OK - you convinced me - My "Hypo Plan"

[lazarus]

i have read and re-read the opening thread and think i am ready to do a hyposalinity treatment. Beth or others, please check my plan and help me with some clarifications needed.
Situation: 135g FOWLR and soft corals, refugium below. I noticed my pump was jammed for probably two full days and the water did not cycle (but the powerheads provided flow). Then, my hippo started to develop early signs of ich and is scratching himself. Now, I want to be ready since I dont have a QT. I want to leave the fish in the DT and move everything else out.
I am setting up two tanks in my garage since neither is big enough for all my LR. I am going to put all the soft corals and inverts in the nicer tank since I can put a light on it. QUESTION: the hood only takes one bulb...should I put in an acnitic? I will put in a heater and a powerhead for flow but dont plan any filtration. QUESTION: I assume its OK to filter out some of the DT water into these tanks as the source water for the LR and corals? I will feed the inverts with pellets to decrease the fouling factor since there is no filtration.
I will put the LR into a large garbage can, assuming it does not need a lot of light. QUESTION: Will this harm the LR if the natural light in the garage does not penetrate to the bottom? Of course, I will put heat and powerhead in here also.
Thanks in advance. As I proceed with this, I may have other questions. I know this is the right decision since the meds are nothing more than a weak band aid, and this gives me an opportunity to do some spot cleaning in the DT.
Thanks again.

 

[saltn00b]

are you taking your LS sand out as well? that is a calcerous substance that will A) have die off from the hypo process and B) provide a breeding grounds for the parasite you plan on battling. you are much better off catching the fish and relocating them, even if it takes some temporary rock removal which you are planning on anyway.
keep an eye on the ammo cycle for a spike with all of the moving about. the LR will be fine with little light, but may lose some of its color as the corraline will start to die off. Regardless of where you end up doing hypo, always pay close attention to pH and even more so, Alkalinity. these tend to bottom out when the salinity drops. Keep a buffer like Kent Marine's SuperBuffer dKH, that will buff both pH and Alkalinity. once the lower salinity water is stable, the alkalinity will maintain itself, but always will take a nosedive at first.

 

[lazarus]

oh i did not think about the sand...darn.
I could potentially move the fish out but my QT option is only 29 g and I really fear the shock of the move will do them all in. Spending a month in such small space...i just dont know.
i need to think this through some more...

 

[sepulatian]

What kind of sand is it? Is it true live that came wet in a bag or is it "live" in bacteria? If it is live in bacteria then it will be fine. If it is true live then any microrganisms and other inverts in the sand will die but there will be enough bacteria in the sand to handle the die off. I would keep the fish in the display and hypo as you had planned.

 

[lazarus]

ok - now i am really confused!
the tank is about 16 months old. when i cycled it i used a bag of "live" sand to jump start the "dead" sand.
i am really hesitant to move my fish out of the DT as i cannot provide for them well outside of it.
if the hippo develops worse symptoms...is there an argument to try the medicinal remedies while i pursue further the hypo strategy? he is my prize....

 

[sepulatian]

There is live sand that comes directly from the ocean that is shipped wet and contains all kinds of hitchikers, then there is "live" sand that is live in bacteria. The sand that is only live in bacteria comes dry in the bag. I would hypo them in the display tank personally.

 

[lazarus]

thanks to all....what about the refugium? i will take out as much of the LR down there as i can including the chaeto.
anything else i need to do if i (a) leave the fish in the DT, (b) leave the live sand in the DT, (c) leave the refugium sand in there, and removing ALL else?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by LAZARUS
thanks to all....what about the refugium? i will take out as much of the LR down there as i can including the chaeto.
anything else i need to do if i (a) leave the fish in the DT, (b) leave the live sand in the DT, (c) leave the refugium sand in there, and removing ALL else?
Cap off the refugium and use a powerhead. Leave it detatched from the display for six weeks. Any parasites will die off from lack of host.

 

[lazarus]

if i cap off refugium i will need to add a separate form of mechanical filtration since there is nothing other than the refugium (which incorporates the skimmer).
given all that....i may be back to putting the fish in a separate tank!

 

[saltn00b]

the LS is part of the display that has been up and running for a year and a half... im sure its filled with tons of micro organisms...
plus what about calcerous materials providing the right medium for the ick to reproduce in?

 

[lazarus]

would they reproduce in the LS even under hypo conditions tho?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
the LS is part of the display that has been up and running for a year and a half... im sure its filled with tons of micro organisms...
plus what about calcerous materials providing the right medium for the ick to reproduce in?
I'm sure it is as well, but that can be reseeded. The ich will not survive hypo if it is performed correctly. Many people perform hypo in their display tanks. I have done it myself. It is less stressful to the fish if they do not have to contend with a cycling tank.

 

[lazarus]

if you have done in the DT with the fish still in it....what do you do for filtration? recall you advised i cap off the refugium.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by LAZARUS
if you have done in the DT with the fish still in it....what do you do for filtration? recall you advised i cap off the refugium.
You can hook up an external filter.

 

[lazarus]

OK - lots to think about. thanks alot....i gotta go to a meeting. may have more questions later. i appreciate it!

 

[lazarus]

Guys - i have been thinking about this...its getting real complicated. Pls see my original post.
If I leave in the fish but remove ALL LR and inverts from DT, including from refugium, and leave in the LS in both tank and refugium....and then proceed with hypo....is there a problem with this.
I prefer not to cap off refugium as it provides such an excellent form of circulation and passive filtration.
I think I have a good solution for temporary housing for the LR, inverts and soft corals. I can set them up in separate tanks in my garage.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by LAZARUS
Guys - i have been thinking about this...its getting real complicated. Pls see my original post.
If I leave in the fish but remove ALL LR and inverts from DT, including from refugium, and leave in the LS in both tank and refugium....and then proceed with hypo....is there a problem with this.
I prefer not to cap off refugium as it provides such an excellent form of circulation and passive filtration.
I think I have a good solution for temporary housing for the LR, inverts and soft corals. I can set them up in separate tanks in my garage.
Do you have equipment in the fuge? I am not quite sure why you would want to dismantle that. Without the plants and rock in the fuge it will just be water circulating down there. You will risk killing off any copepods or other microrganisms in there. It is a seperate tank that need not be treated. You can add even an HOB filter just to remove waste while your tank is in hypo.

 

[lazarus]

got it - thanks. i set up a QT tank yesterday and given all the input here...i am thinking about moving the fish there and not the LR/corals/inverts.
its a 29g so a little small for my big tangs. that is my main concern.
so far, i am still not entirely convinced that my hippo tang even has ICH. but, i want to be ready.

 

[sepulatian]

If your fish are not showing spots then don't move them yet. Get the tank cycled.

 

[lazarus]

what do you mean by "get the tank cycled"???
i do water changes every other week, including yesterday.
when i think of cycling i think of the initial setup and - g-d forbid a ecosytem crash.
you talking about something else?