Help Needed (Tangs) - With Pictures

Tw1 · May 8, 2018

It all went south!

I went away for 24hrs and forgot to put the powerhead back on in QT after feeding before I left. The result was loosing regal tang, Kole tang and foxface

and nitrites through the roof.

Luckily the clown pair survived the ordeal. So in the moment I put the clowns back into the DT to make sure they made it. The DT had been 67 days fallow. I’m guessing I just need to pray the parasite had run it’s course... @Humblefish @Big G

Humblefish · May 9, 2018

@Tw1 The odds are very much in your favor after 67 days fallow. Sorry to hear about the losses.

Dr. Reef · May 9, 2018

in a study conducted, the longest recorded ich survival in a fallow tank is 72 days. that is an odd once in a bue moon type of thing most will die in few days. but we dont know what stage of the cycle the parasite is in so we give it long enough time for all stages to complete its coarse and die off. i agree with @Humblefish odds are very much in your favor unless the clowns are infected still and brought over to dt.

Tw1 · May 10, 2018

@Humblefish @Dr. Reef
Thanks guys, fingers crossed that the DT was cleared and my regal wasn’t hiding it in QT!

I’m keen to get the DT stocked back up. So want to keep using the QT almost straight away, do I do some mega water changes to lower the nitrites and nitrates? The amonia is okay. Is it also worth adding an air stone in for more oxygenation or is the powerhead causing surface agitation enough?

Thanks

Dr. Reef · May 10, 2018

Recap, what all did you use in qt?
Nitrites and nitrates are not harmful to saltwater fish unless really high up over 200ppm.
Water change is 50/50 depending on what meds you used.
Airstone is probably good while using prazipro but I wouldn't use it all the time specially if you have a powrheapow in there.

Tw1 · May 10, 2018

After I took the dead fish out I tested water and got aNitrite reading of 5.0ppm and Nitrate of 40ppm. Presumably from the rotting fish.

I used a copper treatment but this was 2 months ago now and there’s been no copper reading for a long time.

I’m assuming the killer was suffocating due to the powerhead being off.

Dr. Reef · May 11, 2018

Ok you can do a water change or 2 and get the qt ready for next round of fish. Those readings of nitrates and nitrites are not harmful to fish.
Good luck and happy reefing.

Tw1 · May 14, 2018

@Dr. Reef

So I did a large water change on Friday in my QT tank so I as ready to add a new copper band today. Waters were testing okay and was clear. As I was away until this morning I thought I’d be safe picking up the CB on the way home.... I get back and the water looks like the picture below. It looks
Like lots if micro bubbles. I’ve had no choice but to add the CB into it, but I’m worried about the water... it’s testing with normal numbers. Before adding the CB I added 30L from my DT into th QT and discarded this 30L from QT. QT is 100l.

The mistake I may have made with my water change was not heating before adding it, it was thourghly mixed. It’s the last 1/4 of salt from a big tub of coral pro I’ve been using for months. The salinity is normal still at 1.024.

Will the CB be okay? Do I need to take drastic action? If I empty the QT water, I could probably afford to take 60 litres from my DT , giving a water depth of 7-8 inches in QT. Too shallow?

Thanks

Chris

Dr. Reef · May 14, 2018

Chris,
i never recommend Dt water to Qt. brings a lot of nasty's with it. Anyways its done now. When was the last time you used Prazipro in this Qt?
You said you didnt heat the water to mix salt. when you added the water to Qt what is the temp?
btw i never heat my water to mix salt. normaly the water temp is 74-80F out of tap depending on the time of the year, i mix the salt for 4 hrs then i turn everything off in the bin and let freshly made saltwater sit. 3 gal per day water change through automation.

Note: i think its bacterial bloom rather than anything else, if its bacterial bloom it will settle in few days. keep that airstone going because bacterial blooms will decrease oxygen levels.
if its micro bubbles then we need to find the source and fix it.
either way CB will be fine through it.

Tw1 · May 14, 2018

Oh really. I did it in panic, as I didn’t want to leave the little guy in the bag too much longer. I’ve never used Prazi in this tank.

It’s around 19 oC when mixing.

Wow... so I hurned my internal power filter I was using in QT here and put the filter out of my sump (ocean free hydra 40) into the QT and within 10 minutes I’ve got considerably better water I’ve always rated the hydra!

Dr. Reef · May 14, 2018

19c (66f) is a bit too low on temp to mix salt, i would have heated it up.
most likely you brought some nasty's from dt and new filter is cleaning it up. keep an eye on ammonia. test your qt for ammonia right away and make sure its absolutely 0.
nitrites and nitrates are fine to have for now even if they are present in quantities under 50ppm.
whats the temp of the tank(qt) itself right now?

Tw1 · May 14, 2018

Would you remomend heating water then mixing the salt?

Current tank temp is 25c ammonia is zero that’s from a API test and the seachem amonia alarm.

The filter I just moved across from the sump (it’s beeen in there 4 months) would have obviously been well seeded, I’m guessing this can only be a good thing?

Dr. Reef · May 14, 2018

yes after filling the bin with rodi water heat it to temp. once its withing range then add salt and mix it well. once mixed turn everything in that bin off and let water sit stagnant. no more heating no more circulating pump etc.
seems like its all good from now on, on your tank.