Setting up a QT tank, question about salinity and LR

Blazer88 · 01/31/2006, 09:03 PM

I'm setting up a 20 gallon QT tank to treat Ich on my Kole Tang. Is it best to start with normal salinity of 1.026'ish, add fish to QT, and lower it to 1.009 over a 3 day period and leave there for at least 4 weeks? I also wanted to add a chunk (5-6 lbs) of LR from my sump to the QT. Am I going to experience any die off and/or spikes while the salinity lowers? Good idea or bad? Thanks for the help.

irmee4 · 01/31/2006, 09:33 PM

you will see your live rock almost completely die off in that period of time. put some pvc pip in their for the tang to hide in and he will be fine. if you acclimate him slowly enough, you can just go ahead and make the QT tang have a low salinity. also, i wouldnt go below 1.013 IMO.

Blazer88 · 01/31/2006, 09:51 PM

What if I was using a treatment for Ich, do I still need to lower the salinity? I was recommended to use Kent Marine Rx-P. The directions don't mention having to use a hypo-salminity environment, so maybe I won't even have to bother with that. Thanks for the response.

miztic · 01/31/2006, 10:11 PM

if you want to kill ich with hypo, the salinity will need to be 1.010 or below.

all the things on the LR dying will cause a big ammonia spike, and if you use meds with the rock, you may never be able to put it back into the main tank again.
I ran a HOB filter on my main tank's sump for a week before setting up the QT, to seed it with bacteria, didn't work so well, either I need to run it longer, or dropping into hypo too fast killed the bacteria filter on it, so we've pretty much been doing twice daily water changes to keep the QT tank safe for the fish.
hopefully next time i'll be able to run the hob filter longer on the main system.

old salty · 02/01/2006, 07:19 AM

When I set up my QT, I use water from the main tank. Then over the course of a few days, I add fresh RO/DI water (removing the water from the tank in equal amounts); usually about 3-4 days to do this. For biological filtration, I keep a bag filled with biomedia in my fuge about two weeks prior to setting up the QT. When I'm ready to go, it's available. You can also use BioSpira if you are in a pinch, but it is rather expensive.

For the first week, I am diligent about doing water changes every other day or every three days. Keep the ammonia level as low as possible until the QT has established it's biofilter.

jeffbrig · 02/01/2006, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Blazer88
What if I was using a treatment for Ich, do I still need to lower the salinity? I was recommended to use Kent Marine Rx-P. The directions don't mention having to use a hypo-salminity environment, so maybe I won't even have to bother with that.

What's the active ingredient in Marine Rx-P? There aren't a whole lot of medications that effective combat ich (although there are a lot of medications sold claiming they do so). Copper can be very effective, but is also difficult to dose correctly, and can harm your fish if everything isn't just right. Hypo, IMO, causes less stress, but is only effective if you do it correctly (accurate sg, adequate duration, etc.).

If you are battling ich, I would leave the LR out of the QT equation. Medications will probably kill most of the stuff living in it (or render it unusable in the future). Hypo will also kill most of the stuff living in it. LR (and any substrate) provide a happy breeding ground for ich cysts. A smooth bare-bottom QT is really the way to go.

01/31/2006, 09:03 PM	#1
Blazer88 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 2,415	Setting up a QT tank, question about salinity and LR I'm setting up a 20 gallon QT tank to treat Ich on my Kole Tang. Is it best to start with normal salinity of 1.026'ish, add fish to QT, and lower it to 1.009 over a 3 day period and leave there for at least 4 weeks? I also wanted to add a chunk (5-6 lbs) of LR from my sump to the QT. Am I going to experience any die off and/or spikes while the salinity lowers? Good idea or bad? Thanks for the help.

02/01/2006, 07:19 AM	#5
old salty Genius Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Island of Misfit Toys Posts: 3,131	When I set up my QT, I use water from the main tank. Then over the course of a few days, I add fresh RO/DI water (removing the water from the tank in equal amounts); usually about 3-4 days to do this. For biological filtration, I keep a bag filled with biomedia in my fuge about two weeks prior to setting up the QT. When I'm ready to go, it's available. You can also use BioSpira if you are in a pinch, but it is rather expensive. For the first week, I am diligent about doing water changes every other day or every three days. Keep the ammonia level as low as possible until the QT has established it's biofilter. __________________ "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: Out of the marine aquarium hobby

01/31/2006, 09:33 PM	#2
irmee4 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Columbia Posts: 59	you will see your live rock almost completely die off in that period of time. put some pvc pip in their for the tang to hide in and he will be fine. if you acclimate him slowly enough, you can just go ahead and make the QT tang have a low salinity. also, i wouldnt go below 1.013 IMO.

01/31/2006, 09:51 PM	#3
Blazer88 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 2,415	What if I was using a treatment for Ich, do I still need to lower the salinity? I was recommended to use Kent Marine Rx-P. The directions don't mention having to use a hypo-salminity environment, so maybe I won't even have to bother with that. Thanks for the response.

01/31/2006, 10:11 PM	#4
miztic Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Glendale Heights, IL Posts: 591	if you want to kill ich with hypo, the salinity will need to be 1.010 or below. all the things on the LR dying will cause a big ammonia spike, and if you use meds with the rock, you may never be able to put it back into the main tank again. I ran a HOB filter on my main tank's sump for a week before setting up the QT, to seed it with bacteria, didn't work so well, either I need to run it longer, or dropping into hypo too fast killed the bacteria filter on it, so we've pretty much been doing twice daily water changes to keep the QT tank safe for the fish. hopefully next time i'll be able to run the hob filter longer on the main system.