Starting 90g Reef Tank Build... Finally!!!

[kudora]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
kudora---do you have a build thread or pics you want to share
would like to see them

i might start one since i took some pics when i bought the whole set up

[Tswifty]

Delivery from the filter guys

[Tswifty]

Oh and FYI... I'll try and get around to my PM's tonight or tomorrow, for those of you that have not recieved responses yet.

[Tswifty]

RO/DI Disinfection Method:
Provided by RC Member AZDesertRat

1. Shut off the water supply

2. Disconnect the 1/4" line from the carbon block up to the RO membrane at the membrane end and stick it in a bucket or the sink.

3. Unscrew the pre-filter and carbon housings, remove the old filters

4. Add no more than 2 or 3 spoonfuls of regular unscented bleach to the pre-filter housing and screw the empty housings back on.

5. Open the water supply and slowly fill the housings until you get flow out the 1/4" line you disconnected.

6. Close the supply and let it sit for a few minutes.

7. Open the supply back up and flush it out until any chlorine odor is gone.

8. Shut it off again, unscrew the housings and add the new cartridges.

9. Open the water supply and let the housings fill, flush out any air and let it run for a minute or two to flush any carbon dust out.

10. Reconnect the 1/4" line to the membrane and you are done until next time.

[Tswifty]

Oh and just looked in the tank, since I just got home... and definately an ich explosion. The PBT is covered and the Yellow Tang has a few spots.

Oh well... Thought I may have lucked out... here goes QT, I'm going to try and set up a fish trap tonight.

[Aquarist007]

that is very dissapointing--good luck

[Tswifty]

Here's the bad news:

[melev]

More garlic, or if you want to be cutting edge, try ginger in the food.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
that is very dissapointing--good luck

Yeah, oh well... I was planning on this anyway... Catching him is going to be the hardest part.

I have one 30g QT that has been setup for a week or so now, and I'm going to tear apart the 30g fuge that was on the 55g tank, and set that up as an additional QT.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by melev
More garlic, or if you want to be cutting edge, try ginger in the food.

Do you think I should up the daily feedings? Or add more garlic to the mix. I just added the recommended dosage that was on the bottle.

Now I am feeding them twice daily. Around lunchtime, and when the actinics come on. Also I put in a fresh piece of Nori everyday when I get home from work.

If there is any good here... the fish don't seemed to have difficulty breathing, still have their color, and are eating normally.

Also, what does ginger do?

I am way unfamiliar with anything cooking oriented

Is it a liquid extract I'd pick up at the grocery store or would I chop up the actual plant and add it? and how much would I add?

Thanks Marc.

[tmz]

Sorry to see a reinfestation.

[kudora]

sorry to hear the bad news swift keep us posted.

are you adding the garlic when putting out food or just the garlic you put into your frozen batch?

[melev]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
Do you think I should up the daily feedings? Or add more garlic to the mix. I just added the recommended dosage that was on the bottle.

Now I am feeding them twice daily. Around lunchtime, and when the actinics come on. Also I put in a fresh piece of Nori everyday when I get home from work.

If there is any good here... the fish don't seemed to have difficulty breathing, still have their color, and are eating normally.

Also, what does ginger do?

I am way unfamiliar with anything cooking oriented

Is it a liquid extract I'd pick up at the grocery store or would I chop up the actual plant and add it? and how much would I add?

Thanks Marc.

First of all, the ginger thing is a possibility that others have scoffed at. There's a huge thread on this topic, and I totally forgot about it when my own Purple Tang suddenly had an outbreak last month.

Here's the thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...ghlight=ginger

Someone PM'd me to try that, but it was already too late as the fish had recovered by then. What you do is get some fresh Ginger root at your supermarket and grate it up very fine. Add a little to the nightly feeding, soaking it in a small bowl of fish food for 15 minutes. If it is very fine, the fish might eat it.

You can do the same with garlic from the supermarket, but most people either have "garlic oil" in their spice rack or home-remedy case. A few drops added to the food, again allowing it to soak into the food first. If you don't want to bother with it, you can buy Garlic Extreme at your LFS, and pour in a small amount into the food you'll be soaking. You can drip and rub it on Nori as well.

Garlic stimulates the appetite of fish for some reason. Eating fish tends to be stronger than those that are self-starving. Keeping a fish eating is my personal goal when they are sick so they have the energy to fight off the infection. Ginger may have some effect as well. Someone did some research on these two some time back, and results vary.

Technically speaking, there is no way to prove one way or another what has helped a fish get over an Ich infestation, so no-one can state for a fact that it works, nor can anyone state for a fact that it can't work. Well, they can, but I don't know if they are right or not.

FYI - two weeks ago my ear started to close/clog up and had a rushing sound in it. I knew it was an ear infection brewing, and had my son squeeze in a few drops of Garlic Oil into my ear being careful to make sure it went all the way in and not just collect on the outer surfaces. A few hours later, he did it again while I stayed lying down for about 15 minutes to make sure it went in all the way.

I stuck a cotton ball in there to keep it from leaking out, and went about my business. The next day I felt completely back to normal. Small perk: you smell like a pizza for a while.

We used to use this method for our child when he was young, ourselves, and believe it or not even our bunnies when they got ear infections. It is a very simple, cheap solution that works well. We saved a ton on doctor visits since we didn't have to rush in after all.

So when it was suggested for my fish in the past for Ich, I wasn't surprised.

[rickrude]

UV sterilizer will save those fish.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by kudora
sorry to hear the bad news swift keep us posted.

are you adding the garlic when putting out food or just the garlic you put into your frozen batch?

I haven't been adding anymore garlic than what I mixed in the frozen batch.

I just added what was the recommended dosage on the Garlic Extreme bottle. I guess I will start soaking the Nori in it some also.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by melev
First of all, the ginger thing is a possibility that others have scoffed at. There's a huge thread on this topic, and I totally forgot about it when my own Purple Tang suddenly had an outbreak last month.

Here's the thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...ghlight=ginger

Someone PM'd me to try that, but it was already too late as the fish had recovered by then. What you do is get some fresh Ginger root at your supermarket and grate it up very fine. Add a little to the nightly feeding, soaking it in a small bowl of fish food for 15 minutes. If it is very fine, the fish might eat it.

You can do the same with garlic from the supermarket, but most people either have "garlic oil" in their spice rack or home-remedy case. A few drops added to the food, again allowing it to soak into the food first. If you don't want to bother with it, you can buy Garlic Extreme at your LFS, and pour in a small amount into the food you'll be soaking. You can drip and rub it on Nori as well.

Garlic stimulates the appetite of fish for some reason. Eating fish tends to be stronger than those that are self-starving. Keeping a fish eating is my personal goal when they are sick so they have the energy to fight off the infection. Ginger may have some effect as well. Someone did some research on these two some time back, and results vary.

Technically speaking, there is no way to prove one way or another what has helped a fish get over an Ich infestation, so no-one can state for a fact that it works, nor can anyone state for a fact that it can't work. Well, they can, but I don't know if they are right or not.

FYI - two weeks ago my ear started to close/clog up and had a rushing sound in it. I knew it was an ear infection brewing, and had my son squeeze in a few drops of Garlic Oil into my ear being careful to make sure it went all the way in and not just collect on the outer surfaces. A few hours later, he did it again while I stayed lying down for about 15 minutes to make sure it went in all the way.

I stuck a cotton ball in there to keep it from leaking out, and went about my business. The next day I felt completely back to normal. Small perk: you smell like a pizza for a while.

We used to use this method for our child when he was young, ourselves, and believe it or not even our bunnies when they got ear infections. It is a very simple, cheap solution that works well. We saved a ton on doctor visits since we didn't have to rush in after all.

So when it was suggested for my fish in the past for Ich, I wasn't surprised.

Thanks for all the info Marc.

When your purple tang came down with ich, how bad did it get? As far as how much had the ich spread on him? Even though my PBT seems to be eating and breathing normaly at this point, I am still concerned with the amount of parasites that are currently on him.

I don't know if I should keep trying to treat this with food supplements in the display tank, or get him into QT and try the food supplements along with medicating him.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by tmz
Sorry to see a reinfestation.

Thanks Tom... Yeah I was pretty dissapointed to see the outbreak after I got home last night. As he looked fine before I left earlier in the day.

Right now, as I stated above I'm just struggling with the choice of trying to wait it out, battle it with food supplements, and hope the fish will develope an immunity to fight it off on his own... or pull him out for treatment in QT. Since the tank has been infected with ich now, isn't it correct to assume that even after treating the fish in QT the outbreak will recure once added back to the display tank?

There's no way I will be able to get all the fish out of the tank and run it fallow. I could probably catch the tangs and clownfish, but the Yasha Gobies are another story. I don't think I would ever be able to get them out.

[tmz]

Yes, it's correct to assume the ich will still be there when the fish returns if a potential host is left in the tank. Perhaps not if the gobies" immunity is complete. SInce you can't get all th fish out,the key consideration is the severity of the infestation in the infected fish. If they continue eating, I would proably wait it out in your situation. Remember though, if reinfested again they will likely show lethargy and stop eating before the spots show since the spots usually show when the parasites leave the fish and the damage is done. So if they become lethargic,stop eating or show any signs of labored breathing, I would get them out quickly and give them a formalin bath and then move to qt with copper. Once done with qt you will have to hope that the infestation has perished for lack of a host or that your treated fish have developed some enhanced level of immunity due to their exposure to the parasite.

Good Luck

[Linina]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
Also, looks like I may have a PAR meter on the way here in a few days. A member of the local reef club has been generous enough to lend me the use of his unit.

I'm going to be extremely interested to see what the T5's are putting out. Also, I'm trying my best to keep myself from wiping down my reflectors before the test, that way I can take a dirty vs clean reflector readings to see if there is a significant difference or not.

I borrowed a PAR meter a few weeks ago and I got readings of about 350 on the sand bed in the center of the tank. Less toward the outsides.

My bulbs are 6 T5's on the icecap retrofit kits, all overdriven.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
Thanks Tom... Yeah I was pretty dissapointed to see the outbreak after I got home last night. As he looked fine before I left earlier in the day.

Right now, as I stated above I'm just struggling with the choice of trying to wait it out, battle it with food supplements, and hope the fish will develope an immunity to fight it off on his own... or pull him out for treatment in QT. Since the tank has been infected with ich now, isn't it correct to assume that even after treating the fish in QT the outbreak will recure once added back to the display tank?

There's no way I will be able to get all the fish out of the tank and run it fallow. I could probably catch the tangs and clownfish, but the Yasha Gobies are another story. I don't think I would ever be able to get them out.

T.J--drain the tank down quicklyabout 3/4 of the way into plastic garbage cans and then you can catch the fish.
Pump the water right back and it shouldn't affect the corals ect.
If you have to remove some of the live rock then just put it in the plastic pails also.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Linina
I borrowed a PAR meter a few weeks ago and I got readings of about 350 on the sand bed in the center of the tank. Less toward the outsides.

My bulbs are 6 T5's on the icecap retrofit kits, all overdriven.

how high is your tank?

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by tmz
Yes, it's correct to assume the ich will still be there when the fish returns if a potential host is left in the tank. Perhaps not if the gobies" immunity is complete. SInce you can't get all th fish out,the key consideration is the severity of the infestation in the infected fish. If they continue eating, I would proably wait it out in your situation. Remember though, if reinfested again they will likely show lethargy and stop eating before the spots show since the spots usually show when the parasites leave the fish and the damage is done. So if they become lethargic,stop eating or show any signs of labored breathing, I would get them out quickly and give them a formalin bath and then move to qt with copper. Once done with qt you will have to hope that the infestation has perished for lack of a host or that your treated fish have developed some enhanced level of immunity due to their exposure to the parasite.

Good Luck

I agree fully with this. The formalin bath works wonders in combination with copper and or hyposalinity.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by Linina
I borrowed a PAR meter a few weeks ago and I got readings of about 350 on the sand bed in the center of the tank. Less toward the outsides.

My bulbs are 6 T5's on the icecap retrofit kits, all overdriven.

That is good to know... what brand of bulbs are you using? It will be nice to see a comparison.

The guy dropped the unit in the mail for me today, so I should be receiving it soon.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
how high is your tank?

I believe standard 90's are 24" high.

I know mine is.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by tmz
Yes, it's correct to assume the ich will still be there when the fish returns if a potential host is left in the tank. Perhaps not if the gobies" immunity is complete. SInce you can't get all th fish out,the key consideration is the severity of the infestation in the infected fish. If they continue eating, I would proably wait it out in your situation. Remember though, if reinfested again they will likely show lethargy and stop eating before the spots show since the spots usually show when the parasites leave the fish and the damage is done. So if they become lethargic,stop eating or show any signs of labored breathing, I would get them out quickly and give them a formalin bath and then move to qt with copper. Once done with qt you will have to hope that the infestation has perished for lack of a host or that your treated fish have developed some enhanced level of immunity due to their exposure to the parasite.

Good Luck

Thanks again Tom, I am just primarily concerned with the spread of the parasites... basically how late is to late. I don't want to wait to the point where the disease has advanced to the point that I will not be able to save the fish.

What I think I'll do is get the additional 30g QT tank set up set up this afternoon, and then just wait it out for a few days. Then if the need be I could pull the fish out, and split them between the 2 tanks for treatment.