disease/parasites?

[andygar]

I think I have some sort of outbreak in the tank - ick or other parasite. I lost a rather big half moon damsel and a black belly trigger in one week. Water parameters are good: Amonia, Nitrites, Nitrates at 0 and PH at 8.2 temp 78, salinity 1.022
Another one of my triggers has white dots and tiny stringy things hanging off his sides and he is rubbing against the sand and the side of the tank. I just added 50 lbs of LR last week after curing it in a tub until it didn't smell anymore, and I think something could have come in on it - no ammonia spike though. There are a lot of free swimming little specs that I can actually see in the water.
I have just ordered a 40Watt UV sterilizer. How long will it take for it to kill all the free swimming bad guys? If I keep the UV running will it keep all parasites and stuff out of my system?
I could QT the trigger in hyposalinity but I think all fish have been exposed - plus I can't afford a refractometer after coughing up a bunch for the UV and I read that the swing arms are not accurate enough.
I also want to add another bigger skimmer to help pull out more crap out of the water. My current one is too small - run by a Rio 800 pump - but it is pulling a lot of nasty stuff out.

 

[beth]

Your priority in equiptment buying should FIRST be a hosptal tank. A UV is not going to cure ich.
Whatever is swimming around in the water, its not ich. It is likely copepods, etc., from the new LR which is harmless.
If you have a hospital tank, move the fish to it. You can use a glass hydrometer for hypo. However, with the expense of new LR and a UV, which are costly items, you could have set up a first rate QT with refract for a quarter of that cost! If you want to take care of fish and avoid this type of problem, think prevention. If your fish are QTed PRIOR to going into the main tank, you will have little to concern yourself with in terms of parasistes---thus, no need for a UV.
There are places online where you can get a refractometer for $70. But a quality glass hydrometer will do.

 

[andygar]

My question again is not what I could have done, but what to do now. My brown trigger died this morning.
I got my UV sterilizer in and will set it up today. Does anyone know how long it takes to kill off the stuff in your water? The whole QT tank seems like such a hassle. Will running the UV be good enough in the future? The LFS arund here swear by it and they have new specimens coming into their water supply constantly without any QT tanks or ever getting parasites.

 

[beth]

I answered your question very clearly. The UV is not going to work to cure ich. That's it.
QT should not be a hassle to anyone who is serious about this hobby or who cares about marine life. Sorry, if I sound overly critical, but that's really the way I see it.
I'll stay out of this thread from here on out.

 

[sinner's girl]

I'm worried about you having all those fish in a new tank.
Picasso Trigger, Brown Trigger, 2 blue devil damsels, Lemon Damsel, Dottyback Damsel, Green Chromis, and the tank has only been up since november??
"but what to do now"
First, find out if it is ick. read post here
Second, read the first post on this board: Basic FAQ. this post will tell you have to treat ick and set up a qt.
You are right, just qt'ing one fish won't do any good. you cannot do hyposalinity in your main tank with inverts. you'd have to have a qt big enough for all the fish if it's ich.
i'm no expert on this, just trying to help and save beth some time.
hth
Looks like beth types faster than me and got it frist. still hth

 

[mjepson]

I have heard that UV is no good for a reef tank anyways. I don't think it would be good to kill off alot of the bacteria that you would want to feed your criitrers with. I have a diatomatious filter that works pretty good for cleaning the water of things like ich. BUT IT DOESNT CURE IT> I think the whole QT thing is the way to save the fish, not a UV Sterilizer.
90 Gal, Amiracle with two venturi skimmers. Vortex diatom filter, 4 110 W VHOs, 2 actinic,, 2 50/50 URI bulbs, Ice cap ballasts
Chevron tang, Purple Tang, Six line wrasse, Green Mandrin, Yellow watchman goby, Skunk cleaner shrimp, Banded coral shrimp,50 SNAILS, hermits, sally lightfoot, sand sifter star.
Candy coral,fox coral, green frilled mushroom,aleveopora, clove polyps, button polyps, galaxia.
I too have ick and have started up my 30 gal as my QT. I had all the filters ect. so I had it made. Either way I need to save my fish too, and the only way I can see fit is the QT and some love and tenderness.
Matt J
AT ALL COSTS SAVE THE REEF. fish can be rebought.