hypo treatment?

sargeboy

Member
i was wondering how to rid my reef tank of ick. i am sick of having it harm my fish. its in my tank now and i also would like to know any tips on how to keep it ick free. i have heard of hypo treatment for reef tanks, how does this work
 

sargeboy

Member
i know what to do in a quarantine tank. if i had no fish in my DT with ick for a long time the ick would all go away in the tank right? is this the only way to keep a reef tank clean of ick?becuase i want it out of my main tank.
 

al mc

Active Member
You can eliminate Ich from a fishless tank in one of three ways. Leave it fallow for 6 weeks, use hyposalinity on it (you will lose any inverts), or use copper (you will lose inverts and your nitrogen cycle and will not be able to keep inverts in the tank thereafter).
I would never suggest using copper in a DT reef tank.
If the DT is fishless. Leave it fallow for 6 weeks, then QT everything new that has a wet surface before placing it in your DT (fish, inverts, rock)
 

raf

Member
don't try the reef safe meds. I tried rid-ich one time and its a joke. or maybe it was kick-ich. I can't remember.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Dont use any treatment in the display. Do you have a cycled quarantine tank? If not then be sure to cycle one fully before putting your fish in there. As mentioned, the only way to rid your tank of ich is to remove the fish. Without a host the ich will die. Keep the fish out for a minimum of six weeks, but eight is better. Once the ich is gone be sure to quarantine all new purchases.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
(you will lose inverts and your nitrogen cycle and will not be able to keep inverts in the tank thereafter).
Al i am still waiting for proof positive that is absorbed and leached out in amounts that are detrimental. also what if he had a acrylic tank
 

sargeboy

Member
is it possible to take all the inverts out of the DT instead of the fish so then i could treat the tank with hyposalinity? i dont have many inverts and catching the fish is my worst nightmare. wouldnt it also be faster. would the hypo salinity kill the good bacteria in my tank or anything else?
 

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3233750
Al i am still waiting for proof positive that is absorbed and leached out in amounts that are detrimental. also what if he had a acrylic tank
I do not know of any proof either. Just did not want something 'bad' to happen in the future without some warning to the OP.
In the real world (my set up) I have been using an old 30g tank that I did use for as an HT with cupramine about 2+ years ago as my current QT tank for fish, crabs, snails and corals. While their stay in this tank is limited to several weeks I have a couple cleaner shrimp that have been residing in the tank for 8-9 months now with no apparent problem.
 

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by sargeboy
http:///forum/post/3234163
is it possible to take all the inverts out of the DT instead of the fish so then i could treat the tank with hyposalinity? i dont have many inverts and catching the fish is my worst nightmare. wouldnt it also be faster. would the hypo salinity kill the good bacteria in my tank or anything else?
That is a reasonable plan. You will not lose the bacteria responsible for your nitrogen cycle with hyposalinity. You may get an ammonia 'bump' as some of the microcritters on/in the rock die. So, just be prepared with some ammonia locking compound like Amquel Plus and/or water for water changes.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/3234201
I do not know of any proof either. Just did not want something 'bad' to happen in the future without some warning to the OP.
In the real world (my set up) I have been using an old 30g tank that I did use for as an HT with cupramine about 2+ years ago as my current QT tank for fish, crabs, snails and corals. While their stay in this tank is limited to several weeks I have a couple cleaner shrimp that have been residing in the tank for 8-9 months now with no apparent problem.

Al for what its worth I remember the topic of copper leaching came up a while ago and I contacted the rep from Seachem at that time and she said that they never had a problem with cupramine leaching out of silicone to levels detrimental to any inhabitants of a marine aquarium
 

sargeboy

Member
how long would i have to keep the salinity at 1.009? i have a protein skimmer and trickle filter so i have really never had an amonnia spike ever.
 

raf

Member
I'm no expert but I usually leave it for a week after no visual signs of ich. then I take another week to raise salinity and then another week to monitor the fish.
Disclaimer: this might be bad advice but it works for me
 

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by sargeboy
http:///forum/post/3234475
how long would i have to keep the salinity at 1.009? i have a protein skimmer and trickle filter so i have really never had an amonnia spike ever.
Three weeks from last last visible sign of Ich on the fish. Then raise salinity over 5-7 days.
 

sargeboy

Member
o well i bet your right i mean the more time the better. i have a small QT tank only 10g but that should give enough room for my cleaner shrimp, small anemone, few snails and hermits, and my LPS will probably take my few corals.
 

al mc

Active Member
Do make sure you check the SG 2x daily and add top off water, as needed, to keep the salinity at 1.008/1.009 level for the entire time.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
i have a protein skimmer and trickle filter so i have really never had an amonnia spike ever.
can you explain why you think you never had an ammonia spike due to the fact that you have a skimmer and trickle filter.
Three weeks from last last visible sign of Ich on the fish. Then raise salinity over 5-7 days.
I am going to have to respectfully disagree with my good friend . Al i would treat via hypo for at least 6 weeks using the documented time line of the parasites life cycle
 

cjrose

Member
Originally Posted by sargeboy
http:///forum/post/3234163
is it possible to take all the inverts out of the DT instead of the fish so then i could treat the tank with hyposalinity? i dont have many inverts and catching the fish is my worst nightmare. wouldnt it also be faster. would the hypo salinity kill the good bacteria in my tank or anything else?

I just did this. I took all 150 lbs of rock and all my inverts out of my 125 DT and did hypo in there. The rock was moved to a 55 gl qt with a heater and powerhead. I'm starting the week long process bringing the tank out of hypo today.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by cjrose
http:///forum/post/3234825
I just did this. I took all 150 lbs of rock and all my inverts out of my 125 DT and did hypo in there. The rock was moved to a 55 gl qt with a heater and powerhead. I'm starting the week long process bringing the tank out of hypo today.
don't want to hijack but what happened to the mantis
 
Top