Poland Union Elementary - Ich Support

[melypr1985]

So i checked the tank today to see only what i can describe as black mold in a lot of places. Any ideas??

Got a picture? It's not detritus building up in corners or under PVC pieces? maybe algae?

 

[Pola0502ds]

No, ill get a pic in the morning when the lights are on. Just imagine what mold looks like, exactly like it!

 

[Pola0502ds]

Glass, silicone seams, pvc pipe...

 

[melypr1985]

Glass, silicone seams, pvc pipe...

I"ll have to see this, but it sounds like plain old algae

 

[Alanc425]

Weird....Has the yellow tang eaten or shown any interest in algae sheets btw?

 

[Humblefish]

I'll get these black moldy spots on certain rocks sometimes. Almost feels like a sponge when you touch it. But it never growns on the glass/seams.

 

[Pola0502ds]

Upon futher inspection its actually purple/red, im thinking its cyano, i am doing another water change today because the yellow tang is still not eating, been a whole week, and ill give the tank a good cleaning. Everyone is doing great except for the yellow. It has gone from always being in the open to hiding in a pvc pipe. Doesnt appear to have lost a lot of weight yet.

What i am going through is exactly why everyone should qt their fish. This is miserable!

Ive been doing this for a year and i cant even get my own tank to where it needs to be. I fought nitrates and phosphates forever, finally put a fug in, everything goes to zero and half my corals wont open.

Finally spend an arm and a leg to get some nive leds, hydra 52's, and i cant get the settings right. Im bleaching corals. Its very frustrating but i know with patience it will pay off. I just wish there was more reward at this point. I love watching coral grow but in my tank everything is extremely slow going.

 

[melypr1985]

I love watching coral grow but in my tank everything is extremely slow going.

Nothing in this hobby happens fast. You'll get there... just dont give up and it will be that much more rewarding when things level out and you can just sit and enjoy for a bit.

 

[Humblefish]

If this is cyano, you should be able to siphon it right out. Especially on the sand.

I've been in this hobby (or as a business) all my life. I think the main thing that keeps me passionate about it is how challenging it is, it always keeps you on your toes.

 

[Alanc425]

Its a hassle to QT but its less miserable than losing all of your fish to ich. Trust me

Regarding the yellow tang, it might be a long shot but try red seaweed. I tried this from petco once and it was the only thing my tangs would eat when in QT (they wouldn't really touch the green)
I still feed it in my display with purple seaweed from julian sprung. Even has my wrasse and harlequin tusk going crazy over it. IDK what they put in the stuff lol

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/omega-one-super-veggie-red-seaweed

 

[Pola0502ds]

I've been in this hobby (or as a business) all my life. I think the main thing that keeps me passionate about it is how challenging it is, it always keeps you on your toes.

That is EXACTLY why i love and am so interested. With my personality I NEEDED something like this to keep me going and interested. All my other hobbies I would master, get bored, and be done with it. I don't think you can ever master this hobby.

Its a hassle to QT but its less miserable than losing all of your fish to ich. Trust me

Regarding the yellow tang, it might be a long shot but try red seaweed. I tried this from petco once and it was the only thing my tangs would eat when in QT (they wouldn't really touch the green)
I still feed it in my display with purple seaweed from julian sprung. Even has my wrasse and harlequin tusk going crazy over it. IDK what they put in the stuff lol

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/omega-one-super-veggie-red-seaweed

I actually have some red seaweed I purchased a few months ago from two little fishes to try out, not one fish liked it lol. However, I will try it tonight!

 

[Alanc425]

That is EXACTLY why i love and am so interested. With my personality I NEEDED something like this to keep me going and interested. All my other hobbies I would master, get bored, and be done with it. I don't think you can ever master this hobby.



I actually have some red seaweed I purchased a few months ago from two little fishes to try out, not one fish liked it lol. However, I will try it tonight!

Yeah the red from two little fishies is weird, it reminds me of beef jerkey lol, I ended up tossing it out cause no one would touch it. I use the purple one from tlf but the red one I linked is more classic nori sheets and my fish go crazy for it.

 

[Pola0502ds]

LOL, beef jerky. You are exactly right and I wouldn't have thought of that until you mentioned it.

 

[Pola0502ds]

Last night I did a 50% water change, no improvement with the yellow tang this morning. Still will not eat. Tried some red seaweed as well.

Few questions:

-Did I make a mistake? I cleaned the tank last night and scrubbed every surface, took the pvc out and cleaned them because of the algae growing on it. Did I make a mistake? Should I have no scrubbed the pvc so i didn't remove good bacteria? Right now I have a sponge in the HOB filter and then another sponge just floating in the tank.

-After a 50% water change and 10 hours later the ammonia badge is still giving me an alert. Do you think this is still possible?

 

[melypr1985]

Last night I did a 50% water change, no improvement with the yellow tang this morning. Still will not eat. Tried some red seaweed as well.

Few questions:

-Did I make a mistake? I cleaned the tank last night and scrubbed every surface, took the pvc out and cleaned them because of the algae growing on it. Did I make a mistake? Should I have no scrubbed the pvc so i didn't remove good bacteria? Right now I have a sponge in the HOB filter and then another sponge just floating in the tank.

-After a 50% water change and 10 hours later the ammonia badge is still giving me an alert. Do you think this is still possible?

Normally I would say no, but the algae you scrubbed off probably died in the process, so your seeing a spike from that. Your bio filter is pretty delicate and only has enough to support the fish waste for a short time before water changes are needed. I know you did a water change right after, but there's no way you were able to get all the floating algae out of the water. That's probably what your seeing since the vast majority of your bacteria is stored in the sponge that's actually in the filter. The one floating around probably isn't helping much since it needs to have some direct flow to be useful.

 

[Humblefish]

This is what I would do: Take a 5 gal bucket, use freshly mixed SW (no meds) and make sure the SG matches the QT. You'll also need an air pump/air stone and a heater. Put the YT in there and see if he'll eat once completely removed from copper in the QT. He'll be fine for 2-3 days without any biological filtration, and you can also use Prime in the bucket to extend that since no copper will be present.

 

[Pola0502ds]

Alright, im on it. Thanks guys!

 

[Pola0502ds]

What kind of heater do you recommend i purchase for a 5 gallon bucket? All i have is 4 extra 300 watt ehiem heaters laying around, lol. I know my LFS has heaters that dont even have a thermostat, its preset and they are small. Im thinking something like that would work.

 

[Humblefish]

I've used these, but every single one of them eventually sticks on: https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-26447-Submersible-Aquarium-50-Watt/dp/B000OQO69Q/

I'm hoping to have better luck with these: https://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Nano-Aquarium-Heater-15-Watt/dp/B008L286BY/

 

[Pola0502ds]

I am pleased to announce that the yellow tang is finally eating. So happy! And man, i was worried.

So i basically removed half the amount of copper that was in the tank and its been that way for about 5 days. 3 days ago and since, i thought i would see the yellow eat but i was never sure until today. With that said, what exactly should be my plan to get more copper in the tank without having feeding problems?