Instant ways to kill ich and velvet

[BostonReefer300]

I don't know about the odds but you can leave the diatom filter on the tank as long as you like or until those parasites that are laying on the sand bed get bored and come out. Diatom filters are the best way to eliminate parasites instantly using no chemicals.

Of course I do. I only recommend things that work and have worked for me for decades.

(picture is about 10 years old)



I use one to stir up my gravel once or twice a year because I run a reverse undergravel filter and it will collect "stuff". I don't want it to clog. I also like to blow out detritus in pores of the rock.

I used to use it when I would collect my water from the East River next to Manhattan to remove the hot dogs, hypodermic needles and Oldsmobile tires.

it will filter down to one micron, thats smaller than an ich or velvet parasite.

You need no chemicals, fallow, copper, Prizapro, heat or all the things many people like to do.

I have 4 or 5 of them in various stages of disrepair and only one working one.

When I get time, I will build a new one.

If I get a fish from a LFS covered in parasites, usually for free and I want to try to cure it. I put it in a tank with a diatom filter and maybe copper for a few days and that fish normally (but not always) gets cured.

I kind of had to re build or re design all of them.



I got quite a few fish like that, the last one was a copperband completely covered in ich.
(It's in my book)

It's totally cured. These old school methods like my reverse undergravel filter, Clorox (which is probably still in my tank from the 70s) and diatom filters fell out of favor because no one makes money on them and they work. If your fish lived long enough to die of old age, LFSs would all go out of business. They hate me.

In a few weeks my reef will be running continuously for fifty one years. These old school methods may have something to do with that and I have never had to go on a disease forum.
If it were not for diatom filters, I would not be in this hobby.

I also helped to start I think 3 LFSs, one is still in business from the 60s. I even collected all the water for one of them and kept their tanks parasite free with diatom filters. It's a no brainer.

But what do I know, I am just an old retired, bald electrician with a fish tank and a torn rotator cuff

Paul, can you PLEASE post a new build thread when you build that new filter? I'm going to research them this weekend when I have time. Sounds awesome! Thanks!

 

[threebuoys]

I don't know about the odds but you can leave the diatom filter on the tank as long as you like or until those parasites that are laying on the sand bed get bored and come out. Diatom filters are the best way to eliminate parasites instantly using no chemicals.

Of course I do. I only recommend things that work and have worked for me for decades.

(picture is about 10 years old)



I use one to stir up my gravel once or twice a year because I run a reverse undergravel filter and it will collect "stuff". I don't want it to clog. I also like to blow out detritus in pores of the rock.

I used to use it when I would collect my water from the East River next to Manhattan to remove the hot dogs, hypodermic needles and Oldsmobile tires.

it will filter down to one micron, thats smaller than an ich or velvet parasite.

You need no chemicals, fallow, copper, Prizapro, heat or all the things many people like to do.

I have 4 or 5 of them in various stages of disrepair and only one working one.

When I get time, I will build a new one.

If I get a fish from a LFS covered in parasites, usually for free and I want to try to cure it. I put it in a tank with a diatom filter and maybe copper for a few days and that fish normally (but not always) gets cured.

I kind of had to re build or re design all of them.



I got quite a few fish like that, the last one was a copperband completely covered in ich.
(It's in my book)

It's totally cured. These old school methods like my reverse undergravel filter, Clorox (which is probably still in my tank from the 70s) and diatom filters fell out of favor because no one makes money on them and they work. If your fish lived long enough to die of old age, LFSs would all go out of business. They hate me.

In a few weeks my reef will be running continuously for fifty one years. These old school methods may have something to do with that and I have never had to go on a disease forum.
If it were not for diatom filters, I would not be in this hobby.

I also helped to start I think 3 LFSs, one is still in business from the 60s. I even collected all the water for one of them and kept their tanks parasite free with diatom filters. It's a no brainer.

But what do I know, I am just an old retired, bald electrician with a fish tank and a torn rotator cuff

I had a diatom filter 45 years ago too. Mine was a 2 quart mason jar with a pump on top and a sock inside the jar. I bought it specifically to fight crypto. In those days, at least at my LFS, no one talked about the life cycle of crypto. So, I was never able to completely eradicate it because I seldom let it run more than 5 or 6 days. The sock would clog too quickly with the diatom powder. I would turn it off. Then, a month later the crypto was back. So I had to eventually stop buying anemones and stick with copper as the solution. Of course, where I was, no one ever considered coral. I have no idea when it first came to market since I stepped away from saltwater around 1980.

I believe a good high volume UV sterilizer today is probably just as effect as the diatom for removing parasites. Mine runs full time. The diatom filter and the UV sterilizer are both challenged by parasites that find a "stagnant" area of water in the tank that never makes it to the water flowing to the device, but both are good at helping keep the water crystal clear from many of the free swimming organisms we face.

 

[Current Tides]

I don't know about the odds but you can leave the diatom filter on the tank as long as you like or until those parasites that are laying on the sand bed get bored and come out. Diatom filters are the best way to eliminate parasites instantly using no chemicals.

Of course I do. I only recommend things that work and have worked for me for decades.

(picture is about 10 years old)



I use one to stir up my gravel once or twice a year because I run a reverse undergravel filter and it will collect "stuff". I don't want it to clog. I also like to blow out detritus in pores of the rock.

I used to use it when I would collect my water from the East River next to Manhattan to remove the hot dogs, hypodermic needles and Oldsmobile tires.

it will filter down to one micron, thats smaller than an ich or velvet parasite.

You need no chemicals, fallow, copper, Prizapro, heat or all the things many people like to do.

I have 4 or 5 of them in various stages of disrepair and only one working one.

When I get time, I will build a new one.

If I get a fish from a LFS covered in parasites, usually for free and I want to try to cure it. I put it in a tank with a diatom filter and maybe copper for a few days and that fish normally (but not always) gets cured.

I kind of had to re build or re design all of them.



I got quite a few fish like that, the last one was a copperband completely covered in ich.
(It's in my book)

It's totally cured. These old school methods like my reverse undergravel filter, Clorox (which is probably still in my tank from the 70s) and diatom filters fell out of favor because no one makes money on them and they work. If your fish lived long enough to die of old age, LFSs would all go out of business. They hate me.

In a few weeks my reef will be running continuously for fifty one years. These old school methods may have something to do with that and I have never had to go on a disease forum.
If it were not for diatom filters, I would not be in this hobby.

I also helped to start I think 3 LFSs, one is still in business from the 60s. I even collected all the water for one of them and kept their tanks parasite free with diatom filters. It's a no brainer.

But what do I know, I am just an old retired, bald electrician with a fish tank and a torn rotator cuff

hmmmmm, gives me a lot to think about. ive always been traditional myself, unless there was evidence of something better...

 

[GARRIGA]

Don't know if this has been posted but visiting Humble Fish likely the best source of information. Only thing I do different is using Diatom Filters to strip the free swimming stage. Not a fan of copper or medications in general unless last resort. Sometimes best to build the fish's immune system and work on removing what infected them so re infestation is less likely. In the wild this likely happens more often than we'd think. Doubt that's a sterile environment.

 

[Paul B]

Paul, can you PLEASE post a new build thread when you build that new filter?

It will be a while as I am having surgery in 2 weeks and won't be able to do anything for a couple of months. The diatom I am using is still working because I replaced the pump a long time ago. I don't remember where I got it as someone was selling them and they fit on the jar of the Vortex Diatom filter but it is old now.

As I said, I would not be in this hobby if it were not for those filters. I always used muddy NSW that I normally collected in a bay or the muddy surf and I cleaned it with diatom powder.

When I moved my tank here 4 years ago it was in the same place for 40 years and the gravel was like really filled with mud. I wanted to use my old gravel but couldn't just put it in my tank with all that mud so I diatomed it.

I wanted to just rinse it in the sea but a State Trooper chased me away and probably thought I was nuts or was dumping radioactive waste in the sea.

Some of my diatom filters are from the 60s and totally rusted out as they are a terrible design.

The new pump I have works flawlessly and of course I had to re build the bags inside as they also are a stupid design.

AS for UV and parasites, I don't think a home UV will have nearly enough power to kill any parasites. I feel their shell is to tough and translucent to penetrate the thing. Just my opinion as I am not the God of parasites.

But to eliminate parasites 100% you can filter the water through a diatom filter and only use the outflow from the filter. In other words, pump the water into another container and whatever is left in the bottom, throw it out. Maybe in your neighbors yard.

Of course that is if you are worried about parasites in either NSW or if you are trying to cure something in a seperate tank. You have to let the thing run a while to eliminate all parasites as the filtering gets better the longer it runs, up to the point where it clogs.

If you have a fish with parasites in a seperate or hospital tank, that filter will 100% eliminate all the parasites and no medication will need to be used. Unless you like using medication which I am totally against.

I still have this bottle of copper for nostalgic reasons. I probably bought it in the 60s and it is still almost full. It was made in Brooklyn. It also has formalin in it.

My fish have never seen any medications not even the 40 year olds. ;Wideyed

And they never will. But of course my fish are immune so I don't care about silly parasites.

 

[Paul B]

My friend Bobby (Humblefish) will be coming to my home in the spring so we can discuss why my tank is immune and see if we can pin point the exact reason.

 

[Paul B]

hmmmmm, gives me a lot to think about. ive always been traditional myself,

Diatom filters are traditional. We all used them when this hobby started. Then someone invented the internet and all the good ideas went out the window. I use Windows 7

 

[EricR]

... I use Windows 7

You gave up on DOS ? (Just kidding)

Interesting info on diatom filters -- as a kid, our pools used "diatomaceous earth" in the filtration but too lazy to look up how similarly that worked (if even similar at all)

 

[Paul B]

They are exactly the same and I get my diatom powder from a swimming pool company as it is dirt cheap.

If you have a big enough tank, you can use a swimming pool filter. Then you can even swim in it.

(I also have an I Phone 4 and will continue to use it as long as I can. I replaced the battery and charging plug and don't want a new, made in China phone)

 

[Unitylover]

They are exactly the same and I get my diatom powder from a swimming pool company as it is dirt cheap.

If you have a big enough tank, you can use a swimming pool filter. Then you can even swim in it.

(I also have an I Phone 4 and will continue to use it as long as I can. I replaced the battery and charging plug and don't want a new, made in China phone)

nice, I tend to stay away from Iphones, because they are pretty expensive and the chargers break easily.

 

[dmsc2fs]

Household bleach is best/easiest but people are having trouble finding it: it needs to be 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and water. Trouble is, most also now add perfumes and other stuff, thus the suggestion to just use hot tub chlorine tabs….
Jay

You will have better luck finding clean bleach at Lowes or Home Depot in the cleaning sections. They have good proper clean bleach without all that forest love flavorings added.

 

[tnw50cal]

That is an old school remedy we used to use when the hobby started. I didn't invent it, it was Robert Straughn, the "Father of Salt Water fish keeping in the Home".

Another one that I used a few times is Regular Clorox. (no really) One cup of "Regular" Clorox to 50 gallons of water.

(Straughn also came up with that one)

Leave 2 days then eliminate it with chlorine remover and airate for a couple of days.

My fifty year old reef has Clorox treated water in it and the first squid eggs that hatched out in captivity were in Clorox treated water.

I used to in the beginning to eliminate thousands of tiny bristle worms. The Chlorine evaporates and whatever is left in the water doesn't seem to hurt anything. I probably did it 3 or 4 times.

O also know that none of you will do that because it sounds terrible and old school. But I don't have any problems with it and I used to treat all my NSW with it when I used to care about parasites.

(I think it's in my book but I forget)

"Regular" Clorox must be used, no scents or easy pour

Over 5 decades with Saltwater fish, over 5 decades using bleach for my saltwater fish. I clean my filter socks in it, I've got 2 containers of bleach sitting in my sink with 10% bleach water in them for that purpose. I've only done the whole tank thing twice in that 5 decades but it worked. Crap 5 decades ago used to take the coral(skeletons, used as decorations in tank) out every couple of weeks and soak in bleach to kill the algae that grew on them.
Nice to see I'm not the only one.

 

[Paul B]

Your not the only one.



These "Noobs" that only started 30 or 40 years ago won't have a clue.

 

[Tamberav]

IDK where to get those old filters but this filter can be charged with diatom powder... I have been meaning to get one. Finally ordered one. I want to run it when I stir my sand bed... not ness for parasites but just for clarity. It seems easy to use.

Water Polishing: The reusable pleated micron cartridge efficiently removes fine debris, leaving water crystal clear. The cartridge may be Charged with diatomaceous earth to further increase efficiency.

Magnum® Polishing Internal Canister Filter | Marineland®

www.marineland.com

 

[BostonReefer300]

IDK where to get those old filters but this filter can be charged with diatom powder... I have been meaning to get one. Finally ordered one. I want to run it when I stir my sand bed... not ness for parasites but just for clarity. It seems easy to use.

Water Polishing: The reusable pleated micron cartridge efficiently removes fine debris, leaving water crystal clear. The cartridge may be Charged with diatomaceous earth to further increase efficiency.

Magnum® Polishing Internal Canister Filter | Marineland®

www.marineland.com

Hmmm...I have a spare jumbo reactor from BRS that I used to run carbon in with my old sump setup. I wonder if I could repurpose that with the diatom powder

 

[Turnage]

This will kill ich and velvet in an instant. As well as.... everything else.

 

[Brady4000]

This will kill ich and velvet in an instant. As well as.... everything else.

Lies, the 00.1% of germs is still alive, says it right on the bottle.

 

[Paul B]

Tamberav, if you can put diatom powder in there thats a win. I get it from a swimming pool supply as it is 10 times cheaper than getting it from Vortex, if they are even in business.

Don't buy "food grade" diatom powder. It is not porous and will not work, not even for a minute.

Clorox won't kill those last 00.1% of germs because those are the germs that refuse to drink the stuff.

 

[luanhoi]

After reading all comments. I'm going with 80 days and 85°F at the same time.

 

[kadamik]

Household bleach is best/easiest but people are having trouble finding it: it needs to be 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and water. Trouble is, most also now add perfumes and other stuff, thus the suggestion to just use hot tub chlorine tabs….
Jay

Jay I had a question on this if you see it.

I might have a similar problem but I do not have copper in my tank. I was wondering if I reset my tank if I dose it with high levels of Hydrogen Peroxide. I believe that should kill everything, Parasites and Good/Bad Bacteria. I believe the peroxide will cycle out of the system, I then would do a 50 percent water change and re-cycle the tank. I have dry rock and crushed sand bottom. This way seems faster and less work not to mention less water waste. What are you thoughts, would this work?