Ammonia Control in a Hospital Tank

starypotter

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Unfortunately I have no idea how the ammonia removing pads work. I don't know if it would be a problem or not.
Okay thanks, I'll make sure I have them removed for a few days at the very least before I start any treatment.
 

rkpetersen

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What about zeolite in a bag in the filter for controlling ammonia? It's been around forever but I've never actually used it.
 

Art2249

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I'm having trouble with the quarantine. I had slowly ramped up copper with cupramine but a flasher wrasse couldn't handle it. So I removed cupramine and ordered coppersafe. Right now my copper is reading zero but the ammonia test comes back 2 ppm. I think that is wrong because the seachem badge shows halfway between safe and the first color alert. Plus the fish all look fine. How long should I wait to introduce coppersafe?
 

Humblefish

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I'm having trouble with the quarantine. I had slowly ramped up copper with cupramine but a flasher wrasse couldn't handle it. So I removed cupramine and ordered coppersafe. Right now my copper is reading zero but the ammonia test comes back 2 ppm. I think that is wrong because the seachem badge shows halfway between safe and the first color alert. Plus the fish all look fine. How long should I wait to introduce coppersafe?

If copper is reading 0, I would begin ramping up Coppersafe now. Even a trace of copper can throw most liquid ammonia test kits off.

What copper & ammonia test kit are you using??
 

Art2249

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If copper is reading 0, I would begin ramping up Coppersafe now. Even a trace of copper can throw most liquid ammonia test kits off.

What copper & ammonia test kit are you using??
I have Seachem copper test and API ammonia. Ishould note this tank had live rock at one time but now is being filtered with marinepur spheres. I took the last rock out aug 1. I have some sponge in the main display sump but i want to save that for my next batch of fish. And my 76 day countdown began aug 1 because i moved rock from this tank to the display sump on that day. So i still have plenty of time but the 2 ppm result on api kind of freaked me out. Also, I've had some of these fish for 8 months, but i added the last one in June. never have seen ick.
 

Humblefish

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I have Seachem copper test and API ammonia. Ishould note this tank had live rock at one time but now is being filtered with marinepur spheres. I took the last rock out aug 1. I have some sponge in the main display sump but i want to save that for my next batch of fish. And my 76 day countdown began aug 1 because i moved rock from this tank to the display sump on that day. So i still have plenty of time but the 2 ppm result on api kind of freaked me out. Also, I've had some of these fish for 8 months, but i added the last one in June. never have seen ick.

FWIW; I wouldn't rely upon a Seachem copper test for measuring Coppersafe.

This is worth the investment: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/coppe...truments-high-range-copper-checker-hi702.454/
 

Art2249

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FWIW; I wouldn't rely upon a Seachem copper test for measuring Coppersafe.

This is worth the investment: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/coppe...truments-high-range-copper-checker-hi702.454/
Thx for the advice. I bought a hanna copper test. Unfortunately the wrasse I tried to save jumped out of the tank. I have about 1/2 inch gap at the back of my net. he must have hit it perfectly. So I back to cupramine and will save the coppersafe for some other time. I am confused about the 30 day copper level. Once that is over should I remove the fish while copper is still there and acclimate them. Im concerned about lowering copper in the qt and having ich hatch before i remove the fish.
 

puffy127

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If adding biospira to a sponge filter a few days prior to adding fish to a QT can build up enough of a biofilter to control ammonia, then why wouldn't this work for a regular tank with dry rock and dry sand? (i.e. why does it take >3 weeks to cycle a regular tank)? I'm not questioning that biospira and a sponge filter works for QTs - I know from experience it does, but I am setting up a new nano DT now and am wondering why I can't just add bisopira to the dry rock and dry sand and wait a few days (versus weeks to cycle)?
 

Crashjack

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You can add Biospira to your nano. You just have to also add an ammonia source. If it were me, I would treat it just like a QT, including using an Ammonia Alert badge.
 

atp0726

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Just received shipment of fish yesterday ,(6) most i have tried to quarantine at onetime. I have had a sponge for my aquaclear hob in my sump for a year or more. I added that to the filter and tonight i already have a reading of ammonia. I have an ammonia badge and confirmed it with API Ammonia. I started heating a bucket of water for a water change and added some prime.

Do you think my bacterial population just needs to grow to meet the demand of the fish or would it help to add some bottled nitrifying bacteria?

*i havent added any meds to the tank as of yet except for the little bit of shipping water when i scooped the fish out of it. Who knows what that had in it.
 
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Just received shipment of fish yesterday ,(6) most i have tried to quarantine at onetime. I have had a sponge for my aquaclear hob in my sump for a year or more. I added that to the filter and tonight i already have a reading of ammonia. I have an ammonia badge and confirmed it with API Ammonia. I started heating a bucket of water for a water change and added some prime.

Do you think my bacterial population just needs to grow to meet the demand of the fish or would it help to add some bottled nitrifying bacteria?

*i havent added any meds to the tank as of yet except for the little bit of shipping water when i scooped the fish out of it. Who knows what that had in it.
I realize I'm late (was traveling in Europe on business) but I'm guessing you didn't regularly clean the sponge to remove clogs or didn't have it in a location to make sure water flowed through it.

I'm hoping you added some nitrifying bacteria, at least that is what I would have done, along with the Prime and water changes.
 

Ross Petersen

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Thank you!

Nitrite is blocked by the chlorides in saltwater. So no, I wouldn't even test for nitrites in a QT/HT. Not to mention that there are many things in a marine tank that can cause false positive readings. The only parameters I monitor in a QT/HT are ammonia (via Seachem badge), temperature, salinity, and copper.
 
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Rapidtransport28

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Hi
I just bought a 20 gallon tank today to quarantine my 2 clown fish that are in my 40 nuvo.
My nuvo is been running for about 6 weeks now. I used 2 bottles of bio Spira when I started.
Can I use my filter floss that I usually throw away every 3 days to start the bacteria populations in my QT? I have some zoas and a chalice for about 2 weeks that are doing good .
Thank you
 

ajjw0828

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Couple of QT questions for the Gurus

1.) I have been treating with cupramine for a few days. The mix of frozen and selcon has turned my water kinda cloudy and I'm starting to worry about ammonia as its only a 20 gallon. Going to get a seachem alert badge. I have a sponge filter running (not seeded), air stone and powerhead. Used water from established tank to fill. How do I clarify water or not an issue? Also how do you accurately maintain cupramine levels with water changes? Take 5 gallons out and pre-treat the replacement 5 gallons to the same levels? Just don't want levels to drop below .50.

2.) Once I'm done with the QT. Sounds like 30 days then 2 weeks observation. What do I do with the sponges? Can I run carbon in the tank and will they then be safe to put back into my SPS system to have ready to seed? Makes me nervous that the copper will kill my tank. Do people wipe down the tank, heater etc with alcohol or anything before storing?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you, -AJ
 

rkpetersen

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Couple of QT questions for the Gurus

1.) I have been treating with cupramine for a few days. The mix of frozen and selcon has turned my water kinda cloudy and I'm starting to worry about ammonia as its only a 20 gallon. Going to get a seachem alert badge. I have a sponge filter running (not seeded), air stone and powerhead. Used water from established tank to fill. How do I clarify water or not an issue? Also how do you accurately maintain cupramine levels with water changes? Take 5 gallons out and pre-treat the replacement 5 gallons to the same levels? Just don't want levels to drop below .50.

2.) Once I'm done with the QT. Sounds like 30 days then 2 weeks observation. What do I do with the sponges? Can I run carbon in the tank and will they then be safe to put back into my SPS system to have ready to seed? Makes me nervous that the copper will kill my tank. Do people wipe down the tank, heater etc with alcohol or anything before storing?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you, -AJ

I'd personally switch to ionic copper, like Copper Power, and check levels with the Hanna Copper Checker. This will give you the best way to maintain a perfect therapeutic range, even factoring in water changes.

If you want to stay with Cupramine, then your method of keeping the level stable should work.

You could have an ammonia issue if the tank didn't have an active biofilter to start, but cloudiness is more likely to represent a bacterial bloom. Perhaps from overfeeding. Cut back on food, perhaps add some activated carbon for a while (although this would absorb some of the cupramine as well.)

I used to use a sponge filter with airstone in a qt. Messy, not very effective for circulation, and served as a haven for flukes. Consider getting rid of it and adding a second small powerhead. Both powerheads should be fairly low in the tank and pointed toward the water surface. It's hard to sterilize a sponge, so I wouldn't ever put one back in the display. Just buy a couple more new ones, put them in your display sump now, and they'll be colonized later when you need them (if you want to go that route.)

I think most people use dilute bleach to clean quarantine tanks, heaters, etc.
 

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Hi @Brew12, I recently set up a QT to treat ich, it's a 20L but I have 8 fish, a littler overstocked, it's the 4th day and the ammonia alert is moving towards green from yellow. The QT was seeded with around 300ml of seachem matrix from my DT, I wonder if adding more bateria helps with reducing ammonia? if so should I get the live version(Instant Ocean Nitrifying Bacteria Bio-Spira) or the the dead version(seachem stability) thanks.
 

jeff williams

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Adding bacteria more than likely won’t help you need to do a water change. How are you treating the fish ? I’m assuming copper? If so daily water changes are going to be your solution. When I have this problem I dose a container of fresh saltwater with copper get it to the the therapeutic level and then use it for wc’s this way you can quickly do a wc if ammonia is present
 

reef-geek

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I have done a 5g water change and added half bottle of IO bio-spira, the badge went back to yellow, hopefully it will stay yellow since I have lots of fish in a 20L
 

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Makara23

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I know this is an old thread, but it was a good read (thank you @Brew12 !)

I see a lot of recommendations for adding a mature sponge or bottled bacteria, HOWEVER are there any proof that copper doesn't kill nitrifying bacteria? Based on some studies, seeding a QT tank with sponge or bottled bacteria is not effective.

"Copper is also toxic to the nitrifying bacteria in the biofilter. At 0.3 mg/L Cu2+, copper sulfate inhibits ammonia and nitrite oxidation; therefore, increases in ammonia or nitrite levels in the system should be monitored closely during copper treatments."

Source:
 

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