 days. I do plan on testing ammonia and SG daily to verify that things are going well.

 

[NTP66]

One other note: in addition to using Prime, I also planned on a small water change in the middle of each rotation.

 

[wooden_reefer]

I think you're looking at an ammonia problem with 2 fish, for 3 days in a five gal bucket. You have a 29 gal QT, I'd just make the 2nd tank a larger brute tote. They're dirt cheap at Wally World. BTW, I think TT is a good move. Easy and fool=proof...and very safe.

TT cannot be regarded as safe in total.

The only con for TT is no drug or hypo.

The cons are numerous.

1. ammonia unless you indeed have planned well. You can cycle bags of filter medium in advance and use one such cycled bag for each tank transfer. In fact, this is what I urge if you do TT. This is practical if you insist on TT. Just keep cycling bags of medium in a separate container and use each cycled bag for each transfer.

2. Increased risk of bacterial infection. Numerous handing, breakage of mucus barrier, and no UV. Unless you put UV in with each transfer.

3. You give the ich organism one last "hail-mary" type chance. What if there are already fetally high number of attachments not yet seen? You will have dead fish in a couple of days. This could happen.

If your QT is cycled, I would never use TT.

I will never use TT unless for a very valid reason, such as a particular fish very sensitive to drugs. I always cycle medium for QT very well in advance.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of posters on this forum do not have cycled media.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of posters on this forum do not have cycled media.

Then urge them to prepare for them in advance.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Very good QT is a little in the direction of wine making.

You plan ahead, actually do very little in terms of labor, and be patient and wait a long time for the foe to die off, dead and begone.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Then urge them to prepare for them in advance.

Many of us have done this for a long time. I guess we should ignore or (rudely) lecture them?

 

[wooden_reefer]

Many of us have done this for a long time. I guess we should ignore or (rudely) lecture them?

The fact that if one prepared in advance then there will be much less work and risk should always be alluded to, rude or not.

 

[NTP66]

I have filter pads in my DT's sump collecting bacteria, but those are planned for my 29g QT after tank transfer, since I planned on using an air stone and pump in the bucket. I get that my situation isn't ideal at this point, but at the same time, how many people completely ignore the quarantine process altogether?

I'm just looking for advice on whether or not ammonia would become an issue with those two fish together even with a water change in between transfers, and while using Prime.

Also, fwiw, the 29g QT that these two fish are in right now is a cycled QT.

 

[wooden_reefer]

I have filter pads in my DT's sump collecting bacteria, but those are planned for my 29g QT after tank transfer, since I planned on using an air stone and pump in the bucket. .

You cannot collect extra bacteria this way.

The biggest picture is that the microbes in the DT serve the DT, at the DT's bioload level.

There are some small marginal considerations that make catching and robbing bacteria from DT for use in QT work very often, making this method appear valid.

At steady state, all microbes are needed for the DT.

1.You can overfeed the livestock in advance a bit and then stop overfeeding them after you rob the DT of bacteria.

2. If the bioload in DT is very much higher than that of additional livestock in QT, robbing the DT often works. As the increase in ammonia in DT will be very slow.

A much more valid way is to grow extra bacteria in a separate container, with added ammonia and allow time for bacteria number in increase. Using this method, nitrification will be very much enough for QT at the start irrespecctive of how big and how much bioload you have in QT vs that in DT..

 

[NTP66]

After countless hours of reading through threads, some PMs, etc., I think I'm going to just pick up some 10g tanks tonight to use for TTM. While I'm confident that the 5g buckets would have worked, this will give me a little more peace of mind that I won't see ammonia issues (still going to use Prime and do a WC on the 2nd day of a transfer).

I realize that there are different theories on which method works best to treat/prevent Ich, but given how many people have successfully used the TTM, I'm looking forward to it. For me, the biggest pain is going to be getting the Foxface into the colander that I'll be using. The Toby is small enough that I think I'll be able to get him quite easily, though I have a few concerns over him puffing up and ingesting air.

On a side note, my wife continues to comment on how our house is starting to look like our LFS - and this was before the choice to buy more tanks.