almarktool
Member
yes u must take the live rock out or it will all die
aqua blue
Member
Hello eipapps.
I think I must be confusing a simple idea about the way I siphon out water and vaccum up debri while siphoning.
The airline tubing is what you would use for an airstone. The "cleaning rod" is a extendable rod that has different sponge and pad attachment that are used to wipe the algae growth off of the inside of an aquarium. I use just the rod without any of the pads or sponges. I took a small plastic tie wrap and used it to strap down one end of the airline tubing to the end of the rod. This gives me a way to control where I need to reach trash and debri that needs to be removed while I am siphoning out water to be changed. I use the same airline tube to siphon new water out of a measured container and into the Ht. It takes a little longer to change out water this way but I like the gradual addition of new "fresh" water to the HT.
Once I get a more accurate glass hydrometer I will try to pinpoint the salinity at 1.009. Right now I am down to 1.015. Once I have reached 1.009 I plan on using the same siphoning method to siphon 1/2 gallon of water and debri out of the HT. I will then
pour that water and debri through a coffee filter to remove the debri and then pour the cleaned water back into the HT. I am hoping this will help me to continue to keep the HT clean and water parameters stable. If water changes are needed then I plan on using saltwater mixed at a level of 1.009 and this is where the more accurate hydromter will be needed even more often.
I am currently siphoning out HT water for my formalin dips. I siphon out trash with this water but pour it through a coffe filter to remove the debri before adding the formalin. It seems to work well.
This is just what I have decided to do. You may have other ideas or other people on this board may advise differenty.
Hope this clears it up some. Sorry for the confusion.
Good Luck
I think I must be confusing a simple idea about the way I siphon out water and vaccum up debri while siphoning.
The airline tubing is what you would use for an airstone. The "cleaning rod" is a extendable rod that has different sponge and pad attachment that are used to wipe the algae growth off of the inside of an aquarium. I use just the rod without any of the pads or sponges. I took a small plastic tie wrap and used it to strap down one end of the airline tubing to the end of the rod. This gives me a way to control where I need to reach trash and debri that needs to be removed while I am siphoning out water to be changed. I use the same airline tube to siphon new water out of a measured container and into the Ht. It takes a little longer to change out water this way but I like the gradual addition of new "fresh" water to the HT.
Once I get a more accurate glass hydrometer I will try to pinpoint the salinity at 1.009. Right now I am down to 1.015. Once I have reached 1.009 I plan on using the same siphoning method to siphon 1/2 gallon of water and debri out of the HT. I will then
pour that water and debri through a coffee filter to remove the debri and then pour the cleaned water back into the HT. I am hoping this will help me to continue to keep the HT clean and water parameters stable. If water changes are needed then I plan on using saltwater mixed at a level of 1.009 and this is where the more accurate hydromter will be needed even more often.
I am currently siphoning out HT water for my formalin dips. I siphon out trash with this water but pour it through a coffe filter to remove the debri before adding the formalin. It seems to work well.
This is just what I have decided to do. You may have other ideas or other people on this board may advise differenty.
Hope this clears it up some. Sorry for the confusion.
Good Luck
E
eipappas
Guest
Thanks Aqua Blue - That helps a lot. Now I only have two little questions. How many days have you taken to get down to 1.015? Does it matter if it takes more than 48 hours... in other words, can you leave the tank at 1.015 for a while?
Lastly, has your tank cycled? Mine has definitely not cycled - Will coffee filtering help ammonia problems or is totally new water needed in daily changes?
Lastly, has your tank cycled? Mine has definitely not cycled - Will coffee filtering help ammonia problems or is totally new water needed in daily changes?
aqua blue
Member
I have been lowering the salinity over a 3 day period. I have taken this long because this was my first time to do this, my fish has responded very well to the initial salinity drops and started eating again which relaxed me a little, and I too will need to get a more accurate glass hydrometer before reaching 1.009.
Also in my case I was advised to do formalin dips which may be a big factor in the improvement in my fish. Although I did see a noticeable improvement after starting to drop the salinity and before the first formalin dip.
Because of these changes for the better I am not in a emergency rush to get to 1.009 although I plan to purchase the glass hydrometer within the next couple of days. But realize that the period of effective hypo may not start until you reach that 1.009 level. Then you maintain that for the advised time to let the parasites die off. So the longer it takes to reach 1.009 the longer it will take to complete the treatment. I could be wrong but that is the way I understand it.
My HT has not completely cycled either that is why I continue to do water changes while dropping the salinity. I originally used water from my main tank to set up my HT. I also ran the HT filter on my main tank to let it pick up some of the bacteria. I then used a established sponge out of my main tank filter and added it to the filter of the HT. I have added some stress zyme (bottled bacteria) that I had on hand. It may not be the best but I hope it will help the bacteria to establish a little quicker.
The coffe filter will ONLY help to remove waste and uneaten food before it breaks down and causes the ammonia to rise. Totally new water will be needed for water changes to drop the salinity. Once you reach the desired salinity level then you will need to watch your water parameters, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. It they begin to rise to dangerous levels then you will need to do water changes with new water mixed to the same salinity and temp. and preferably areated overnight (24hrs).
Since you are using a 10 gal. HT you may want to just mix a 10 gal.( or larger) batch of water and keep it areated to be used as needed during this treatment time. That is what I am going to do.
AGAIN I am new to this hobby too so pay close attention to the advice from others on this board with more experience.
Also in my case I was advised to do formalin dips which may be a big factor in the improvement in my fish. Although I did see a noticeable improvement after starting to drop the salinity and before the first formalin dip.
Because of these changes for the better I am not in a emergency rush to get to 1.009 although I plan to purchase the glass hydrometer within the next couple of days. But realize that the period of effective hypo may not start until you reach that 1.009 level. Then you maintain that for the advised time to let the parasites die off. So the longer it takes to reach 1.009 the longer it will take to complete the treatment. I could be wrong but that is the way I understand it.
My HT has not completely cycled either that is why I continue to do water changes while dropping the salinity. I originally used water from my main tank to set up my HT. I also ran the HT filter on my main tank to let it pick up some of the bacteria. I then used a established sponge out of my main tank filter and added it to the filter of the HT. I have added some stress zyme (bottled bacteria) that I had on hand. It may not be the best but I hope it will help the bacteria to establish a little quicker.
The coffe filter will ONLY help to remove waste and uneaten food before it breaks down and causes the ammonia to rise. Totally new water will be needed for water changes to drop the salinity. Once you reach the desired salinity level then you will need to watch your water parameters, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. It they begin to rise to dangerous levels then you will need to do water changes with new water mixed to the same salinity and temp. and preferably areated overnight (24hrs).
Since you are using a 10 gal. HT you may want to just mix a 10 gal.( or larger) batch of water and keep it areated to be used as needed during this treatment time. That is what I am going to do.
AGAIN I am new to this hobby too so pay close attention to the advice from others on this board with more experience.
Terry, this fish does not have ich at the moment. It has only been exposed to ich. The problem is that it was attacked by a pufferfish and there has been damage to fins.
Is the fish still lying at the bottom most of the time? Are the fins starting to regenerate now? How's the fish doing.
Is the fish still lying at the bottom most of the time? Are the fins starting to regenerate now? How's the fish doing.
E
eipappas
Guest
I'll have to find out if the fish was tank raised or wild before I bought him... I've had him for a couple months now though and I had thought brookynella was more of a "first couple weeks" thing. This guy has made it through a lot, even initially high levels of ammonia when my tank hadn't completely cycled yet... Never any signs of trouble. Even after the fin damage he was fine in the large tank until I moved him into the QT and then messed up countless times, doing everything I shouldn't have done and finding that all out later.
Right now he is doing what he's been doing for the past few days. Swimming around for a couple hours, eating and then lying down against the side of the tank on the bottom for a while. But he still eats... I can't see any spots on him and I've used a magnifying glass. He still shakes his body spastically at random times. His coloring is fading. The ammonia is now down to 0.10 with these regular water changes (I'm guessing the ammolock I put in is mainly out by now). But I can't get it lower - probably because of all the gravel I had taken from the large tank at first. I buffered once a while ago but forgot all about that the past few days and will do that / check pH as soon as I get home from work.
Also, when i turned the filters off on the big tank to look at the puffer in still water, I noticed lots of little lice looking things swimming towards the surface... This surprises be because my water parameters are all good in that tank. Is that ich? Can you see the actual parasite swimming around? Or is that something else?
Right now he is doing what he's been doing for the past few days. Swimming around for a couple hours, eating and then lying down against the side of the tank on the bottom for a while. But he still eats... I can't see any spots on him and I've used a magnifying glass. He still shakes his body spastically at random times. His coloring is fading. The ammonia is now down to 0.10 with these regular water changes (I'm guessing the ammolock I put in is mainly out by now). But I can't get it lower - probably because of all the gravel I had taken from the large tank at first. I buffered once a while ago but forgot all about that the past few days and will do that / check pH as soon as I get home from work.
Also, when i turned the filters off on the big tank to look at the puffer in still water, I noticed lots of little lice looking things swimming towards the surface... This surprises be because my water parameters are all good in that tank. Is that ich? Can you see the actual parasite swimming around? Or is that something else?
DON'T BUFFER! Higher pH makes ammonia more toxic, so at this point, don't do anything to raise pH.
No, you can't see ich swimming around. What ever you saw, I'm sure it fine. Just a part of having a live rock setup.
I'm afraid that clown is just not going to recoup with that ammonia continuing in the tank.
No, you can't see ich swimming around. What ever you saw, I'm sure it fine. Just a part of having a live rock setup.
I'm afraid that clown is just not going to recoup with that ammonia continuing in the tank.
E
eipappas
Guest
Fantastic news everyone! (or at least a very very positive sign). I had lowered my salinity to 1.019 and raised my temperature to 83 degrees (from 80... gradually over the past 24 hours) and I just came home and he looks fantastic!! it's like there's not enough room in the tank for him to swim around! Chasing after food, playing with the filter, fighting the water current, greeting me when I came home by rushing to the front of the tank... The fish I love is back! Now I just have to make sure it's for good! No more mistakes.
I'm still going to try to get out some of the gravel and put pvc pipe in the tank to make it easier for me to clean and eliminate all traces of ammonia (beth you've been right all along... It probably is just bad water quality caused by my beginner mistakes in such a small tank). Thank you all so much... hopefully the good progress will continue. I will keep you all posted!!
I'm still going to try to get out some of the gravel and put pvc pipe in the tank to make it easier for me to clean and eliminate all traces of ammonia (beth you've been right all along... It probably is just bad water quality caused by my beginner mistakes in such a small tank). Thank you all so much... hopefully the good progress will continue. I will keep you all posted!!
Leave the gravel alone. That gravel is part of your filtration system at this point and if removed, then your cycling problems will increase. Unless you have to medicate the fish, the gravel is not a problem.
I told you hyposalinity would make the fish feel better.
However, why are you increasing temperature? This is unnecessary and, perhaps, even unwise. Higher temp, less o2 in the water. Keep the temp within normal parameters.
I told you hyposalinity would make the fish feel better.
However, why are you increasing temperature? This is unnecessary and, perhaps, even unwise. Higher temp, less o2 in the water. Keep the temp within normal parameters.
E
eipappas
Guest
Beth -
I don't know why I'm in this hobby. I do everything wrong. I just removed half the gravel in the tank before I got your message. The ammonia just soared up again whereas it was getting better before I did that. Obviously the fish is now freaking out and is breathing really heavily in the corner... Also, the temperature rise was because someone at a store told me to do that. Again, stressed him out I'm sure. What do I do now? Just changed some more water to drop to the 1.019 should i do a larger water change now? Should I use only distilled water still or can I use premixed saltwater at 1.019 and do a water change right away. I'm so confused...
I don't know why I'm in this hobby. I do everything wrong. I just removed half the gravel in the tank before I got your message. The ammonia just soared up again whereas it was getting better before I did that. Obviously the fish is now freaking out and is breathing really heavily in the corner... Also, the temperature rise was because someone at a store told me to do that. Again, stressed him out I'm sure. What do I do now? Just changed some more water to drop to the 1.019 should i do a larger water change now? Should I use only distilled water still or can I use premixed saltwater at 1.019 and do a water change right away. I'm so confused...
eng50
Member
Quick question, reading all this I am going to set up a HT, Is the best/quickest/most effective way, to set up a small filter (hang-on) on the main tank to establish the filter media, then transfer the filter and some tank water to the HT? Would then you have a relatively quickly established HT?
All of this is using a cycled safe main tank as the parent tank.
Just want to be prepared for as much as I can...Thank you, didn't mean to interupt the post but I think this is a good place for this info!
All of this is using a cycled safe main tank as the parent tank.
Just want to be prepared for as much as I can...Thank you, didn't mean to interupt the post but I think this is a good place for this info!
E
eipappas
Guest
I can't get the temperature down in my tank now... It's up at around 83.5... want to get it back down to 80... what do I do?
E
eipappas
Guest
he is breathing really fast...
E
eipappas
Guest
He definitely is breathing REALLY hard... should I turn the lights off for a while... I have the A/C up full blast ... what else can I do to get the temp back down and O2 back in the tank...
almarktool
Member
u could turn lights off other way to bring the temp down a little would be to get some ice cubes and put them in a plastic zip loc bag and let them float on the water surface
I don't know what else to advise. Turn off the heater and the lights and continue to do water changes with water that is at the SAME specific gravity as the water is now. If things stabilize, then you can proceed with lowering the salinity. How cold is it in the room where the tank is? Do you need a heater?
Please wait for replies here, before you take any more steps with this tank. Don't add anything, don't take anything out, don't take anyone else's advise.
eng50: Sounds like you got the right idea. Leave your filter on the main tank for about a month, then use it to establish the hospital. But you will still need to "feed" the hospital once it is up. Filter bacteria needs "food", else it will die off.
Please wait for replies here, before you take any more steps with this tank. Don't add anything, don't take anything out, don't take anyone else's advise.
eng50: Sounds like you got the right idea. Leave your filter on the main tank for about a month, then use it to establish the hospital. But you will still need to "feed" the hospital once it is up. Filter bacteria needs "food", else it will die off.
E
eipappas
Guest
this room gets pretty warm since it faces south... should I leave the air on while i'm at work? should i disconnect the heater? or just set it at 79... the room had been warm enough to not need a heater but since it's been getting colder i bought one... he'd probably be fine without a heater if the air wasnt' on but then what happened yesterday might happen again (it went up to 84 while i was at work)...
should i turn the air on and set the heater at 79?
should i turn the air on and set the heater at 79?
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eipappas
Guest
unfortunately i don't have a fan and i am sooo late for work...