72 Gallon Livestock

[demond13]

Do I have room to add anymore, my current tank consists of:
3-4" Harlequin Tusk
4" Humu Humu Trigger
2" Purple Tang
Royal Gramma
2" Squirrel Fish

 

[lion_crazz]

No, I would say you are pretty full, as you have fish that demand a lot of swimming room.

 

[demond13]

Is it true that live rock is totally worthless after copper treatment, will it ever come back. A friend used copper in his display tank and the rocks came back in 3 months.

 

[lion_crazz]

Yes, I would be very afraid of using live rock after a copper treatment. Live rock can absorb copper out of the water column, and then realize it at a later time.

 

[demond13]

Pardon my ignorance, what is the water column?

 

[lion_crazz]

Sorry, the water column is just a different way of saying the water in the tank.

 

[demond13]

Since I have a FOWLR tank that shouldn't be an issue right... That would only become a problem if I decided to convert my tank into a reef tank with coral and the whole nine!

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, it would be a problem if you had inverts, or if you had copper-sensitive fish (tangs, butterflies, angels, puffers)

 

[demond13]

So should I get all new LR, or is it dead!

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, it is dead, but I would be sure to have a copper test kit on hand and be sure to frequently monitor copper to make sure the rock is not releasing copper into the tank. That could definitely stress your purple tang out, as well as the tusk.

 

[demond13]

Well if that is the case, than why is coppersafe a good solution for curing ich? Is it the fact that the fish are exposed to copper for a long period of time that my cause stress after the initial treatment? I used the copper on Thur. should I start running my protein skimmer to get the copper out.
I know that was a bad idea, but I'm a newbie and just had to learn the hard way!

 

[lion_crazz]

No, I don't actually believe/say copper is good for treating ich. It does effecitvely kill ich, that is true, but it is harmful to some fish as well.
Hypo is a better method for ich treatment, because it also gets rid of ich, and will not stress a fish out.
I would probably start running the skimmer, put carbon in, and perform hypo to the fish (much less stressful when done right).

 

[demond13]

How do I apply carbon if I have a sump... Sorry for all the questions, I appreciate your expertise!

 

[lion_crazz]

I have a sump as well, and I just place it in my sump in a small filter bag.

 

[demond13]

Thanks!