Beth, I read your hypo instr. but still have questions

[salt nate]

Got 2 75 gallon tanks.
All of my fish got ich when I only had one tank. So I got another one, and treated the fish with copper in it.
Everyone seemed better so I moved some fish back to my original reef tank(after leaving it fallow for 6 weeks)and started a fowlr with the new tank that I started the treatment in. That fowlr now has ich again! I am so upset and dont know what to do! I cant afford a qt with this economy. What should I do???? It only has about 30 lbs of live rock at the moment. Should I take it out and put it in a bin with a powerhead and treat the whole tank?
I had put one of my fish(bannerfish) into my reef tank about 3 weeks ago and then took him out because he was nipping corals! I also may have mixed water a few weeks ago on accident while feeding frozen food. Do you think my reef has ich again too?

 

[beth]

Lesson here is to always have a QT.
Also, a tank that has been treated with copper, should not become a tank with live rock. Copper will saturate the live rock, and the inverts that lives on live rock will be effected.
Transfer your rock to a large rubbermaid, use a pumps and a heater to keep it going, and treat your fish with hyposalinity. The procedure is detailed in the FAQ Thread.

 

[salt nate]

beth, thanks and I know I did not do everything right to start with.
I did take all of the copper out of the tank before turning it into a fowlr( I did a 40% water change and had chemipure and poly filters in there for a week. I have several inverts in there that are doing great!
What about my reef tank? what do you think?

 

[beth]

Are there any fish in the reef tank that have ich? You've exposed the reef tank, but if you don't actually have ich in it now, then keep your fingers crossed over the next few weeks.

 

[salt nate]

no signs of ich in the reef!
how long can I keep that live rock in the rubbermaid with the powerhead? Does it have to have a heater? My 2 tanks stay about 76-80 in the house

 

[sepulatian]

The rock can stay in the bin for a long time as long as the water doesn't get very cold. Do you have a refractometer for hyposalinity treatment?

 

[salt nate]

I have an instant ocean hydrometer. Do I need to buy the other?
how cold/warm can the rock water get (72/82)?

 

[salt nate]

Is there a formula for how much water (%) to take out at a time and replace with fresh ro water?
Do yo treat the fresh water with buffer to keep ph before you add to tank, or do you adjust tank after water is added?
I have a very shallow sand bed can I do hypo in this tank?

 

[salt nate]

I know hypo is not toxic and a better choice, but it seems pretty hard to be perfect with it and I dont think I can afford a refractometer.
If I do copper(cupramine) in my FO tank with shallow sand bed will I be able to remove the copper when done and ever keep inverts/lr again?
I had treated this my tank originally with copper, but had no sand in it. It now has an urchin and snails that are doing fine.

 

[sepulatian]

Sand and rock absorb copper like a sponge and then leech it back out later. I wouldn't use copper with the sand in there, especially if you plan to put the urchin and snails back in after treatment. Hyposalinity is not hard at all. Bring the SG down over 48 hours. Don't do large water changes. Pull water out then add fresh gradually back in. Once the SG is down to 1.009 check it daily. It doesn't raise quickly unless you have serious evaporation issues. You will have to buy a refratometer for the treatment though.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by salt nate
http:///forum/post/2829415
I have an instant ocean hydrometer. Do I need to buy the other?
how cold/warm can the rock water get (72/82)?
A swing arm hydrometer will not work. If you have a floating, glass, lab grade hydrometer then that will be fine.
The rock can go below 70F without dieing though you may lose some organisms. If it gets chilly in your house then just pick up a small heater. You can get one for around $10.

 

[rcreations]

I've done hypo 3 times now and I'm currently doing copper on a new trigger. I'm telling ya... copper is soooooooo much easier to do than hypo. No need to do all those water changes to lower the SG. No need to constantly check every day that the SG is exactly right. No need to keep adjusting the pH. And worst of all with hypo is raising the SG back up. You waste so much salt! Copper is a breeze.
hypo has its place though. Some fish can't take copper and like Sep said, you shouldn't do copper in the DT if you ever want to keep inverts.

 

[beth]

Not really, but if you tell me how big your tank is I can try to help you out.

 

[beth]

Copper requires precision as well, and you need to test for copper daily as well, which will cost money for the test kits.

 

[kube]

I did when I did hypo on my display tank, i left the sand in there, On a 55gallon with a twenty gallon sump i did 5 gallon water changes with ro daily, towards the end it took more water to get the salinity down to 1.009. Also do not try to use a swing arm it will not work

 

[salt nate]

I have a 75 gal with a 10 gal sump. I definitely cannot afford a refractometer, but my lfs said I can just bring water in when I get the reading close...do you think this will work?
Oh yeah...and what about the buffer

 

[salt nate]

well I do want to keep inverts in there again. After you get the salinity to 1.009, you dont have to keep testing do you? Doesnt it just stay the same(except for the evaporation issue)?
Why do you waste salt when you bring the salinity back up?
Oh, and my lfs said that I can go in and test the water with their refractometer once the level is almost right.

 

[beth]

A 75 gal tank would mean massive amts of water changes, salt. What are you using to measure salinity now? What is your water source?

 

[beth]

Yes, you need to keep on testing, daily. And testing for pH as well. Lets try to stick with one topic on this, otherwise, its going to get confusing.

 

[rcreations]

It takes large amounts of salt to get it back up to 1.025.