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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / April 2004any advice appreciated
just set up a new 55 gal saltwater tank about 2 days ago, put in about three inches of crushed coral about "O" this size on top of an undergravel filter, running a large back flow filter with 2 wells and just the two sets of carbon filters in each well, 2 power heads one on each end, one being a marineland 802, currently just a few plants and one decoration. currently running 2 48" standard shop lights on coral life VHO lighting. I know this really isn't the best set-up and any advice would be appreciated. working towards putting about 40 to 60lbs of live rock in it, with anemones amongst other things currently having a problem with one of the 2 damsels I put in to help cycle the tank, it appears to have grains of sand all over it's body, don't know if it's ich or not, seems to be active still. any advice on how to treat this and if it will affect the other damsels or the future of tank? thanks The Damsel has probably got ich as a result of the stress associated with living in a poisonous environment. If your tank is still cycling there is probably huge amounts of Ammonia and Nitrate present in the water, this is poisonous to the fish you've used to create these chemicals. If the disease is indeed ich, it will likely pass onto the other fish in the tank. Any chemicals you throw into the tank will be harmfull to the tank's future success, best you either let it see the course, remove the fish, or try buying an ultraviolet filter (don't look directly at the lamp, it will blind you) to kill off the disease while it's in its waterborne state. This could take 1 to 2 weeks and is not a cheap option. Chris > just set up a new 55 gal saltwater tank about 2 days ago, put in about three > inches of crushed coral about "O" this size on top of an undergravel filter, [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > thanks UV will not be effective against ich. Damsels are pretty tough, id be surprised if ich killed yours. Your tank is not ideal by a long shot though. Honestly that is the first time I've heard of a new tank being set up with an undergravel filter. This type of filtration is not thourough enough so LR etc is much better. Take the damsel back to the shop along with the undergravel filter and CC. Get some decent LR and some nice live sand and stick this in your tank for about 2 months. After you see some serious life on the LR then start to add fish at the rate of 1 per month until you have 1" of fish per 10 gal of water. Good luck, and don;t buy any more stuff until you have asked here. Simon >The Damsel has probably got ich as a result of the stress associated with >living in a poisonous environment. If your tank is still cycling there is [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > > """UV will not be effective against ich.""" Most treatments against Ich are only effective in the free swimming stage. http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/sterilizers.html (and related links) Stress Factors Stress is another factor that can bring on an outbreak of Ich. By keeping your aquarium in top shape with water quality control, using proper filtration, and not putting your fish under any unnecessary stress causing situations, this can help prevent outbreaks. New fish can go through quite an ordeal during the collection and shipping process that relates to stress. Using a QT to isolate new arrivals is always the best thing to do. What is UV Sterilization? What exactly is UV Sterilization? It's actually a very simple process for removing (or filtering) unwanted free floating bacteria and parasitic organisms, like ich, out of your water by passing the water through Ultra Violet (UV) light. The UV Sterilizer light affects the living cells by altering the structure of the cell's nuclear material. The end result is the organisms die, erradicating your aquarium water of these unwanted nuisances. What can I kill with a UV sterilizer? -UV sterilizers will destroy protozoan parasites such as Ich during the new born, free swimming life cycle stage of the parasites. NOTE: They do not kill or remove the Ich parasites once attached to the fish. UV Sterilizers can be used with other methods to treat Ich. UV & Ozone Sterilization Units Many people choose to run UV (Ultra Violet) or Ozone Sterilization units. These units only destroy the Ich during the new born, free swimming life cycle stage of the parasites. They do not kill or remove the Ich parasites once attached to the fish. UV & Ozone sterilization units can assist in controlling an Ich bloom from getting out of hand, and possibly eliminating the problem all together. Chris > UV will not be effective against ich. > Damsels are pretty tough, id be surprised if ich killed yours. [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > >> > >>thanks Hi, good luck with your new tank, i think if you read this link it will give you some insight about salt water then you can discern what's best for you, http://www.reefcorner.com/reef%20keeping_101.htm ---------'My Lagoon' (community.webtv.net/swt1968/MyLittleOceanReef) -- fishgills http://community.webtv.net/swt1968/MyLittleOceanReef Ditch the UG filter Ditch the crush coral Ditch the external filters And Get a skimmer And replace the crushed coral with a deep sand bed. Google some info about deep sand beds.... Do some reading on modern reef tanks. Put any ich meds (copper) in the tank and kiss you expensive live rock goodbye for the next 100 or so years. :-) It's just about the "worst" setup you could put together. >just set up a new 55 gal saltwater tank about 2 days ago, put in about three >inches of crushed coral about "O" this size on top of an undergravel filter, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >  SignatureRic Seyler > currently having a problem with one of the 2 damsels I put in to help > cycle the tank, it appears to have grains of sand all over it's body, > don't know if it's ich or not, seems to be active still. Since others have spoken about the filtering, I'll mention that using damsels to cycle your tank is pretty silly. 1. It's unconscionably cruel to the damsel fish, especially since there are other alternatives. You're forcing it to do the equivalent of breathing acid. Some of the alternatives are adding household ammonia (after all, that's what you're trying to get your damsel to do -- add ammonia to the system to get the cycle going), or adding some raw deli shrimp (as it decomposes it'll add ammonia). 2. Live rock, by it's nature of hosting life, will have some die-off when you put it in your tank. This die-off will be enough to get the cycle going. 3. Damsels are mean, nasty fish, and will be very difficult to catch when you do want to pull 'em out. > 1. It's unconscionably cruel to the damsel fish, especially since there > are other alternatives. yea, but it keeps the cost of damsels down and that makes my trigger/puffer/ray even my lunar wrase and hermits and starfish happy :D > 2. Live rock, by it's nature of hosting life, will have some die-off when > you put it in your tank. This die-off will be enough to get the cycle > going. my fav option. besides shrimp > 3. Damsels are mean, nasty fish, and will be very difficult to catch when > you do want to pull 'em out. pull em out??? why would you want more than 1 fish in your tank anyways??? hehehe SignatureRichard Reynolds Richard.Reynolds@usa.net |
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