Upgrading to larger tank, questions and ich

[mckwestla]

Hello, I am very new to the hobby but already hooked and already upgrading tank sizes. I am upgrading my very newly set up and cycled reef tank. My currently running tank is a 50 gallon reef with a 20 gallon sump. I have about 50lbs of LR in the old DT and 13lbs of small (crushed coral) size LR in the sump. I have another 40lbs of base rock that I would like to use for the foundation of my aquascape for my new tank. I have purchased and am prepping my new 80 gallon tank.

Here is my situation, in my old tank I am experiencing a brown algae bloom and some of my fish have Ick. I was planning on moving all my LR and coral and invertebrates into a garbage can, then treating the fish and Live Sand in the old tank with a copper treatment. My question is, does ick live in live sand, filters, sponges, or live rock? I definitely do not want to expose my new tank to Ich.

I also want to reduce the chance of a cycle in my new tank because I really love my livestock, including my Maxima Clam. I want redo my aquascape, using some of my LR, but I am wondering if I shouldn't because of the brown algae some of the pieces have one it. Lastly, I want to cut saw some of my LR pieces and use them in a different way, is it possible to do this with them being live?

Sorry, I know this is a lot, but I could really use some input.

OH and lastly, recommendations for a skimmer would be great.

Alright I am off to go get and RO/DI unit.

Cheers

 

[Mike J.]

Yes, Ich lives in the sand and the rocks and so on. I wouldn't treat sand with copper, it will absorb the copper. The brown algae is most likely diatoms and is common with new tanks and will most likely go away with regular good maintenance; I wouldn't be overly concerned with it at this point.

You really should treat your fish for Ich in a hospital tank. You could then transfer all your other things to your new tank and leave it fishless for several weeks. Good luck.

Skimmer for a 80 gallon? Reefing Madness

 

[saltyphish]

You do not want to add copper to a tank with livesand and live rock. They will absorb the copper, and later release it in your new tank killing your inverts and corals. Best bet is to set up the new tank with either the existing livesand and live rock or new livesand and liverock and let that cycle. Place corals and inverts in a Rubbermaid container or tank and the fish in a different container by themselves and treat them only for iche. Leave the liverock and sand fishless for 5-6 weeks to let the iche die off. Iches has to have a fish host to survive 5-6 weeks should cover their life cycle. I know this is a lot of work especially since you will have to watch for ammonia and nitrite levels in the tank with fish. Use something like prime. Any other questions just ask

 

[mckwestla]

Thanks so much, that is a lot of work, so that means I will have 4 different tanks/rubber maid containers to monitor??? 1 for fish which I will treat with copper 1 for my corals (will my maxima be ok in such conditions?) and lastly the third my new display tank with a mixture of my old live sand and new live sand and my LR. Is that what you are saying?

Also, I [FONT=lucida grande, lucida sans unicode, geogrotesque, arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif]wanted to re-aquascape my new tank using my old live rock and additional liverock, but my old live rock is no long the size or shape that I desire. Consequently, I want to saw and shape it to how I want it. But is this going to cause a massive amount of die off, thus creating a new cycle in my new tank? Well, I guess that doesn't matter with what you are proposing. Just seems like a lot of work and space...[/FONT]

You do not want to add copper to a tank with livesand and live rock. They will absorb the copper, and later release it in your new tank killing your inverts and corals. Best bet is to set up the new tank with either the existing livesand and live rock or new livesand and liverock and let that cycle. Place corals and inverts in a Rubbermaid container or tank and the fish in a different container by themselves and treat them only for iche. Leave the liverock and sand fishless for 5-6 weeks to let the iche die off. Iches has to have a fish host to survive 5-6 weeks should cover their life cycle. I know this is a lot of work especially since you will have to watch for ammonia and nitrite levels in the tank with fish. Use something like prime. Any other questions just ask

 

[mckwestla]

Would a freshwater bath not work? Also what about my sump and powerheads and overflow box? Ich can't live on that can they??

 

[saltyphish]

Ich can not live without a fish to host. That's why people leave tanks fallow for 5-6 weeks to ensure all ich has died. Freshwater dips will only remove the parasites on the fish so that is only a temporary fix unless you plan on changing the QT water every time you dip. Hyposalinity has proven very effective for many. Maybe do some research on that if you don't want to use copper or meds. Still no good for coral or inverts

Would a freshwater bath not work? Also what about my sump and powerheads and overflow box? Ich can't live on that can they??