New to the Salt Water Hobby! Help!

Andrew Snowball · Apr 6, 2017

Good Afternoon All!
I have a couple questions. About my tank.

So I purchased a 40 gallon tank
I started it with live sand and live rock! To get the cycle going as I was told by my local fish store!

They told me to wait about 3 weeks. So I did. I have the power head / normal lighting / skimmer running. I also was told putting live sea weed in the sump helps too. I have a small light over the sea weed to help it grow.

Tank looks great. Water levels are on point.
Ammonia - 0
PH - 8.0 - 8.3
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Temp is 78-80

So like I said after about 3 weeks. I was told you can start introducing some fish. So I did

Simple I got 3 fish:
Hypo Tang
A pair of clowns
And a algae Blenny

FYI: I purchased everything from one Shop!

After about 1 week I started seeing white salt dots on the hypo tang. So I looked that up and Ich came up. I gave it about 2 more days and she was covered. I freaked out and went back to my fish guy. He gave me garlic and the green mysis shrimp. They all loved it and keeped eating. The following day so this is day 3 from when I spotted the ich. I saw the hypo tang rubbing against the rock. To the point that she had a scar.

That following morning. I looked for the hypo tang and she was dead. Unfortunately It's looks like the scar got infected as well

The clowns and Blenny I was able to save because I put them in my QT Tank. I was told that's always good to have one set up. Just in case, so I did. They have been treated with a small amount of copper. Which now they are all cleared up

My questions are:
How long should I leave my main tang alone for?
Will the Ich go away ?
Is my tank fully cycled?
When do you know the cycle is completed?
Is the tank to small for a hypo Tang?

I appreciate all the feed back and help guys !

Thank you,
Andrew

Wildcats1023 · Apr 6, 2017

If you plan to have coral eventually in your tank do not add copper to your main tank. To answer the question is a 40 gallon too small for a tang yes it is too small. Tangs need a lot of swimming area. You will need to keep fish out of the main tank for about 9 weeks for the life cycle of ich to run its course. It is always good to qt any fish before putting it in your display.
You will need to purchase a saltwater test kit to know if your tank has completed it's cycle or not. Red Sea or Salifert tests kits are some of the better tests.

Andrew Snowball · Apr 6, 2017

Yeah I do have some basic Corol!
I have the API test kit. Which I know isn't 100% accurate!
Thanks for the feed back about the hypo Tang!

When I'm testing my water. What shows up that tells me my cycle is completed !

I did a water test and everything came back okay
Ammonia - 0
Ph- 8.0 to 8.3
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0

The tank has been running for 3 weeks.

Michael Joye · Apr 6, 2017

How long should I leave my main tang alone for?
72 days should be long enough for none fish items do be Ich free.
Anything wet should be put in a fish less QT for 72 days to kill off Ich and other bad things.
Fish should be qt for 4-5 weeks
There is a good post about doing qt for fish
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

Will the Ich go away ?
yes, Ich will die the display tank as long as there no fish. Ich need fish to complete it life cycle.

Is my tank fully cycled?
Cycled-maybe.

When do you know the cycle is completed?
I cycled my tank with no living thing in (plant or fish) . I just feed the tank, and wait till i see the Nitrite spike, and then a Nitrate spike
There is a good post about cycling and setting up a tank. IT was the first place where they talk about the tank uglies that tanks go through getting mature.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Is the tank to small for a hypo Tang?
YES....... tangs need a large space to swim in. I have heard that 150gal+ and make sure the tank in 6ft long

Zack K · Apr 6, 2017

Welcome to R2R. I would like to state that your LFS guy sounds I little Leary. First he said the Hippo Tang was a good starter fish for a 40g tank. As expressed above it wasn't. Hippo tangs as well at any other tangs are not great starter fish due to the fact that they have a weaker immunity and can get Ich and Velvet very easily. @Humblefish is the "Fish doctor" on this forum and is very knowledgeable to help you along your Ich journey. A 40g tank is unfortunately too small for the hippo tang. If you wanted a good colorful fish @eatbreakfast is a fish encyclopedia and good give you some good suggestions. Your LFS guy also recommended garlic to treat Ich. By experience garlic is a good way to "beef up" a fishes immune system, it rarely treats Ich. Ich is best treated with a good Quarantine treatment. Feel free to ask any questions as we are all here to help. Hope this helps