Emergency QT tank setup advice.

[ReefKeeper666]

So yesterday I thought velvet killed all my fish but 2 are left. I got my hands on a 10 gallon tank, 2 pieces of pvc tubing, a heater, a thermonmeter, cupramine, ammonia badge, sponge filter, about to head to LFS for water. Please help me by answering the following questions:

1. Am I missing anything else?
2. How long do I cycle this tank before putting in the 2 fish in my main tank?
3. in a 10 gallon aquarium what’s the ratio I should use of saltwater to RO water?
4. How do I acclimate these guys from one tank to the other? Surely I can’t just scoop em out and drop em in...

also have several homedepot buckets I can use to assist in process that have had nothing but RO or salt water in them.

 

[mike550]

So yesterday I thought velvet killed all my fish but 2 are left. I got my hands on a 10 gallon tank, 2 pieces of pvc tubing, a heater, a thermonmeter, cupramine, ammonia badge, sponge filter, about to head to LFS for water. Please help me by answering the following questions:

1. Am I missing anything else?
2. How long do I cycle this tank before putting in the 2 fish in my main tank?
3. in a 10 gallon aquarium what’s the ratio I should use of saltwater to RO water?
4. How do I acclimate these guys from one tank to the other? Surely I can’t just scoop em out and drop em in...

also have several homedepot buckets I can use to assist in process that have had nothing but RO or salt water in them.

@ReefKeeper666 sounds like you have a plan. Is the water you’re getting from the LFS rodi or saltwater? If you can get some bacteria starter (like Fritz’s Turbostart) to help get your QT cycled.

The salinity of your QT should match (or be really close to) the salinity of your DT. So then acclimating you’re fish should be easy. If you can get temp and salinity close, you’ll be in great shape. For what it’s worth my DT and QT are within a degree or so of temp and salinity matches so I do “scoop em out and drop em in”

Good luck,

 

[piranhaman00]

Mix the water to match sg of display, and transfer fish immediately, I would go get copper power instead of cupramine. Bring Cu to therapeutic immediately, I would also add bottle of biospira

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Mix the water to match sg of display, and transfer fish immediately, I would go get copper power instead of cupramine. Bring Cu to therapeutic immediately, I would also add bottle of biospira

What is biospira?
why powder?

 

[piranhaman00]

What is biospira?
why powder?

Copper power is chelated copper while cupramine is ionic, cupramine has a very narrow therapeutic level that is very low concentration(0.5ppm). Makes it hard to test for.

Biospira instantly cycles aquarium

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Copper power is chelated copper while cupramine is ionic, cupramine has a very narrow therapeutic level that is very low concentration(0.5ppm). Makes it hard to test for.

Biospira instantly cycles aquarium

I was given some fritz turbo start. Is that the same basically?

 

[piranhaman00]

I was given some fritz turbo start. Is that the same basically?

Yes that will work too.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Sounds like you have all the equipment you need, at least in an emergency.

Mix your new water to the same salinity as your display to within 0.001-0.002 and the temperature to within 1-2 degrees and you can just scoop and dump the fish. Closer the match the better. I've done it numerous times and it works just fine. If have been buying water from your lfs from the start, salinity should be pretty close.

As for cycling the tank Dr. Tim's, Biospira, any sort of bacterial starter will suffice. Combined with water changes if ammonia starts rising (Dose new water with cupramine first!), you should be good to go right away. Honestly, get your fish in there ASAP, velvet will kill them faster than ammonia buildup.

If you need to heat water in a hurry, fill a sealed jug with hot water and put it in the water. Heats up right fast.