Cannot determine problem with tank

[nonstophoops]

ok Picked up a used 30 gallon tank at the LFS today owner suggested mardel coppersafe treatment did a freshwater dip and moved them to quarantine so we will see what happens now that there is no host in the other tank Lion is laying there lathargic and the Niger is Batteling for his life hopefuly it works otherwise chalk this up to lesson learned and now I have a quarantine tank

It sucks that it had to be lesson learned this way, but I think it was a very good idea to get a quarantine tank and do freshwater dips. Now you can quarantine every new fish you get to let the fish get accustom to your food and life in an aquarium without any competition. This also will make it much easier to treat if the fish shows signs of problems.

 

[ace869]

What now How do I cure the 180G setup and how long till it will be ready for new fish?

 

[SimonL]

That sucks man. Coppersafe is a good one, but certain fish don't respond well to it (like lions, angelfish). I find Seachem's Cupramine to be as effcetive, but less harsh on the fish.

I'd leave it at least a month to be safe.

 

[nonstophoops]

What now How do I cure the 180G setup and how long till it will be ready for new fish?

Depends on whether parasites or toxins killed your fish.

If it was parasites, you should leave your tank fallow(with fish) for at least 2 months. Introducing fish before this time has passed can/will lead to the new fish becoming infected. The parasite needs time to die off because of a lack of hosts.

If it was from toxins and your tank not being cycled, then you have to wait until your tank is cycled. Bacteria must first grow a population to break down ammonia, then bacteria grow to break down nitrites, and then you tank will be cycled.

Even after your tank has cycled you will need to take it slow in introducing fish. This will allow time for the bacteria colonies to grow big enough to handle the bioload from your fish and feeding.

Having a quarantine tank will help keep you on a slow stocking plan. You can only keep one fish in a quarantine tank at once(unless you buy more than 1 fish of a single species that come from the same tank at the store). The reason for this is to be able to treat the fish if necessary and not making other fish sick and/or stressed when in quarantine.

It is best to let you quarantine tank establish and cycle before putting fish in there as well, but as long as you are very watchful of the water quality, feed very lightly, and are prepared to do big water changes you can put a fish in there faster.

So, timeframe for your tank.

1. Let your quarantine cycle as long as possible.
2. Let your main tank remain fallow and test for ammonia and nitrite periodically for at least 2 weeks, if not longer. Until you get Nitrate readings with no ammonia or nitrite.

Once the main tank has cycled completely you can get a fish for your quarantine tank. It must stay in quarantine for at least 2 weeks. During this time you will be able to get it eating well and make sure any parasites on it are not going to overtake it and carry over into your main tank.

 

[ace869]

Well it is official all the fish we affected and did not make it So Now I have the 30G Quarantine and 180G tanks I am bored time on my hands and no fish to tend to. Maybe I will find a stand for My 300 acrylic and begin getting that setup started.

 

[nonstophoops]

Well it is official all the fish we affected and did not make it So Now I have the 30G Quarantine and 180G tanks I am bored time on my hands and no fish to tend to. Maybe I will find a stand for My 300 acrylic and begin getting that setup started.

WOW, Ya that should keep you busy.

If you are truly bored and want to do something with fish you can always tinker with your setup to make it better. If you have a little cash, you could buy another used tank to build a sump. This would help over the canister filters you currently have. You would need an overflow box, tank, glass or acrylic(for baffles), silicone(100% with no mildew protection to secure the baffles), and tubing(PVC or Flex hosing). If you built one, you could put your heaters in the sump. Skimmer too if you want. Also, it increases oxygen saturation and water flow in the tank. You could ditch at least one of the (nitrate factory) canister filters this way too.

Not necessary per se, but fun to build and setup on your system. I have found it very rewarding to build sumps for my tanks. I recently posted pictures and specs in a thread of my latest and biggest sump.

 

[ace869]

Interesting I would like to learn about sumps I have one that came with the 300g but have no Idea how they work or how to setup or maintain. Any advice all you knowledgeable fish keepers have is needed and welcomed

 

[ace869]

Question I have been doing some reading and was wondering if anyone might know if I added a uv sterilizer to this tank will it kill off the remaining velvet faster?

 

[nonstophoops]

Question I have been doing some reading and was wondering if anyone might know if I added a uv sterilizer to this tank will it kill off the remaining velvet faster?

It will kill some of it off faster.

But I think what you are really asking is will it be gone faster? The answer to that is no.

UV Sterilizers will kill a lot of stuff that is floating in your aquarium(both good and bad), but there is no way to get all the water through the Sterilizer. This means that whatever is in your tank is still going to be there.

For this reason I think that UV Sterilizers are unnecessary. They more or less serve the purpose of limiting and reducing the chances of outbreaks of pathogens in your tank. So are they useless? No, they do help but aren't really necessary.

You just need to keep being patient

 

[SimonL]

I'm gonna disagree on the UV sterilizer info. I find them extremely useful for removing pathogens and parasites from the water. It is the only thing you can use to treat disease in a reef tank as hyposalinity and medications will kill your coral/inverts.

I wouldn't run one 24/7 on a reef, as nonstophoops mentioned, they do kill all the good stuff too. I get one just in case you have a similar outbreak in the future. The 100 bucks that it costs is a small investment when you're dealing with expensive marine fish.