Help...first Time Going Saltwater....now Have Ich!

[Seratuki]

Okay...I've introduced myself on the newbie forum, but I need help with this, so I figured I should post here asap....

I'll start at the begining,

I've got a 55 (US) gallon saltwater tank....

it came in a marineland kit with filter....test kit...heater...salt....

I've added liverock and gravel...tested regualrly had mini cycle, now amonia is 0

the tank has been set up for about a month and a half now...
I've added a pair of clowns, 2 tang (yellow, other can't remember atmo)
1 chocolate chip starfish
3 yellow tail damsels
and a goby of some sort....

Now, these fish were not added all at the same time...
I still do weekly water changes with saltwater and declor...

I noticed ICH spots on the back fin of my cawfish...and then on my 2 clowns...
I've fed them garlic soaked food, and the spots on one of my clowns have gone, but the cawfish is still effected, Sadly the other clown passed away today...

no other fish seem effected.....

I've tested the PH, but it was rather low...7.8, the lowest on the scale....
I purchased some Seachem Marine Buffer....but I've not added it as of yet, I don't want to further stress the fish....
I've added an airstone for further water movement and will follow this in several hours with another PH test....I was told it could regulate PH...

also, I use Instant Ocean sea salt....


Thanks in advance!!!

Sera-Tuki

 

[Aquascaper]

First of all hello, secondly, is this a FOWLR or a Reef we're talking about as that will make a huge difference on the types of treatments available to fight Ich?

You mention that your Ammonia is at 0ppm but what about Nitrites & Nitrates? What is your SG? To effectivley give advice we will need to know a lot more about the tank and its parameters.

I personally think you've added too many fish too soon and this is where the stress related illnesses have stemmed from. IMO your tank is too small for one tang let alone two and the starfish is not the best idea in that size tank or for that matter a tank that is only 6 weeks old

Post some more info and we'll try to help.

 

[Chac]

Also Tangs are very susceptible to Ich

Have you looked in to getting UV Unit

I got rid of Ich by Increasing my Feeding times & the nutritional levels I fed my Fish (including Marine Dream - which one of teh ingredients is Garlic)

saying that I still had some lose's but managed to save most of my stock

 

[Seratuki]

First of all hello, secondly, is this a FOWLR or a Reef we're talking about as that will make a huge difference on the types of treatments available to fight Ich?

You mention that your Ammonia is at 0ppm but what about Nitrites & Nitrates? What is your SG? To effectivley give advice we will need to know a lot more about the tank and its parameters.

I personally think you've added too many fish too soon and this is where the stress related illnesses have stemmed from. IMO your tank is too small for one tang let alone two and the starfish is not the best idea in that size tank or for that matter a tank that is only 6 weeks old

Post some more info and we'll try to help.

Okay...hello...

First off, what does FOWLR stand for?

Will post other test results ASAP.

 

[Chac]

Aquascaper is asking if your tank is FOWLR - Fish Only With Live Rock or a Reef

 

[Seratuki]

Okay....I decided to re-do every test in the kit...
So here goes....

Amonia 0
PH 7.8
Salinity 27 PPT (not sure what those letters mean, but figuredI should write EVERYTHING down....)
Specific Gravity 1.020
Temp 80
Nitrate 10 (lowest reading on scale)
Nitrite 6



hope that helps...please understnad, I'm new at this, so just learning....
To answer you're q....it's fish only with live rock, no corals or anemone...

Sera-Tuki

 

[Chac]

Your Nitrite reading is very high

How long was your tank cycling for and how long after did you add stock - any Nitrite reading is Bad

Also your SG is very low I would increase (over a matter of days) to 1.026

 

[Seratuki]

I didn't have much of a cycle at all since I added live rock from the get go that was already cured....
I had a slight reading of amonia for about 3 days which then dropped off to 0
The salinity seemed to have dropped slightly since I added the airstone earlier today....
Should I do a massive water change to lower the levels?
Also, i was told that the PH was rather low....I bought some Seachem Marine Buffer, says it raises the PH to 8.3
I haven't added it yet...should I?

Sorry for so many questions!!!




Thanks in advance!

Sera-Tuki

 

[Navarre]

Hello and welcome to the marine forum of TFF

Yes, increase your PH to 8,3 as soon as possible. What type of sand are you using? Aragonite is the preffered sand as this helps keep the PH stable above 8.0. Tangs.... too many and the tank is far too small. (Min 100 gallons for a tang) These fish give out alot of ammonia in waste due to their feeding habitrs and size. This will almost certainly have given your cycle the push it needed to overwhelm the bacteria currently doing the hard work in your system.

Ich is common in tangs and you will be fighting a constant battle with agression and stress levels with tangs kept in small tanks. This means constant streess= Continual Ich outbreaks

I would do a water change to try and reduce the nitrite in your system, it means it will take longer ot cycle fully but at least you will have a better chance of keeping some fish alive. The nitrites will also be adding to the stress levels which in turn will make ich even easier to catch.


Raise the SG levels over a period of about a week to 35ppt or 1.023 - 1.026

 

[Seratuki]

Okay...thanks!!!!

Just a few more Q's....

I was told that using a buffer is not good ....(of course this was after I bought it.. )
because theres an underlying cause for low PH? is it ok to use it?

I have gravel in there atmo...
and I am planning on upgraing to a larger tank ASAP for the tangs as I love them and would hate to give them up.....

Thanks!!
]
Sera-Tuki

 

[Chac]

How many Kgs of Live Rock do you have in the tank

 

[Aquascaper]

Ideally your Nitrite should be at zero before adding any fish as this is one sign that the cycle is nearing completion. As I said before you've added too many fish too soon but whats done is done.

You need to get the SG up to between 1.024 and 1.0256, the pH up to between 8.0 and 8.4 and get the Nitrite down to zero by way of frequent partial water changes. As you do the water changes increase the SG and pH of the water going into the tank rather than trying to change the tank water itself as this may cause more problems.

What I think has happened is that you have bought cured live rock but added more bioload than the live rock can handle, while at the same time the rock is dealing with partial die-off. At the moment the bacterial colonies in the live rock are just begining to catch up and process the waste which is why you're seeing Nitrites. I'm concerned that you're using de-Chlorinator as this suggests that you're using tap water for your water source? If so, you need to check the Nitrate level of your tap water as you may find that the Nitrate reading is from the tap water not from the Nitrate being produced in the tank. If this is the case then you are further back towards the start of the cycle than you thought and really have to put some work into keeping the levels in check until the cycle completes. If you are using tapwater and it has Nitrates of 5ppm or over then I suggest you find a supplier of RO/DI water otherwise everytime you do a water change you're adding a little of what you're trying to remove.

 

[Navarre]

OK get rid of the gravel completely. This is for a freshwater setup and simply wont work for a salt water environment. You will need to invest in aragonite sand and this will do the trick of getting your PH back to normal. Try not to use a buffer if possoble when the natrual methods will work as they are always best. Decholirnator... nope get rid.. in fact forget anything you ever learnt about freshwater setups as its a total different world in marines. RO water is the way to go.. if you use tap water (even with dechlorinator) then your nitrate and hosphates will never reach desired levels and your tank will be a garden of algae.

Tangs... I love them too. I have 4 Emperor tangs in a shoal with an orange shoulder tang in support. They all reside in a 220UK gallon system. I would not even consider putting a tang inless than 100 gallons (with the exception of perhaps a bristletooth tang) as these need huge volumes of water to thrive in.
WHen your tangs reach nearly 10 inches across and can gut any fish that comes near them with their blades you will regret the day you ever tried keeping them in such cramped conditions. )

 

[Seratuki]

Okay...so I need some sort of sand instead, coral, argonite...ect?

Would sand work? I have a tropical tank with sand that I wanted to switch to gravel....?

Ok...will test tap and post readings...

Thanks...

Sera-Tuki

 

[Navarre]

Nope sand is no good. It doesnt offer you the buffering ability that aragonite does. Aragonite is made up of tiny coral fragments so it keeps the water chemistry right. Sand is usually made up of the rocks that are in the locality of the place it was collected. )