QT and DT question

[Josett Waid]

Hi! So we have a clown trigger in a 10 gallon QT tank, he's about three inches long and at the moment he seems fine in the QT but the problem we have is that the ammonia will not go down, it's at around .3 to .5 that we've seen in a week.. We're at the point of doing 10% water changes everyday but it's very time and money consuming to keep changing out the water. So also we have a 50 gallon that at the moment is going fallow for 28-30 days so far because of velvet and what we think is we might move him to the 50 gallon but we're not to sure if the velvet is completely gone yet.. So our question is, do we keep doing water changes everyday on the QT or can we go ahead and move him to the 50 gallon, if y'all think it's an ok idea depending on if y'all think the velvet may not be an issue anymore?

Thank You,
Josett Waid

 

[melypr1985]

Hi! So we have a clown trigger in a 10 gallon QT tank, he's about three inches long and at the moment he seems fine in the QT but the problem we have is that the ammonia will not go down, it's at around .3 to .5 that we've seen in a week.. We're at the point of doing 10% water changes everyday but it's very time and money consuming to keep changing out the water. So also we have a 50 gallon that at the moment is going fallow for 28-30 so far because of velvet and what we think is we might move him to the 50 gallon but we're not to sure if the velvet is completely gone yet.. So our question is, do we keep doing water changes everyday on the QT or can we go ahead and move him to the 50 gallon, if y'all think it's an ok idea depending on if y'all think the velvet may not be an issue anymore?

Thank You,
Josett Waid

Hi there! Definitely don't move him to the 50 yet. That needs to be fallow for 6 weeks total. I would do a larger water change than 10% if your seeing ammonia. If you arn't treating with any meds at the moment then you can use an ammonia reducer like Prime to help with that.

 

[Ubans13]

They advise to go fallow for 6 weeks. When did you start? Also are you sure your test kit is correct? If it was me I would not try placing the trigger in the tank. Say he is ok in the 50. You buy more fish and then the velvet comes back you may be out more money on those fish you lose again then you would be just doing your water change.

 

[Josett Waid]

Thanks! Yeah that's what we thought about 6 weeks, I mean you know about our loses because of velvet on my dads thread. We just bought the clown trigger Sunday, and we were wanting to keep him in QT for a couple more weeks, so we would hate to lose another fish because of velvet.. And also the fire fish is doing great by the way but sadly one jumped out and we have no clue where he went so coming up we're gonna get a new one for the little guy in QT. But anyway! Thanks again! We'll go out and get some prime today and do a bigger water change!
@melypr1985

 

[Brew12]

Hi! So we have a clown trigger in a 10 gallon QT tank, he's about three inches long and at the moment he seems fine in the QT but the problem we have is that the ammonia will not go down, it's at around .3 to .5 that we've seen in a week.. We're at the point of doing 10% water changes everyday but it's very time and money consuming to keep changing out the water. So also we have a 50 gallon that at the moment is going fallow for 28-30 days so far because of velvet and what we think is we might move him to the 50 gallon but we're not to sure if the velvet is completely gone yet.. So our question is, do we keep doing water changes everyday on the QT or can we go ahead and move him to the 50 gallon, if y'all think it's an ok idea depending on if y'all think the velvet may not be an issue anymore?

Thank You,
Josett Waid

What medications, if any are in the tank? What kind of filter are you using in the 10g QT? Are you using an alert badge for ammonia or a test kit?

 

[Josett Waid]

What medications, if any are in the tank? What kind of filter are you using in the 10g QT? Are you using an alert badge for ammonia or a test kit?

There is no medication in the QT with the trigger, and just a basic hang on the back filter. And yes we are using a test badge and it's staying on the alert so it's kinda green. And we've tested our test kit on the other tanks and they're correct. By which I mean we've tested the QT and it's between .3-.5 all week and we made sure the test kit was working right and not miss reading.

 

[Brew12]

We'll go out and get some prime today and do a bigger water change!

Prime would be a quick fix if needed, but it only binds the ammonia for 2 days. After that, it gets released back into the water. And Prime can absolutely not be used with copper.

I would suggest Biospira or other "bacteria in a bottle" product and using it to seed your HOB filter. That would be a better long term solution imo.

 

[Josett Waid]

Prime would be a quick fix if needed, but it only binds the ammonia for 2 days. After that, it gets released back into the water. And Prime can absolutely not be used with copper.

I would suggest Biospira or other "bacteria in a bottle" product and using it to seed your HOB filter. That would be a better long term solution imo.

So I also forgot but we've seeded the QT and we have ceramic bio tubes in the filter and live rock and live sand in the tank also. Also activated carbon with neutralizing blend carbon.
This is the tank. And it's only a week old.

 

[Brew12]

So I also forgot but we've seeded the QT and we have ceramic bio tubes in the filter and live rock and live sand in the tank also. Also activated carbon with neutralizing blend carbon.
This is the tank. And it's only a week old.

Very nice! And beautiful fish!

What did you use to seed the QT with? And do you know what your Nitrite and Nitrate readings are?

 

[Josett Waid]

Very nice! And beautiful fish!

What did you use to seed the QT with? And do you know what your Nitrite and Nitrate readings are?

Thanks! And I'll post a pic of the seed and my dad said he hasn't checked those but will so I'll keep you posted on that. And also the rock came pre seeded too.

 

[melypr1985]

^^^This is all fine. You can keep adding bacteria to the filter, but the tank is still going to cycle. Triggers are dirty, filthy fish. They make a huge mess when they eat and again when they poo. You're still going to have to do the water changes. 40-50% as needed until the tank finishes it's cycle and stabilizes.

 

[Josett Waid]

^^^This is all fine. You can keep adding bacteria to the filter, but the tank is still going to cycle. Triggers are dirty, filthy fish. They make a huge mess when they eat and again when they poo. You're still going to have to do the water changes. 40-50% as needed until the tank finishes it's cycle and stabilizes.

Alright thanks! We were just worried that the fish might not be able to handle so many water changes and the ammonia but I guess he won't be really affected? And ok we'll be doing the 40-50% water change today.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks! And I'll post a pic of the seed and my dad said he hasn't checked those but will so I'll keep you posted on that. And also the rock came pre seeded too.

Very good! Did you add the Seed every day for each of the first 7 days?

You may not have enough flow in the tank for the sand and rock to help much with ammonia reduction.

And as @melypr1985 stated, you need to do larger water changes. If you are at 0.3 ammonia and do a 50% water change you get down to 0.15. If you do a 10% change you go from .3 down to .27 so not nearly as effective.

 

[Josett Waid]

Very good! Did you add the Seed every day for each of the first 7 days?

You may not have enough flow in the tank for the sand and rock to help much with ammonia reduction.

And as @melypr1985 stated, you need to do larger water changes. If you are at 0.3 ammonia and do a 50% water change you get down to 0.15. If you do a 10% change you go from .3 down to .27 so not nearly as effective.

Yes we did, and oh alright. But yeah we'll do a bigger water change.

 

[melypr1985]

Alright thanks! We were just worried that the fish might not be able to handle so many water changes and the ammonia but I guess he won't be really affected? And ok we'll be doing the 40-50% water change today.

Better the water changes than the ammonia. Be sure you are temp and salinity matching each time. Also be sure the salt is thoroughly mixed before using. I know when you have to do water changes almost daily it can get easy to cut mixing time down to the bare minimum. You want to be very careful not to do that.

 

[Josett Waid]

Thanks all for the help!

 

[Josett Waid]

Better the water changes than the ammonia. Be sure you are temp and salinity matching each time. Also be sure the salt is thoroughly mixed before using. I know when you have to do water changes almost daily it can get easy to cut mixing time down to the bare minimum. You want to be very careful not to do that.

Yes we make sure we do all that, but yeah we can't always do it prefect but we'll try our best and get that ammonia down!

 

[Brew12]

Thanks all for the help!

Glad to help and you are on the right track!

 

[Josett Waid]

Glad to help and you are on the right track!

Great, thanks!

 

[Brew12]

Great, thanks!

And Josett? Please post those nitrite and nitrate test results when you can. Using that information we may be able to determine if the bio load from a trigger is just too high for that size tank/filter or if the bacteria aren't seeding the tank well.