Filter Intake / Alge / Ich Questions

[Chillvein]

Just got done adding another filter to my 55g. I'm running a canister / bar with a tidal 75 and was wondering if the intake in to close to the substrate? Should I reduce it or will this be fine? I also moved my recirculate/wave maker down will this help with the brown looking alge on the sand? I'm still pretty new to reefing I also added some more live rock as other people suggested and the result of that was introducing ich to my tank. I've already lost two fish and just started medicating tonight with focus and metro. I've been performing regular 20% water changed once every week or two and have been using tap water and instant ocean to mix with water conditioner and will be using RO in future changes. In the meantime what else should I do? I'm also not looking to start a hospital tank as it would be more expensive then just replacing the fish in the future that are currently left.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm sorry you're experiencing this.

I also added some more live rock as other people suggested and the result of that was introducing ich to my tank

Ich can be introduced into your tank at any time, and from anything that's "wet", so you can't *blame* the live rock, which is typically a solid recommendation to add to your tank, in my very non-expert opinion. Ich, and other fish parasites, can be latent, lying in wait, and won't show symptoms that most of us will notice, until the poor fish gets stressed, and all of a sudden, all the fish are infected.

I've already lost two fish and just started medicating tonight with focus and metro.

#fishmedics

^This alerts the "real" R2R experts, which are not me. Hopefully one of them can help you here.

I'm also not looking to start a hospital tank as it would be more expensive then just replacing the fish in the future that are currently left.

I mean, I can't speak for all R2R members, but many of us would go through a lot of effort to help these fish with the idea that we are their caregivers, and beyond the *cost* of the fish, we'd hope for their best.

I do hope that helps, please post again if you have more questions! Best of luck!

 

[Chillvein]

I'm starting to think maybe it's not ich and maybe brook. My fish are dying off slowly one at a time. My diamond goby is out and doesn't seem to be doing good now.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I would say your tank still needs much more rock, it should be about a pound per gallon, so should be 50-60 lbs of rock in the tank. Rock is the biofilter of the tank, it also provides hiding spaces for fish and other micro organisms, and its also a breeding ground for micro organisms. Rock is vital in a salt tank.

Tap water is very questionable, you don't know whats in it, and you don't know what your adding to your tank. Water is the one most important thing of all on the aquarium, you should provide the best possible quality.

It also looks very low flow with only that one small powerhead, remember we are replicating the ocean, the tank needs flow. Flow is vital on the saltwater tank, and you need more agitation on the water surface.

Doubling up on mechanical filtration doesn't really do much, the money would have been better spent on a skimmer.

I think your tank still has work to do to make it successful, right now it looks like corners have been cut and trying to go cheap. Cutting corners and going cheap doesn't work in this hobby.

 

[Chillvein]

Personally I would say your tank still needs much more rock, it should be about a pound per gallon, so should be 50-60 lbs of rock in the tank. Rock is the biofilter of the tank, it also provides hiding spaces for fish and other micro organisms, and its also a breeding ground for micro organisms. Rock is vital in a salt tank.

Tap water is very questionable, you don't know whats in it, and you don't know what your adding to your tank. Water is the one most important thing of all on the aquarium, you should provide the best possible quality.

It also looks very low flow with only that one small powerhead, remember we are replicating the ocean, the tank needs flow. Flow is vital on the saltwater tank, and you need more agitation on the water surface.

Doubling up on mechanical filtration doesn't really do much, the money would have been better spent on a skimmer.

I think your tank still has work to do to make it successful, right now it looks like corners have been cut and trying to go cheap. Cutting corners and going cheap doesn't work in this hobby.

I have a Coralife DC Hob Protein Skimmer, with Aqueon Canister Filter using the Spray Bar along with a Seachem Tidal 75. My plan was to eventually get rid of the canister because I was told they can become a nitrate factory just to find out that's only true if you are lazy and don't do regular maintenance, so I decided to run both. I would say I have plenty of agitation on the water surface my room sounds like a waterfall please correct me if im wrong. Anyways that doesn't have anything to do with any of my questions I'm looking for advice on what else I could do. Not what $3000 tank i should go buy with a sump and skimmer.

 

[Chillvein]

I'm sorry you're experiencing this.


Ich can be introduced into your tank at any time, and from anything that's "wet", so you can't *blame* the live rock, which is typically a solid recommendation to add to your tank, in my very non-expert opinion. Ich, and other fish parasites, can be latent, lying in wait, and won't show symptoms that most of us will notice, until the poor fish gets stressed, and all of a sudden, all the fish are infected.


#fishmedics

^This alerts the "real" R2R experts, which are not me. Hopefully one of them can help you here.


I mean, I can't speak for all R2R members, but many of us would go through a lot of effort to help these fish with the idea that we are their caregivers, and beyond the *cost* of the fish, we'd hope for their best.

I do hope that helps, please post again if you have more questions! Best of luck!

It was live rock that came out of a petco tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm looking for advice on what else I could do.

More rock. More flow. Use rodi water. QT your fish.
Good luck

 

[Fish Fan]

Can you post clear pics of the fish themselves, maybe someone can identify what's going on, and then recommended a treatment?

And more rock, more flow, and using RODI (or distilled water or purchase water from your LFS) is a solid recommendation for your tank.

 

[Chillvein]

Can you post clear pics of the fish themselves, maybe someone can identify what's going on, and then recommended a treatment?

And more rock, more flow, and using RODI (or distilled water or purchase water from your LFS) is a solid recommendation for your tank.

 

[Fish Fan]

#fishmedic

Is anyone around to help this member?

@fishguy242
@vetteguy53081
@MnFish1
@Jay Hemdal

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just got done adding another filter to my 55g. I'm running a canister / bar with a tidal 75 and was wondering if the intake in to close to the substrate? Should I reduce it or will this be fine? I also moved my recirculate/wave maker down will this help with the brown looking alge on the sand? I'm still pretty new to reefing I also added some more live rock as other people suggested and the result of that was introducing ich to my tank. I've already lost two fish and just started medicating tonight with focus and metro. I've been performing regular 20% water changed once every week or two and have been using tap water and instant ocean to mix with water conditioner and will be using RO in future changes. In the meantime what else should I do? I'm also not looking to start a hospital tank as it would be more expensive then just replacing the fish in the future that are currently left.

Intake should be at least 4" above sand in case sand gets stirred, it does get into tube. As for canister and power filters.... These are mechanical filters and you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The aquaclear will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished with use of carbon and GFO as examples
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100

 

[Sharkbait19]

Slow death sounds more like ich to me, brook is a fast killer.
Unquarantined fish are a recipe for disease, and based on the clown picture I do think it’s late stage ich.
The tears in the coral beauty fins look like they’re due to aggression, but that’s not the main killer here (just something to look out for).
The goby and cardinals look thin. What are you feeding and how often?

 

[Chillvein]

Slow death sounds more like ich to me, brook is a fast killer.
Unquarantined fish are a recipe for disease, and based on the clown picture I do think it’s late stage ich.
The tears in the coral beauty fins look like they’re due to aggression, but that’s not the main killer here (just something to look out for).
The goby and cardinals look thin. What are you feeding and how often?

I've been feeding frozen foods the little qubes 1 a day and sometimes I will feed flakes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've been feeding frozen foods the little qubes 1 a day and sometimes I will feed flakes.

I dont see this as a dietary issue although feedings can be 2z a day minimum and clown in pics showoing secondary bacterial lesions associated with brooklynella and will need to be treated ASAP as these lesions
spread across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer
Since a formalin solution is often not available for use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[Chillvein]

I dont see this as a dietary issue although feedings can be 2z a day minimum and clown in pics showoing secondary bacterial lesions associated with brooklynella and will need to be treated ASAP as these lesions
spread across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer
Since a formalin solution is often not available for use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

So should i go buy like a 20 gallon tank and do a fresh water dip and start medicating?

 

[vetteguy53081]

So should i go buy like a 20 gallon tank and do a fresh water dip and start medicating?

separate tank or container for treatment and FW dip is a measure to offer temporary relief and buy you some time until you can properly medicate. FW would help temporarily

 

[Chillvein]

separate tank or container for treatment and FW dip is a measure to offer temporary relief and buy you some time until you can properly medicate. FW would help temporarily

Thank you I'm gonna go down to my local aquarium store now. As much as i didn't want to start a hospital tank I really don't want to see these guys die.

 

[Chillvein]

separate tank or container for treatment and FW dip is a measure to offer temporary relief and buy you some time until you can properly medicate. FW would help temporarily

I have a 29 gallon hospital tank i setup just now. Put some fake plant in there with some pvc pipe for them to hide in with a heater and a aqueon filter and took the carbon out. I'm now treating with ich-x which also treats for Velvet (Gold Dust), Saprolegniasis and Cryptocaryonaisis. This was what my local fish store recommended and they didnt have any Ruby Rally Pro. I transfered water from my main tank to the hospital tank to fill it up and refilled my 55g with just tap water and instant ocean salt 15 scoops as it says 1/2 cups for 1 gallon. Now my 55 gallon smells really bad. And my long tentacle anemone is all sucked up and a dark brown. Starting to wonder if I just killed him I also FW dipped the Clown Fish and Goby. At this point I'm almost ready to start over and take things super slow and do some more research. I for sure jumped into this hobby without enough knowledge.

 

[Tamberav]

Are you testing salinity or just going by scoops? The salinity by measurement on the box is often lower then needed for inverts. Be sure to test the actual salinity.

The LFS mislead you, ich X will not be of any use here. For ich and velvet you need copper safe or copper power. (Would pick these over cupramin) and a quality test kit like Hannah high range copper.

For brook you need formalin.

I would also dose the quarantine with Fritz 9 or turbo start.

And yes, it can cost a decent amount to buy quarantine items but you will likely just lose fish over and over without it. Lots of people quit this hobby because it can be a very frustrating experience dealing with such a fragile balance of life in a glass box.

 

[Chillvein]

Are you testing salinity or just going by scoops? The salinity by measurement on the box is often lower then needed for inverts. Be sure to test the actual salinity.

The LFS mislead you, ich X will not be of any use here. For ich and velvet you need copper safe or copper power. (Would pick these over cupramin) and a quality test kit like Hannah high range copper.

For brook you need formalin.

I would also dose the quarantine with Fritz 9 or turbo start.

And yes, it can cost a decent amount to buy quarantine items but you will likely just lose fish over and over without it. Lots of people quit this hobby because it can be a very frustrating experience dealing with such a fragile balance of life in a glass box.

Can I treat for both? I just picked up a refractometer a few days ago but haven't been able to calibrate it with distilled or calibration fluid. I've just been using my fluval.