Marine Velvet concerns

[Scubabum]

I recently setup a Red Sea Reefer 525xl. Tank is fully cycled and had 12 fish and approx 30 corals, SPS and LPS frags. I purchased 6 fish from my LFS and Quarantined them for 6 weeks. The day before the fish were to hit the Display tank I lost two really small clowns in QT. They did not show signs of parasites or any illness so I figured they just died. I made the mistake of putting the remaining 4 fish in the Main Display. A few days later Marine Velvet showed its ugly face and I lost a Kole tang, Orchid dottyback, Royal Gramma, and I have a clown that is struggling. I removed all my rock, caught all the fish and put them into QT for treatment. I've read the stickies and see I should leave the tank Fallow for 72 days. A recent trip to my LFS, I was surprised to see zero fish in the store. The employee told me their entire system was wiped out to Velvet. My concern is by removing all the fish that the nutrient and biological load and the bacteria and nutrient levels will be affected. I was planning on feeding the coral 2-3 times a week. Any advice on anything else I should do to keep coral alive while the tank is Fallow for 72 days. Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[clsanchez77]

Feeding the tank in the absence of fish is good enough. If you are still running your skimmer, just feed enough food that will have the skimmer producing the same volume of skimmate as it did with fish. The main difference is without the fish, you will need a finer particulate of food. If all you have is mysis or similar, a food processor is good enough to fix the issue.

 

[Humblefish]

^^ Agree; also monitor your nitrate levels to ensure that doesn't come crashing down.

 

[ngoodermuth]

^^ Agree; also monitor your nitrate levels to ensure that doesn't come crashing down.

+1 I've been testing my nitrates a couple times a week and adding ammino acids if they become low/undetectable. Seachem Flourish is another good source of nitrates, but you have to be very careful not to add too much. A tiny bit goes a long way.

 

[Scubabum]

Thanks for the quick responses. Prior to the Velvet outbreak I was running the system ULNS, My Nitrate is 0-1ppm and my Phos is .02. Not much to come crashing down but I will continue to monitor my levels closely and dose products suggested if need be. I've been reading tons of threads on Velvet and there is lots of conflicting information on Fallow period. Trying to verify my plan of 72 days is correct?????

 

[pelphrey]

Thought I heard you say Velvet the other day, hate to hear that! Bad news for the store as well, hope they bounce back!

 

[ngoodermuth]

The fallow time for velvet is 6 weeks, however to address both ich and velvet it's suggested to go fallow for 76 days (72 for the infamous 72-day strain plus a few days as a safety net)

 

[Scubabum]

^^ Agree; also monitor your nitrate levels to ensure that doesn't come crashing down.

Just an update. Even with heavy feeding my Nitrate and Phosphate came crashing down. Noticed some Dinoflagellates starting to form. LPS and a few Zoa's not very happy and not fully opening. SPS are doing ok, slight color loss on a tri color valida. I had Brightwell NeoPhos and NeoNitro. Dosed those yesterday and today my Nitrate is 1ppm and Phos .04. Dino not quite as bad today but still there. This imbalance after removing my fish is driving me crazy. Not sure what else to do. Any thoughts? On the bright side All fish appear to be fully recovered and doing well on Day 27 in QT.

 

[Humblefish]

Just an update. Even with heavy feeding my Nitrate and Phosphate came crashing down. Noticed some Dinoflagellates starting to form. LPS and a few Zoa's not very happy and not fully opening. SPS are doing ok, slight color loss on a tri color valida. I had Brightwell NeoPhos and NeoNitro. Dosed those yesterday and today my Nitrate is 1ppm and Phos .04. Dino not quite as bad today but still there. This imbalance after removing my fish is driving me crazy. Not sure what else to do. Any thoughts? On the bright side All fish appear to be fully recovered and doing well on Day 27 in QT.

Are you target feeding your LPS frozen foods? Those are usually high in nitrates.

 

[Scubabum]

Are you target feeding your LPS frozen foods? Those are usually high in nitrates.

Yes I've been target and broadcast feeding mysis, Rods, and LRS Reef Frenzy along with Reef chili, reef roids and Aquaforest coral food. I've also been using Amino's from time to time. I'm not positive but it appears the Dinoflagellates strands are irritating the LPS. I've been trying to lightly blow off Dino strands with Turkey baster twice a day. Thoughts?

 

[Humblefish]

Yes I've been target and broadcast feeding mysis, Rods, and LRS Reef Frenzy along with Reef chili, reef roids and Aquaforest coral food. I've also been using Amino's from time to time. I'm not positive but it appears the Dinoflagellates strands are irritating the LPS. I've been trying to lightly blow off Dino strands with Turkey baster twice a day. Thoughts?

I would try a 3-day lights out period to knock the dinos back. Wrap the outside glass with black garbage bags to keep even ambient light out.

 

[Scubabum]

I would try a 3-day lights out period to knock the dinos back. Wrap the outside glass with black garbage bags to keep even ambient light out.

That's kind of what I was planning for my next step. Should I go complete blackout..... Cover with tarp or blanket or just do lights out? Never had to do this before. Thanks so much for helping.

 

[Scubabum]

Just saw your edit. Thanks Humblefish

 

[Scubabum]

Just a follow up. 3 day blackout complete. 98 percent of Dino is gone. I'm running my lights for 5 hours with blues only. After 3 hours of lights, I'm noticing them slightly returning.

 

[Humblefish]

Just a follow up. 3 day blackout complete. 98 percent of Dino is gone. I'm running my lights for 5 hours with blues only. After 3 hours of lights, I'm noticing them slightly returning.

You're gonna have to keep pounding it. 3 day lights out... once a month, every month. Until it's all gone.