what's in the QT?

[clm08k]

Thank you so much! Polyaddict86 , magpie , Vancouver_98683 , kno4te , J jaws7777 really do appreciate all the love, encouragement and support. It's been a very discouraging and aggravating situation lately. The kind words and empathy really mean a lot to me. It's great getting support from my poly friends! I also appreciate everyone's advice on how to solve issues and how move forward. Especially with all my questions and long posts with mystery fish problems lately.

It is a great joy of mine to be a part of the poly forum with friends who are just as obsessed as I am! Gonna get back on the horse as fast as I can.

 

[clm08k]

Probable cause of fish death:bacterial cross contamination.
Went to LFS, they think I had cross contaminated my QT tank and saltwater tank, probably through buckets/nets/etc. Both my clownfish and del died of similar causes. They had seen another customer a while back with something similar that wiped out a lot of his tank. That guy with the diseased tank paid a University employee to look at it under a microscope and it was a bacterial fungal issue, can't remember which one. But basically the fish get red patches/bloody areas underneath their skin, get respiratory problems and die really quickly. He mentioned that Kanaplex/metroplex combo helped some of the fish in QT recover, but the person who had it lost a bunch of their fish. LFS said it was better to break down the system, throw out live rock/sand, bleach and start over. The LFS said they would help me out get everything going again, but to not to get any fish for a while. Also suggested doing a metal test for my house water.

Other probable cause for Freshwater tank water problem: old pipes
asked my mom if we had old pipes.... Said they were 40 years old lol. Will look into getting the water tested for metals.


Here's the plan: (any suggestions or revisions are welcome)
1) throw out more stuff. "old" sand/live rocks from salt system.
2) break down ALL tanks. and rebleach other tanks.
-*can any of these be bleached and reused: 5 gal buckets, nets, tube siphons, glass pebbles in betta tank? or better to be safe and just throw away?
-*advice on how much bleach to use per gal/5 gal?
3)Rinse bleach and then use vinegar or Prime to wipe down tank after things soak in bleach water for 24hours.
4) rinse excessively and save some tap water to test for metals.
5) Put saltwater shrimp in 10 gal QT. Dose with Kanaplex and Metroplex.
* get non-poly tanks set back up....will be easier than main tank.
6) Test 55 gal to see if I resealed it properly..... If it explodes, convince parents to let me get 75. win-win either way.
7) Contact barton people for nearby red sand.
8) Spend all day trying to Set up canister filter on 55g. Try to figure out how to cycle the tank
9) Get danios and or guppies.
10) ORDER POLYS.

 

[kno4te]

Oh wow.....for regular household bleach can do a prep of 1:9 ratio and rinse what ever needs to be cleaned/disinfected.

 

[jaws7777]

Man that is one cool lfs for being so honest with you and actually telling you not to buy fish...very rare.

Sucks you have to deal with this and no matter whats in your tanks your part of the fam here

 

[Polyaddict86]

Damn that really sucks. Sorry to here that.

 

[clm08k]

Oh wow.....for regular household bleach can do a prep of 1:9 ratio and rinse what ever needs to be cleaned/disinfected.

thanks! I just bleached the QT and 55 again. Let them sit overnight with the bleach water.
Is there a way to make sure all the bleach is off? Refill it and sit in prime/safe water? How much of that should i put in?
Also read about doing a methl blue dip for the nets? Is this necessary after bleach? or just buy new nets?

Man that is one cool lfs for being so honest with you and actually telling you not to buy fish...very rare.

Sucks you have to deal with this and no matter whats in your tanks your part of the fam here

Yeah the owner is really awesome. He actually cares about the quality of fish instead of just trying to flip a buck all the time. Plus he lets me order freshwater even though it is a salt store! Thank you for including me in part of the MFK fam. That made me smile

Polyaddict86 Thank you! That means a lot! :] Definitely gonna take your advice in the other thread and start with a small poly this time around and see how it does....you know before going crazy with polys. Next thing I know....8 polys in the tank.

 

[kno4te]

After a day it should be gone and evaporated. Ready to use in regards of bleach. No need to MB dip any nets if You've done the bleach. Prime should've dosed for the tank so should be a little over one capful for the 55g.

 

[clm08k]

After a day it should be gone and evaporated. Ready to use in regards of bleach. No need to MB dip any nets if You've done the bleach. Prime should've dosed for the tank so should be a little over one capful for the 55g.

Awesome! Currently draining the bleach water now from the QT and the 55!
The 55g didn't explode from my resealing. +1 for Chelsea. haha.

I'm motivated to get everything set up and running ASAP.

bought new PVC vinyl tubes for siphons...is this unnecessary if I bleached the old ones? That is $28 I can get back.

 

[kno4te]

When everything is set up and ready to go. Make sure that you get some feeder fish or or a cheap fish to use to test the tank.

 

[clm08k]

When everything is set up and ready to go. Make sure that you get some feeder fish or or a cheap fish to use to test the tank.

Sounds good. Yeah I think I'm going to go with danios/giant danios and or guppies. Then get back on the wagon.

the prime is just when I am about to put fish in/cycle? Or do I need to let the rinsed tank sit with prime in it before I set the tank back up with filters?