Quarantine Tank help

[Pastor Salty]

I need to set up a quarantine tank. I have a outbreak of ick and want to take care of this the right way.

I already have the

Rubbermaid tub

Heater

PVC Pipe

All the water is prepared and ready to go.

Can I use any type of filter or is there a certain kind that I should use?

Any help is welcomed.

 

[Bifferwine]

You can use any type of filter. No need to get fancy. Will you be using hyposalinity or copper?

 

[Pastor Salty]

Copper I believe.

Will it hurt the fish into the future

 

[kbuser92]

Not as long as you do it correctly.

 

[Bifferwine]

Have you read up on both methods? I think hypo is much easier and safer. Copper is good too (and as effective).

 

[Pastor Salty]

I have only read what is on this site.

How low should I drop the salinity?

 

[kbuser92]

1.009-1.012 is the normal drop. Some have gone as low as 1.005, but that's really down there and dangerous, while some only go to 1.016 or so. Whatever you do, go down very slow. like 12+ hours to drop it, keep it STABLE and then when you come back up, you should take around 5 days.

 

[wontonflip]

Yeah, I believe the most effective yet safest is 1.009. Are you planning on treating all of your fish? Otherwise it's pointless. I did hypo on a hippo that I got that I knew was sick. It cleared up the ich really well...unfortunately, the fish was already super stressed and did not make it. But again, it was because it was weak to begin with. You should be fine with yours.

 

[Pastor Salty]

If I do this in my main tank will it hurt my corals

 

[little_fish]

yes, you cannot treat a display tank. The both the hypo and copper will kill of the bacteria, and the copper is deadly to all inverts and will never ever ever get out of the rocks and sand. Never ever treat your DT with any medications, you can do irreparable damage to your tank and creatures.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hannah is right, hypo and copper both have to be done in a separate tank. Dropping the salinity that much will kill your inverts and corals -- that's why it's effective against the ich parasite. The fish can survive it, but other organisms cannot.

 

[Pastor Salty]

Do I need to allow the QT to cycle or can I simply place the fish in the saltwater when the temp of the water is okay?

 

[Pastor Salty]

I have an extra Protein skimmer can I use this for filtration?

 

[little_fish]

the protein skimmer can get messed up when you medicate the water, I would just stick with testing daily and being prepared to do a water change if you see ammonia or rising nitrates.

 

[Pastor Salty]

Gotta wait to start the QT tank till I get back from Florida next week. I wont be here to check the levels and the girl staying here wont know how to do this. All she can do is feed them and turn the light on and off.

Cheap help... LOL

Everyone is looking better for now. I think the Blue hippo is gonna make it. Thank God for cleaner shrimp....:)

Thanks for all the help all.