Hyposalinity

thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
I thought I would share my trip into the process of hyposalinity. It is now day 2 and I have the salinity down to 1.020. Just thought someone looking to do it in the future would like to see my day by day success / failures. (I just have a clown and a damsel). I have a 20 gallon tank set up for them, and I am feeding every other day.
Another reason for this thread is that I figured someone could help me if they see any problems in the way I am going about it.
10:00 AM day 2
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
I have the salinity where it needs to be. I am having a small amonia problem. (odds are because im doing this without cycling my tank) so I am having to do many large water changes. I am feeding the fish every 3 days now to help control ammonia. I hate doing this. just when I thought my tank was doin good, I have an ich outbreak. Which I am now 2nd guessing that I even had because I haven't seen the white spots ever since I put them in here.
My fish are starting to act quarky. I am nervouse that I am going to fail at this. My salt is what balances my ph, so I am going to have to figure out a way to keep my ph at 8.2 - 8.3. I have just been feeling like I am in over my head with this hypo salinity thing. sigh* wish me luck
 
1968oldsma

1968oldsma

Member
I'm the same boat your in with the hyposalinty deal except i'm going about it in my whole 55 gallon display what i am using to "buffer" my ph which is work great is called Proper pH8.2 i got it at ***** and comes in like little packets i did that when my tank was in the low 7's when i first got it and it maintains it great it's helping me out now. They come in packets 1 does about 20 gallons and the stuff works great.
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
Thanks for the hot tip, I was planning on purchasing some today. Good luck with the hypo!
The reason im not doing mine in my 55 is because I have LR and LS in there, Also I have some inverts which would not survive. I beleive it can also kill your LR and LS.
Thanks again!
-JD
 
1968oldsma

1968oldsma

Member
all my inverts kicked the can awhile ago they cleaned my tank so well that they had nothing to eat and the remaining ones i was feeding with algea sheats my damn puffer got to and killed them so that was the end of those my live rock i put in a huge rubbermaid bin i took a go0od portion of water from the tank in the bin and just put the rock in there so it should be good.
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
ya... ment 14 ppt. I have no clue why I wrote 1.014. Had a lot on my mind. My fault. anyways thats what I have it set at. And good news. I got my ammonia down, and my ph up to 8.2. All seems to be going well, I just have to do so many water changes to keep ammonia low. day 5 goin good.
BTW thanks for pointing that out beth.
 
iceemn360

iceemn360

Member
Hey beth,
My hypo still seems to be going great! ich hasn't reappeared yet (fingers crossed) and everyone seems happy and healthy. The salinity is 1.009. I use a lab grade glass hydro and my friend checks it daily with his refractometer when he stops by for lunch. So far so good.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Contrary to a few inaccurate posts in this forum by others, hyposalinity should work very well in most cases. In situations where it seems not to work, the problem can usually be traced to inaccurate salinity measurement, faulty procedure, or, even a secondary infection developing as a result of the ich, which can not be treated directly by hypo.
 
iceemn360

iceemn360

Member
I also forgot to add that I used melafix and melafil whilde conducting hypo. It seems to have prevented any secondary infections due to bacteria or fungi. The clowns actually had somehting like a fungal infection that also went away after a few days in hypo. So far so good.!! just make sure to keep up on top off so that the salinity doesn't rise over 1.009. Good luck
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, if hyposalinity is performed correctly, it should work fine at ridding the parasite, as well as help fish by alleviating stress.
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
It has been a little over a week now at 14 ppt. My dont seem stressed, and I've yet to see the ich. I have a question that maybe you would help me out with Beth. How long should I keep new fish in a QT tank before I can be sure they are ich free, and at what salinity should I keep that at? I have heard 3 weeks should suffice if they have a healthy look to them the entire time. I greatly appreaciate all of your input.
Thanx,
- JD
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
I'm not sure if this is what you mean but. . . You want to keep them in the hypo for atleast the 3 weeks. I had my tang in hypo for 4.5 weeks just to make sure. I kept the salinity at 1.009 the entire time. Once you decide that your done with the hypo, then you can start bringing it back up to where it should be. Raise it over a week period of time though.
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
Oh, that was my plan. Actualy what I meant is after the hypo is over, and it goes back to a QT tank, how long should i keep newly purchased fish in there before adding them to the display tank. Sorry for the missunderstanding
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
I get ya now JD. Actually you want to keep them in hypo for atleast the 3 weeks. That you know. Once you've decided your done with hypo. . . I've read that you should start bringing your Salinity back up to the 1.024 over the span of a week. Once you get that salinity back to normal you can acclimate your fish to the display tank and put her in. Thats what I did and my Tang is doing great.
 
thejdshow

thejdshow

Member
it is now Day 12. Still no sign of the ich. Almost half way there =/. My tank looks sooo empty. I cant wait to put them back in. Ive been doing water changes everyother day to keep the tank from cycling. Ammonia will show up occasionaly. Trying to keep it at a minimum. All seems to be going well though.
 
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