quarantine tank problem

[Elivia]

I am having trouble. i am currently quarantining my fish due to a bad ick problem. i have been using my water from my main tank for my quarantine. its day three and nitrite has shown up as well as amonia. i have been doing water changes regularly but am worried about the stress of my fish. i am only doing a simple quarantine of small filter (to keep up water flow) and air stone. its a small 10 litre set up. does everyone experince problems like this? i dont want my quarantine to cycle as the copper mediacation is going to kill any bacteria anyway... its my first quarantine so any advice will be taken on board. i hope i have posted in the right section...wasnt too sure

 

[returnofsid]

Let's move this to Lee's Fish Discussion forum, for the best advice. Also, I'd recommend reading through several of his Stickies, pertaining to setting up a QT tank and treating fish.

Here's that forum:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/

Here's a couple stickies I would recommend:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/quarantine-process-27022/
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/curing-fish-marine-ich-50933/

A good guide to using Copper to treat Ich.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/copper-treatment-use-problems-27005/

and one more, for fun.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/marine-ich-myths-facts-27003/

 

[leebca]

I understand your concerns. Whomever has been advising you has made some errors in facts and information.

If the parasite is in the display tank system then you only want to use water from there at the start. In the link provided above, there is no continued advantage to use DT water in the quarantine process. Keeping in mind that the biological filtration is not related to the 'old' water, but to how many bacteria are attached and active in the QT. If you read the QT post, this will be made more evident.

If the biological filter has not been established in the QT vis a vis a corner, sponge filter as recommended in the QT linked post, then you have three choices: Perform very large water changes (over 80%) one or more times each day that ammonia/nitrite is detected; start and maintain a chemical filter to remove these; or do both.

When ammonia and/or nitrites are detected in the QT, they must be removed. I recommend testing for ammonia and nitrite at least three times a day, especially an hour after feeding. Since the water changes are large, I further suggest you follow these guidelines for a water change:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/how-make-safe-water-change-fish-27191/

The biological filter will 'live' through a copper treatment. Sometimes the bacteria become dormant. Like any living creature, the bacteria will need time to adjust to their new environment (one with copper). Once they do this, the filter will work. So, copper does not kill the bacteria in the biological filter. Sometimes, this 'adjustment' period is a few hours or sometimes a few days -- assuming the biological filter was up and running to start with.

After you read the linked posts above much of the process should be clearer.

This linked post will guide you through the entire process. If you'll follow it closely, and read the referenced posts you find there, you'll find the process completely covered and about the easiest you can hope it can be:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/curing-fish-marine-ich-50933/

 

[Elivia]

Thanks Lee. I have read through all your articals now. Makes sense now that i have the right advice