Tank got Ich - My Battle Plan!

[Irishman360]

I will be doing the TTM to eliminate ich. Have a few questions I need to ask about set up and also my housing after the TTM is complete. 10 fish will be going through the TTM.

1. Are the 5 gallon buckets to small for this amount of fish? I do have an extra 20 & 10 gallon tank available. Figured the smaller the containment the faster the bio load will build up.

2. When sanitizing the equipment would spraying them with vinegar in a bottle work?

3. Does it have to air dry or can you jump start it with paper towels?

4. I know the air stones have to be discarded, what about the air line?

Housing after TTM: I bought a brand new tank and sump when my wife showed interest in breading a while back ago (hell of a price too!), it has been sitting for a while. I plan on using this to house my fish while the DT is fallow after the TTM.

2. Could I transfer my protein skimmer and sump to this new tank to help with bacteria and bio load?

3. Should I sanitize it and let it dry completely before using it on the new tank?

4. All I would have in my DT is corals and inverts, my plan is to transfer the new sump to my DT so it still maintains water flow. Since there woun't be pretty much any bio-load, would this be a good use just to have the water flow? Would I need any filtration with it?

5. I've heard one of my LFS about some chemical that binds ammonia and nitrites and the skimmer deals with the rest when getting rid of it, is there such thing?

Any other thoughts on this processes will greatly help me with my battle plan.

 

[snorvich]

I will be doing the TTM to eliminate ich. Have a few questions I need to ask about set up and also my housing after the TTM is complete. 10 fish will be going through the TTM.

1. Are the 5 gallon buckets to small for this amount of fish? I do have an extra 20 & 10 gallon tank available. Figured the smaller the containment the faster the bio load will build up. Or you can have two concurrent TTM going on.

2. When sanitizing the equipment would spraying them with vinegar in a bottle work?
3. Does it have to air dry or can you jump start it with paper towels?

Must be totally dry


4. I know the air stones have to be discarded, what about the air line?

Its cheap, I would

Housing after TTM: I bought a brand new tank and sump when my wife showed interest in breading a while back ago (hell of a price too!), it has been sitting for a while. I plan on using this to house my fish while the DT is fallow after the TTM.

2. Could I transfer my protein skimmer and sump to this new tank to help with bacteria and bio load?

3. Should I sanitize it and let it dry completely before using it on the new tank?

4. All I would have in my DT is corals and inverts, my plan is to transfer the new sump to my DT so it still maintains water flow. Since there woun't be pretty much any bio-load, would this be a good use just to have the water flow? Would I need any filtration with it?

5. I've heard one of my LFS about some chemical that binds ammonia and nitrites and the skimmer deals with the rest when getting rid of it, is there such thing?

Any other thoughts on this processes will greatly help me with my battle plan.

 

[Irishman360]

Thanks for the reply! Another question about the TTM is that do the tanks have to be in separate rooms?

Or when the new tank is dry can I set it up next to the other tank and transfer from there?

Also can I use the paper towels to help speed up the air drying process?

 

[aktopjian]

what does ttm stand for?

 

[Irishman360]

Tank Transfer Method, its one way to git rid of ich.

 

[gone fishin]

I will be doing the TTM to eliminate ich. Have a few questions I need to ask about set up and also my housing after the TTM is complete. 10 fish will be going through the TTM.

1. Are the 5 gallon buckets to small for this amount of fish? I do have an extra 20 & 10 gallon tank available. Figured the smaller the containment the faster the bio load will build up.

Depending on the size of the fish a couple buckets may be better.

2. When sanitizing the equipment would spraying them with vinegar in a bottle work?

I usually use a mild bleach and water solution to spray then rinse out with tap water.
3. Does it have to air dry or can you jump start it with paper towels?

I wipe out the tank and then let dry, I have used a blow dryer in a pinch to speed things up when short on time. They key is to get dry for at least 24 hours so any ich can't survive.

4. I know the air stones have to be discarded, what about the air line?

I usually use new line each time it is cheap enough

Housing after TTM: I bought a brand new tank and sump when my wife showed interest in breading a while back ago (hell of a price too!), it has been sitting for a while. I plan on using this to house my fish while the DT is fallow after the TTM.

2. Could I transfer my protein skimmer and sump to this new tank to help with bacteria and bio load?
I would not use it on the new QT since it is potentially infected. I suppose if the skimmer was cleaned and dried like in the TTm then you could

3. Should I sanitize it and let it dry completely before using it on the new tank?Seems like a lot of work to me

4. All I would have in my DT is corals and inverts, my plan is to transfer the new sump to my DT so it still maintains water flow. Since there woun't be pretty much any bio-load, would this be a good use just to have the water flow? Would I need any filtration with it?

5. I've heard one of my LFS about some chemical that binds ammonia and nitrites and the skimmer deals with the rest when getting rid of it, is there such thing?
They were probably talking about something like Seachem prime.

Any other thoughts on this processes will greatly help me with my battle plan.

I would also keep plenty of water on hand for WC's, some prime and a Seachem ammonia alert badge. If you do use prime more than likely you will a false reading from your ammonia test. This is due to how the prime works. Luckily seachem makes an ammonia test that works with the prime:lol:

good luck just my 2 cents

 

[kmbyrnes]

Sorry for your troubles, but good for you in taking the prudent action.
When I do TTM. I use small HOB filters and pillow floss in 10g tanks. I toss the airline tubing and the airstones each time. Tanks, filters and any PVC hiding places are rinsed, sprayed with bleach water and set outside to dry until used i the next stage. I have the tanks in the same room but try to keep them at least 10 feet from the DT.
Prime or Amquel will bind ammonia during QT, but should never be used with any copper products.
This method has been 100% successful in removing and preventing ich since I began using it.

 

[Irishman360]

Anyone have any thoughts on the housing. Someone said I should use a minimum of 55 gallon tank. Would the 40 + sump be enough water volume

 

[gone fishin]

Sorry, I don't understand the question.

 

[skp]

Try to keep the bacteria alive in your display while it is fallow by feeding your coral and inverts. It would be best to leave your current equipment on there to keep everything the same for when you return your fish to the display.

 

[Irishman360]

Sorry, I don't understand the question.

Just trying to see if I really need the 55gallon, I would have to go buy one. I'm just worried about the bio load the fish will have and if I would need a better filter to take care of it. I wanted to use my breeder and move my sump, from what I gather it may be a bad idea.

 

[gone fishin]

Just trying to see if I really need the 55gallon, I would have to go buy one. I'm just worried about the bio load the fish will have and if I would need a better filter to take care of it. I wanted to use my breeder and move my sump, from what I gather it may be a bad idea.

AAHHH IMO it would really depend on what the 10 fish are and the sizes. It sounds as if your going to be under the gun as far as cycling an type of QT.

FWIW I very seldom cycle my QT's I rely on WC's and prime to get me through. But to be honest I have never had to QT 10 fish at once before either.

 

[kmbyrnes]

I had to do 20 fish last April. NOT FUN.
I used 2 20g and 2 10g tanks for TTM and did lots of WC.
Then used a 40B and both 20's for long term QT until the tank was ready for fish again.
Good luck.
Ever since, I keep the 40B up and cycled.

 

[Enki]

If your display has ich. so do my filter, sponges, live rock.
What can you do then for a water source, live rock, or sponges do you use when you are doing TTM?
What is the biological filtration for the sterile tank?
Making fresh water is not a problem, except for the work and cost.
Do I just keep making fresh batched of water? How do you handle the ammonia problem? in a 20 gallon or 10 gallon?