HELP. this hobby is killing me

[FriedReef TV]

I'm a new hobbyist and I started a 20 gallon long tank beginning of January. Its been running fallow for the past 3 weeks because I got ich. I had a clownfish that got symptoms and a cardinal that was fine. I moved them from the 20 gal to a 3.5 gal QT and they kinda freaked out but lived. They were happy but in the 3.5 but I couldn't keep the ammonia under control. I got a 10 gal and moved them there after about a week in the 3.5. The Cardinal died the night after the move but the clown lived. He's been in there by himself for the past 2 weeks but I got a filefish a few days ago they are both doing good an eating lots but the clown still has some very small spots on him. When he faces me I can see really little ich bumps but he used to be covered. I'm treating with a capful of seachem paraguard daily for past 3 weeks. Is this working? I feel like I'm doing everything wrong, because my very first tank got ich and algae everywhere and I lost one of my first fish. I dont have good equipment or chemicals because im broke, plus i suck at keeping the water levels stable. I have a little GSP in the 20 gallon with some crabs and snails they are all doing ok but the inverts hide alot and I know it's because my water is really unstable. My salinity floats 1.025-1.026. nitrates 0, phosphates 10, pH 8.0. The thing thats really unstable I think is my trace elements. I have API test kits and we all know how accurate those are trying to match the colors. Bottom line, both my tanks look like crap. all of this is making my head spin. Keeping water stable is hard enough without dealing with a fish eating parasite lol. I really need some advice on this disaster im trying to keep under control. Yes I love the hobby but it's killing me already. please throw me any advice and tips you can, or if I'm doing something wrong... please help lol.

 

[Muttley000]

Well, let's take a step back, that salinity range is no problem, and you have no need to be testing any elements besides nitrate and phosphate once the tank is cycled. Ammonia and nitrite should be checked at zero before adding any livestock. By the timing in your post it seems you may not have cycled properly but I bet it is now at any rate. You should be able to get by with standard water changes with the livestock you list. Now for the ick that is not your fault. Many ways to deal with that but copper is the best bet in my opinion. A forum search will tell you how. Keep your head up, this isn't an easy hobby but it can be very rewarding!

 

[Muttley000]

Also phosphates 10 and nitrates zero doesn't make a ton of sense to me, but the test kits you are using aren't known for their accuracy. I'd ask the fish store if they will test your water as that will be free or much cheaper than buying quality kits

 

[MnFish1]

Seems like 2 issues here - first the ich - second the tank.

Taking the second one first - the tank looks fine. If it were me I would stop testing so much - and just be patient. Maybe there is some algae (in the pics I dont see it) - without something to 'eat' the algae - its going to grow. If there were significant toxins, the coral would 'not be doing ok'). You still need to be putting 'food' into the tank - even when its fallow - to maintain your cycled bacteria. But - you mentioned trace elements. By definition - they aren't measurable - so - there is no way for you to know they are unstable (unless you are talking about something else).

About the fish - There are multiple QT/treatments for ich on this site - I would follow one closely - One problem is that with rock in a QT tank where you're treating the rock absorbs some of the chemicals (as do some of the filters) - check out those threads - and see if you might be doing something a bit incorrectly.

About the filefish - from everything I understand they are quite difficult to keep - and I would make sure the fish you are buying are suitable for your level of experience - and the age of yoru tank - This is not to criticise you - at all - but just be careful - take it slow - no one is perfect when they are starting out *(or if they have done it for 20 years). Welcome to the hobby... seriously

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Here you go, click on the link and read up on eradicating Ich. Don’t be so hard on yourself this is a challenging hobby at times.



https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

 

[Oldreefer44]

The hardest part of this hobby is learning that patience is more important than anything else. It is not a "tweak it daily" hobby but a long term stability hobby. IMO the first thing is to get your water parameters within guidelines and then slowly ad fish. 20 gals. is not a lot and minor adjustments can have major impact on the system. When you have an urge to change something wait. Then wait some more until you are totally convinced it is the right thing to do.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm a new hobbyist and I started a 20 gallon long tank beginning of January. Its been running fallow for the past 3 weeks because I got ich. I had a clownfish that got symptoms and a cardinal that was fine. I moved them from the 20 gal to a 3.5 gal QT and they kinda freaked out but lived. They were happy but in the 3.5 but I couldn't keep the ammonia under control. I got a 10 gal and moved them there after about a week in the 3.5. The Cardinal died the night after the move but the clown lived. He's been in there by himself for the past 2 weeks but I got a filefish a few days ago they are both doing good an eating lots but the clown still has some very small spots on him. When he faces me I can see really little ich bumps but he used to be covered. I'm treating with a capful of seachem paraguard daily for past 3 weeks. Is this working? I feel like I'm doing everything wrong, because my very first tank got ich and algae everywhere and I lost one of my first fish. I dont have good equipment or chemicals because im broke, plus i suck at keeping the water levels stable. I have a little GSP in the 20 gallon with some crabs and snails they are all doing ok but the inverts hide alot and I know it's because my water is really unstable. My salinity floats 1.025-1.026. nitrates 0, phosphates 10, pH 8.0. The thing thats really unstable I think is my trace elements. I have API test kits and we all know how accurate those are trying to match the colors. Bottom line, both my tanks look like ****. all of this is making my head spin. Keeping water stable is hard enough without dealing with a fish eating parasite lol. I really need some advice on this hellhole im trying to keep under control. Yes I love the hobby but it's killing me already. please throw me any advice and tips you can, or if I'm doing something wrong... please help lol.

Ps - Which kind of filefish did you get - because the one's I see available for sale - should only be in larger tanks.

 

[FriedReef TV]

Ps - Which kind of filefish did you get - because the one's I see available for sale - should only be in larger tanks.

The aptasia eating kind. I haven't looked how big he gets but if he gets too big I'll give him to my store. I actually won him from algae barn giveaway

 

[FriedReef TV]

Also phosphates 10 and nitrates zero doesn't make a ton of sense to me, but the test kits you are using aren't known for their accuracy. I'd ask the fish store if they will test your water as that will be free or much cheaper than buying quality kits

my fish store uses API test kits too. It's a nightmare I honestly need to buy some good ones Im just a broke butt

 

[FriedReef TV]

Seems like 2 issues here - first the ich - second the tank.

Taking the second one first - the tank looks fine. If it were me I would stop testing so much - and just be patient. Maybe there is some algae (in the pics I dont see it) - without something to 'eat' the algae - its going to grow. If there were significant toxins, the coral would 'not be doing ok'). You still need to be putting 'food' into the tank - even when its fallow - to maintain your cycled bacteria. But - you mentioned trace elements. By definition - they aren't measurable - so - there is no way for you to know they are unstable (unless you are talking about something else).

About the fish - There are multiple QT/treatments for ich on this site - I would follow one closely - One problem is that with rock in a QT tank where you're treating the rock absorbs some of the chemicals (as do some of the filters) - check out those threads - and see if you might be doing something a bit incorrectly.

About the filefish - from everything I understand they are quite difficult to keep - and I would make sure the fish you are buying are suitable for your level of experience - and the age of yoru tank - This is not to criticise you - at all - but just be careful - take it slow - no one is perfect when they are starting out *(or if they have done it for 20 years). Welcome to the hobby... seriously

Thanks. I actually won the filefish in a giveaway and I heard it's hit or miss on whether they eat corals or not and that they can get big. If he causes any problems he'll come out but he's about 1.5 inch now and he's pretty gnarly. 2nd, do you think I could get by without getting "expensive" test kits and just doing basic phosphate/nitrate tests? if not , what are some good cheap test kits

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Thanks. I actually won the filefish in a giveaway and I heard it's hit or miss on whether they eat corals or not and that they can get big. If he causes any problems he'll come out but he's about 1.5 inch now and he's pretty gnarly. 2nd, do you think I could get by without getting "expensive" test kits and just doing basic phosphate/nitrate tests? if not , what are some good cheap test kits

For the basics API are just fine. When you start keeping SPS and have to dose your tank is when you want to look at higher end test kits.

 

[FriedReef TV]

The hardest part of this hobby is learning that patience is more important than anything else. It is not a "tweak it daily" hobby but a long term stability hobby. IMO the first thing is to get your water parameters within guidelines and then slowly ad fish. 20 gals. is not a lot and minor adjustments can have major impact on the system. When you have an urge to change something wait. Then wait some more until you are totally convinced it is the right thing to do.

I've been trying to not make hasty decisions and "keep my hands out of the tank" for the most part I just feel like im doing things wrong when parameters arent where they should be and things die which I guess is true

 

[MnFish1]

For the basics API are just fine. When you start keeping SPS and have to dose your tank is when you want to look at higher end test kits.

Actually - I think the anti API test thing is a total myth. Firstly there is no evidence that the 'accuracy' that Hanna checkers etc provide is necessary lol - the people that post 'my alk went from 8 to 8.3' what should I do - seem 'wrong' to me. There is a +- to every test those of you that want to react to a .1 change in ALK - more power to you - but good luck as ell.

 

[FriedReef TV]

Actually - I think the anti API test thing is a total myth. Firstly there is no evidence that the 'accuracy' that Hanna checkers etc provide is necessary lol - the people that post 'my alk went from 8 to 8.3' what should I do - seem 'wrong' to me. There is a +- to every test those of you that want to react to a .1 change in ALK - more power to you - but good luck as ell.

hmm. interesting

 

[MnFish1]

hmm. interesting

Dont get me wrong - 9 - 12 in 2 days is a problem - but the only way this could happen is if there was a dosing problem, etc.

 

[stacksoner]

I know very savvy hobbyists are able to sidestep the high costs of the hobby, but I imagine that it comes with a good amount of DIY time and energy committed.

This probably won't be the most popular advice, but I would suggest that you get a smaller tank that's appropriate for your budget

 

[FriedReef TV]

I know very savvy hobbyists are able to sidestep the high costs of the hobby, but I imagine that it comes with a good amount of DIY time and energy committed.

This probably won't be the most popular advice, but I would suggest that you get a smaller tank that's appropriate for your budget

It's 20 gallons it doesn't get smaller

 

[FriedReef TV]

I know very savvy hobbyists are able to sidestep the high costs of the hobby, but I imagine that it comes with a good amount of DIY time and energy committed.

This probably won't be the most popular advice, but I would suggest that you get a smaller tank that's appropriate for your budget

anything below 20 gallons isn't even worthy of fish maybe a goby

 

[stacksoner]

It's 20 gallons it doesn't get smaller

This is a 20g tank??

 

[FriedReef TV]

This is a 20g tank??

yep it says in my post