We all start somewhere... right?

[LuciDog]

Well that was an interesting read...

First off, welcome.

I can see where your coming from on your thoughts with growing fish out and rehoming. There is a ton on my "want to experience" list. I only have 2 tanks and so much room... I'm still playing out how I'll handle that in the future.

The diatoms are ugly. They will get worse. Then when you think they are going away, you get the green crap. Then more diatoms. Then more green crap. Maybe some hair algae in there too.

Then one day it will clear up and you'll be happy you made it that far .

Dollar store women's stockings. Rubber band them over the drain pipe into your sump. They catch a ton of sludge. Change them every 3-4 days while your in a bloom. They are cheap so you can just toss them. Once everything settles and your not kicking so much sludge into your sump, replace them with a proper filter sock.

Careful dosing with the prime. It can really throw off your test results. You also won't get a clear reading on your nitrates until your nitrites fall back down.

Patience. You adore your buddy's tank and can't wait for your own... But unless you take each step in sequence, you'll never achieve it.

Welcome to the club

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

I haven't dosed with Prime since the water change, on 9/12. I also haven't checked the water since either. The glass is starting to haze and the rocks are about 80% covered. The single clown and 4 snails in the display haven't looked happier. The clown literally swims to my hand when I've got it in there cleaning. Is that normal? Seems like a very social little fella.

The 4 remaining damsels are still hanging around in the sump. They aren't the happiest since the light is only on 13 hours down there and it's just a work light not a full tank light, but they are doing ok by the looks of it.

Beginning to research a new livestock list that is less aggressive and more reef safe. I've found several locations on the rock structure that I'd like to drop a frag on. I wasn't originally planning on corals for the tank, but I've changed my mind.

 

[CStrickland]

You're killin me with these damsels lead! It's soo sad
Yeah, that's normal for a clown
Reading through the "check your purchases" thread up top is a good way to get the jist of a reasonable stocking plan

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

Does this make you feel any better?

2 died of unknown causes, 1 died of contact with the pump intake, 1 was removed with ich

 

[shifty51008]

That damsel has ich also. Now that your tank has ich your gonna have to go fishless for 72 days.

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

That's the one I pulled out. I have no place to store fish for 72 days. That's insanity.

 

[CStrickland]

Shifty's right.

I do not have a quarantine tank. I do not have room for one. I live in an apartment that's already over crowded with baby toys everywhere.

Sometimes when you play Russian roulette you lose.
Here's some info on ich: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1985626
72 days is how long it takes the "babys" that have come off him into the water and landed on your rocks and sand to die off, so you need to go fish less to break the life cycle.

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

I understand the disease and how it works. I don't know how to save the fish. I do not wish to treat the tank with copper due to it settling in the rock. The damsels, as previously stated, are not of concern. This cool clown dude, however, is. I have a 5 gallon tank with lid used in an ATO setup previously. If i was to fill it with current tank water, move the clown fish over, treat it for ich and let the tank ich naturally die off, would that be safe?

Only issue is, on the 5 gal, i just don't know how to oxygenate the water, filter the water, or anything like that. Would leave it bare bottom and no rock. Just water.

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

At best, I could put it on the shelf under my kids 20g fresh water and borrow an air stone out of that tank and put it in the 5 gallon. The pump has 2 outlets, so there's no sufferage.

There would be no heater and no filter tho. Just an air stone, and a timed clip-on work light stolen from the sump. Room temp is maintaining mid 70's, and the light would add heat as well, so a heater isn't necessary for this emergenxy QT setup. There is just no filter. Is there a way to make that work, or is it just wishful thinking?

 

[shifty51008]

Anyway you can buy a cheap plastic tote from walmart? They are usually less than 10 dollars and around 15 gal. or so. Then just keep an eye on the water quality in there and do a water change when needed. The clown would do much better in there for the 72 days than a 5 gal where the salinity can change quickly especally when useing airstones as airstones create alot of salt creep.

You may as well treat the damsel with the clown also.

 

[CStrickland]

Idk much about ich, but you are basically describing setting up a hospital tank for him and do the fallow period on your dt. I'm sure there is a right way to do that, so if I were you I'd find out what that is, I'm sure there's threads around. You'll want to do it properly so that he doesn't just carry the ich into the 5, obvi so I wouldn't get creative or cut corners.

Another option is to just start over with new rocks and sand. It's not like you used $8 a pound live rock or anything. You could clean the tank and gear, and cycle the fresh tank while the clown is being treated.

What does make me feel better is that you seem kinda attached to the clown. Awww
Ich is one of those things that a looot of people have to learn the hard way. In a way you're lucky this didn't happen in a year when your tank was full of beloved pets and expensive coral

ETA what shifty said, they type faster and have a lot of experience

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

LoL you guys...

I am on a zero dollar budget right now. I've gotten myself into a little financial debacle recently and don't get paid for another week and at best could probably scrounge up enough for the copper treatment.

I've read up on a hospital tank setup. The only thing I can't provide is a filter. I have the air stone to replace the power head, and I have the warm room/light to heat the water. I just can't filter it. I will set up a more stable QT tank at a later date, if I can get maybe a 10g to fit the shelf. But for right now, it's all I've got.

 

[CStrickland]

This is the ghetto qt I'm running right now (my husband is mad I stole all the teacups). I think you could use the heater from your main tank. I'm running one of these https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HKIYQS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 like an airstone, $4. But I cycled the sponge in my dt to build up the biofilter, so you'd need to work around that. Even with the cycled sponge filter, I'm doing a lot of waterchanges and a lot of ammonia checks. It's not like ttm where you are giving them all new water so you don't need rocks etc

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

My main hasn't cycled yet, so to cycle the air sponge would be painfully difficult. I'm thinking I'm just going to kiss all the fish goodbye, and let it sit empty with some snails and a **** load of diatoms. I will see about picking up a local tear down of a 10g or something that I can setup with a light and a filter, for future use.

 

[CStrickland]

you couldn't cycle the sponge in your ichy tank anyway

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

The QT tank would have copper in it. Wouldn't that clean the sponge?

 

[CStrickland]

oh yeah, duh. I was yellin at the tv while I was typing, republican debates are distracting

I'm not really an ich person anyway. Like that wouldn't work to QT new fish, and that's what I've got going on so I got mixed up. I ought to let smarter people weigh in on diseases

 

[shifty51008]

Once you use copper it will kill off the bacteria on the sponge anyway. You just have to do water changes on a hospital tank to keep ammonia levels down

 

[LeadFootedRacer]

Once you use copper it will kill off the bacteria on the sponge anyway. You just have to do water changes on a hospital tank to keep ammonia levels down

So will that work for this time around in the 5 gallon? Bare bottom, air sponge, copper dosing, and a lamp? Say I test every day for ammonia and salinity, and water change a gallon or so, every other day-ish.

I do also have the Prime to help with the ammonia. It's just this 1 time around. I will source together the parts to put a running 10 or so under there. Will traditional freshwater filtration work in a QT tank? Seems like tanks that small are primarily freshwater.

 

[stingeragent]

Haven't looked at this thread in a few days but when did you put the clown in? I know you had the damsels, but I must have missed the part about the clown. Why didn't you wait for the cycle to finish? Being on a limited budget for your tank you really gotta practice the patience with it. You can stick a cheap HOB filter on, but it really won't do much besides pull out crud. Isn't going to help you as far as bacterial goes. You don't live near Austin, TX do you? If by some chance you do, I'll come help you out.

Edit: As others have said, the rubbermaid tubs are cheap at walmart right now. I got one like 3 weeks ago when I moved my 40, it holds about 15 gallons and was like 6 bucks. If you do stick with the 5 gallon, your gonna have to top it off at least daily. I have had a beer or 3 so I'm not gonna try and figure out the math right now, but your salinity swings will be huge day to day just from evap.