72x30x18 DIY build thread

Stang67

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@Stang67 what hob did you use with your tub?
Let me see if I can find it. Part of me thinks I didn't use one but not sure. Just skimmer rocks and wavemakers. Yes magnets will hold through the plastic.
 

tbrown

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Let me see if I can find it. Part of me thinks I didn't use one but not sure. Just skimmer rocks and wavemakers. Yes magnets will hold through the plastic.
Would you put rocks in for copper though? It would need to be rocks that won't go in the DT again for a long time, right?
 

Stang67

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Would you put rocks in for copper though? It would need to be rocks that won't go in the DT again for a long time, right?
This was from when I used my tub to hold stuff while I transfered tanks. Something will have to hold the bacteria. I didnt use a HOB either. Just found the post.
1000021556.jpg

You could make a skimmer stand out of egg crate and put it in the center. I don't know of any hobs that have a big enough lip to cover the edge of the tub.
Maybe a canister?
 
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Nate Chalk

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Good luck. Wish I could be more help.
It's gonna be ok :)

Appreciate everyones input thoughts etc. gives me a best course of methodology that fits for me.

I think I'm going to source a biological aid in fish.

Monitor. And make an o s*** list of things to order and do.

I have a 150g stock tank we use for cold plunges, I can give that up for now.

Need:
Heater
Medication picked out
Hannah tester copper
Egg crate for top
Fish trap
Filtration method

Will get links for all the stuff I need
 

Paul B

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@Paul B has had ich a few times and he has never taken his fish out for any QT or treatment that I'm aware of. Paul, any input?
I actually don't allow my fish to get ich or anything else because I keep them immune. I also don't believe in quarantine or medication unless you get a fish that is near death from a dealer.

I feel quarantine, medication (especially copper) or anything that stresses the fish allows the fish to become sick from the normal diseases all wild fish carry, and their immune system deals with as it should.

So I think all of that is counter productive and all that is needed is a natural tank, with natural hiding places and the correct foods that have live gut bacteria in it.

That means no dry foods.
Simple.
Good Luck.
 

Lowell Lemon

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Nate you are in a spot. You have heard from two people that have long term success. Paul as you know advocates for live foods to deliver gut bacteria for health and use of filtration down to one micron as a supplement. Jay is the master of fish care through prophylactic pre treatment and biosecurity.

I never could find success with biosecurity and prophylactic measures and killed lots of fish trying. I did have good repeatable success with mechanical filtration and UV in series. The Mechanical before the UV and return to the tank not recirculation to the sump. I set up multiple aquarium stores for my customers this way and they reduced their loss rates to about 3 percent of shipped fish.

At this point you have to decide if you will lose more fish and inverts with a breakdown or just using management. Tough choice. But the fish are showing normal activity and feeding which is in your favor. If respiration increases and fish get lethargic you are at a point where intervention might be too late. I honestly can't make that decision for you. I'm in the camp of management due to the stress on the fish an inverts from a tear down.

I recommend replacing UV bulbs every six months as that was our protocol back in the day. Pulling for your success which ever way you go.
 
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Nate Chalk

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Nate you are in a spot. You have heard from two people that have long term success. Paul as you know advocates for live foods to deliver gut bacteria for health and use of filtration down to one micron as a supplement. Jay is the master of fish care through prophylactic pre treatment and biosecurity.

I never could find success with biosecurity and prophylactic measures and killed lots of fish trying. I did have good repeatable success with mechanical filtration and UV in series. The Mechanical before the UV and return to the tank not recirculation to the sump. I set up multiple aquarium stores for my customers this way and they reduced their loss rates to about 3 percent of shipped fish.

At this point you have to decide if you will lose more fish and inverts with a breakdown or just using management. Tough choice. But the fish are showing normal activity and feeding which is in your favor. If respiration increases and fish get lethargic you are at a point where intervention might be too late. I honestly can't make that decision for you. I'm in the camp of management due to the stress on the fish an inverts from a tear down.

I recommend replacing UV bulbs every six months as that was our protocol back in the day. Pulling for your success which ever way you go.
Thanks!

My uv is in the last chamber of the sump returning to the beginning of the sump. Double catch potential.

Mechanical I am running 5 micron socks, which should catch free swimming based on my research of size.

I completely understand I am at that crossroads. I think I'm preparing for treatment. But until fish show signs of not wanting to eat or odd behavior I don't really want to stress them out. So if say I'm also in the camp of management best I can. And hopefully the fish are strong enough to pull through.

I feed a mixed diet, dry, frozen, enhanced with selcon, meaty, plant, powders. I can't stop dry goods because that's what the Achilles prefers.

I do appreciate the great brain collective it gives me info to go off of. And helps prepare for perhaps another methodology.
 

Lowell Lemon

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At this point you are almost 10 days in since you noticed symptoms. Most people who quarantine seem to report dead fish by now. Just look at some of the disease threads and look at how high the mortality is within a couple days. I believe this is because of the need to keep the biofilters alive during the onslaught of the various medications. Copper seems to not kill the biofilters off as much as some of the other meds like antibiotics. With antibiotics and some other meds the only way to keep pace is water changing and re doses of medicine to correct levels. This yoyo in water quality kills a lot of fish. Again not a scientific approach by me just observing how I killed lots of fish trying to medicate.
 
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Nate Chalk

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At this point you are almost 10 days in since you noticed symptoms. Most people who quarantine seem to report dead fish by now. Just look at some of the disease threads and look at how high the mortality is within a couple days. I believe this is because of the need to keep the biofilters alive during the onslaught of the various medications. Copper seems to not kill the biofilters off as much as some of the other meds like antibiotics. With antibiotics and some other meds the only way to keep pace is water changing and re doses of medicine to correct levels. This yoyo in water quality kills a lot of fish. Again not a scientific approach by me just observing how I killed lots of fish trying to medicate.
And ... I was gone for 2 weeks prior to that 10+ days.
 

Lowell Lemon

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@Lowell Lemon may I ask why the return to tank on uv? Sump to me is double potential for treatment
Well not scientific but observation through repeated store installs. My thought is that we were returning clean water to the individual displays with reduced parasite loads. In my situation we were centrally filtering many multiple tanks at a time in the display and sales area.

I used a skid mounted system from a company that no longer exists and it had a pump, central heat, chilling, mechanical, chemical and then UV all designed into the unit. They were called System Paks by Aquanetics and worked great. Each unit was designed for proper flow for parasite control from the factory.

Back then this type of system was used by Quality Marine and their success was better when Phil Shane was running the show. They have redesigned to different systems now and dropped the hugh trickle towers they used to run along with some of the central filter systems. They run individual banks of systems now. We always ran the fish systems independent from the invert systems as well. That did allow for some of my customers to run copper if they wanted for the fish system. I believe a number of them did not run copper at all with good success.
 

Lowell Lemon

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I assume your flow rate through your UV is matched to the flow rate necessary for parasite control. To fast and the dwell time is not sufficient to kill the parasites ability to propagate. I believe this is how the UV works with some water born parasites. It has been a few years...like twenty plus since I did this stuff.
 

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