Beth

[dogman]

Thank you for the reply. I wasn`t clear, the tang died two weeks into hyposalinity, and the tank is completely empty. Should I go ahead and raise the salt to normal levels, add lr, and put in a fish to keep the system going? I am thinking not to add ls, so I can easily transfer this tank to a HT or QT? I`m not sure if the tank has to sit for three wks. do to the tang having ick. Thanks.

 

[beth]

Sorry to hear that the tang passed on. Tangs are known as "ick magnets" in the hobby. What happened? Wasn't the ick cleared up? Perhaps the fish got a secondary bacterial infection?
Once a tank has been exposed to ick, it is best to leave it wo fish for a month, even with the hyposalinity in the tank. Hyposalinity works on parasites when the parasites are in the free-swimming stage. Play it safe, and leave your tank dorment [wo animals] for a month.
It is best to leave a QT/hospital wo Live Sand. When treating sick fish you really can't medicate a tank with LS in it, and any substrate can harbor parasites and bacteria. So, no substrate. Yes, you can put LR in the tank, but, again, the LR will have to be removed any time you use it to treat sick fish. LR cannot tolerate meds or hypo. And, once you use copper in the tank, you cannot really put LR in it. It will kill the LR. LR, also, can not tolerate hyposalinity.
I would leave the hypo in your tank as it is, then, after a month, the QT should be ready to go and cleaned of ick.
Don't put any fish in this tank for 1 month, as they could get ick too.